Leicester: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall ready for first team in 2021/22
Previous season (2019/20)
During the previous season, KDH had two places to play: the development squad at Leicester City, and Blackpool. He had started 15 games for the under 23s in Premier League 2, just before moving out on loan to Blackpool for until the end of that season.
During his loan spell, he got four goals and one assist. That is a great result! To put this into a little context, he only actually played ten times, and started nine of those. That is a goal involvement every two matches; not many players can do that.
Beyond that, three of his goals were screamers from outside the box, all of them were left-footed shots. Reminds me a lot of Maddison.
He was also incredibly active in defence. He made 1.3 interceptions, 2.4 tackles, and 1.2 clearances per game. This is Mendy numbers of good. Keep in mind, he plays higher up the pitch, so much of his defensive work is part of a high press. Fitting Brendan Rodgers’ style very well.
KDH’s most prolific performance for them was in Blackpool’s 2-1 win over Bolton Wanderers on the 25th February 2020. It may not sound like a resounding victory, but let’s look at Kiernan’s performance.
An 8.1 rating, a goal, an assist, one key pass, two interceptions, and an 83% pass accuracy. Once more, not many players can perform this well in a single match.
This was a fantastic loan move for him, but was clearly beneath him. This is not to disrespect Blackpool, I love ’em, but League One was clearly too easy for the then 21-year-old playmaker.
Current Season (20/21)
For this season, KDH played his one match for the Leicester City senior team in the Carabao Cup, then left on loan to Luton Town – the Hatters. And he has been a standout performer for them (once more we use the same Sofascore page)!
An average rating of 7.21, playing 20 games with an average of 80 minutes a game, he has made team of the week three times to date, has two goals, and three assists. He has been on fire in the Championship.
His direct goal contributions are a lower than his time at Blackpool, but this is due to two factors. Firstly, the quality of defending in the Championship compared to League one is much improved. Secondly, the Hatters’ squad is not necessarily the best team in the Championship.
The Hatters are 15th in the Championship, so Kiernan has not been able to carry them, but certainly their current form is an improvement, and one I personally hope will continue. Up the Hatters!
During this loan spell, he has been very active off the ball. He makes clever runs, links up play very well, finds pockets of space, and of course finds the killer pass. These are the qualities which make him eligible for either the Maddison or Tielemans roles.
He has been less defensively active than previously, but this probably says more about his role in the system at Luton than anything. 1.4 interceptions, 1.9 tackles, and 0.8 clearances per game. These numbers are still very indicative of his ability to press high up the pitch and do the dirty defensive work when necessary.
He regularly outperforms his xG (expected goals), xA (expected assists), and regularly wins back possession for the Hatters. So, how does this apply to a potential return to the Foxes.