The Leicester City midfielder, a January target for Brighton, will be the subject of more transfer rumors this summer amid the club’s bid to comply with the profit and sustainability rules. In January, Brighton made an unexpected bid for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. With only a few days left in the transfer season, it surfaced unexpectedly that Leicester City were in talks with the Seagulls about selling their top player. City fans were displeased. They were concerned that Dewsbury-Hall’s departure would jeopardize their promotion chances. Fortunately, no deal was completed, since the two teams’ values were too far apart to make the trade practical in the end.
But what those January negotiations prepared fans for was the potential that Dewsbury-Hall would quit in the summer. Even as City looks for a new manager, the midfielder’s future remains a heated topic. Here’s the most recent information as it stands. The financial increase that comes with promotion normally permits clubs moving up to the Premier League to keep their finest players, but City are in trouble due to Profit and Sustainability Rules. If they want to keep inside the EFL’s spending limitations, they must sell by the end of June.
Dewsbury-Hall is the team’s most valuable and profitable player. As a graduate of the academy and hence on the books for little to nothing, his sale would be ‘pure profit’, considerably increasing the club’s prospects of complying with financial requirements. Even if City transfer other players on to solve PSR and Dewsbury-Hall remains at the club in July, that does not guarantee he will stay. City sold a significant player to fund their transfer business every summer for the preceding eight years, with the exception of one. Dewsbury-Hall could be the man. Who’s interested?
City explored a deal with Brighton in January, but they were not the only club interested. Brentford, Fulham, and Arsenal were also mentioned as interested parties. Since then, more clubs have expressed interest in the 25-year-old, with Chelsea being among them. A reunion with Enzo Maresca seemed too good to be true, but if Conor Gallagher is sold at Stamford Bridge, Dewsbury-Hall makes sense as a possible replacement. And more clubs may come forward. Speaking on the penultimate day of City’s season, Maresca predicted that Premier League teams would show interest once their seasons were over and they had their summer plans in place.
City’s price tag may be the deciding factor for the clubs. Back in January, they were believed to want up to £30 million, which is not a sum that every Premier League club will be willing to pay, especially as PSR is biting a few mid-sized clubs. Dewsbury-Hall could not have been more apparent while speaking at the club’s awards ceremony, when he was crowned player of the season and players’ player of the season. He said, “I intend to leave.” Dewsbury-Hall has a close connection to the club, having grown up in Shepshed and played for them from the age of eight. He has spoken of his sense of duty in returning City to the Premier League following their relegation.
This presents a fascinating dilemma for City. All of the big-money sales in recent years included players who wanted to leave. Some, like as Wesley Fofana, worked tirelessly to see it through. When the player wishes to remain, navigating the issue becomes more difficult. When Dewsbury-Hall is sold, City will have a lot to replace on the pitch. No player contributed more to City’s Championship victory than the midfielder, who scored 12 goals and assisted 14 times. Aside from that, he provided the squad with energy and drove the ball up the pitch. The city will truly miss him.
However, they will do so especially if he is the last surviving attacking midfielder. Cesare Casadei returned to Chelsea, Yunus Akgun will not return from Galatasaray, Dennis Praet has been released, and Wilfred Ndidi may reject the club and sign elsewhere. If Dewsbury-Hall leaves, City will need to make a couple more transfers in the same position or a different style of play.
