Leicester: How will rising Fox Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall fit into the team?

Leicester City player profile 

As a player, KDH is a left-footed, creative central midfielder, something Leicester City lack in great depth. During his spell at Luton, he has played mostly as a left-sided central midfielder as either a box-to-box ‘8’ or a deeper-lying playmaker.

As a tactically versatile player, KDH has proved comfortable in several different systems, including the left side of a midfield diamond, as well as a deeper role in a double-pivot of a 4-2-3-1.  Furthermore, KDH has occasionally been used as a ‘6’ in a defensive midfield role or as a ’10’ in a central attacking midfield role.

Statistically, (according to Whoscored) Dewsbury-Hall comes across as a solid player, with a 7.00 average rating from 39 appearances. In this time, he has registered 3 goals from 3.25 XG and 6 assists from 6.13 XA. These figures in themselves don’t paint the full picture of his talent with such statistics sometimes misleading. From all reports, KDH would have “a lot more assists” with more clinical finishing. One measurement of his impact in knitting together Luton’s midfield is demonstrated by his trophies, including most home man of the match awards.

Confidence on the ball is so important in a midfielder and KDH has this in abundance, being willing to show for the ball and take it in tight areas under pressure. Furthermore, a desire to play risky passes instead of taking the easy option combined with good decision-making is something that will serve him well in the EPL. Similar to James Maddison at his best (without some of the arrogance), KDH has a clear “belief in his ability” according to Kevin Harper, who is the Media Officer for Luton Town supporters club.

To complement his confidence, KDH also has the required quality and game intelligence on the ball. Throughout his loan spell, he has been an excellent progressive passer, registering 1.7 key passes (passes that directly lead to an attempt on goal) a game, the 9th best in the Championship.

His belief in his abilities also translates into his willingness to shoot, with him taking around 1.2 shots per game, a reasonably high volume for a midfielder who has often been employed in a deep-lying role. With many teams in the Premier League sitting deep against the Foxes, having a threat from distance is an invaluable asset to break down stubborn defences.

Set-pieces are another strength of his, with KDH’s corner taking of excellent quality, leading to comparisons with the famed David Beckham. With Leicester City struggling offensively from dead-balls, hopefully, this is something the midfielder can bring back.

Defensively, KDH is no midfield destroyer like Wilfried Ndidi or fellow academy graduate Hamza Choudhury. Even so, he’s capable of carrying out the dirty work, with 1.6 tackles a game and 1.2 interceptions a game, similar to Youri Tielemans, (2.3 tackles and 1.2 interceptions). Furthermore, the Englishman has shown a healthy level of combative aggression in his game, which will no doubt endear himself to Foxes fans.

There are areas KDH needs to improve, as all footballers do. Whilst Whoscored does not list any clear ‘weaknesses’ in his game, his pass success of 76.2% is an area for improvement. However, this may be down to the number of difficult passes he tries and the nature of Championship football. Such figures may naturally improve in the more possession-heavy system employed by Rodgers, alongside astute coaching.