Leicester City has transferred star player Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to Chelsea, with the lifelong Foxes supporter confirming the transfer on social media.
Leicester City have had a tumultuous start to the summer, with last season’s Championship-winning manager Enzo Maresca departing.
Maresca departed the Foxes to seek the vacant Chelsea job, and he was replaced by former Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper, whose appointment has sparked controversy due to his links to Leicester’s rivals. However, the summer has just gotten much worse, with Maresca returning to his former club to secure a £30 million deal for star player Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall posted heartfelt Leicester City’s farewell Leicester’s financial woes are well known, and the club is presently fighting an appeal against a Premier League charge from March in which the league said the club committed a major PSR breach.
With that ongoing, the latest PSR deadline arrived at the end of June, and Leicester were once again concerned about a potential breach of expenditure restrictions. As a result, it was widely assumed that the club would have to sell their most precious asset, Dewsbury-Hall, and the departure has now been confirmed.
It would not have been an easy decision for the 25-year-old to leave Leicester, having been there since he was a child and supporting the club his entire life, and he has resorted to Instagram to express his feelings. Dewsbury-Hall shared a collage of highlights from his time at the club, along with the caption, ‘Hi LCFC Fans.
So what can I say? What a ride this has been. I’ve spent 17 years of my life with this group, and it has been a pleasure. I’ve enjoyed every minute of my time at this football club and made some experiences and friendships that I’ll never forget.
When we were demoted in the 22/23 season, I felt personally accountable for my part in it. I made it my goal to ensure we returned to the Premier League during the first season, knowing how disastrous a situation it can be for a club if it does not happen.
I’m incredibly happy of what we accomplished together last season, generating lifelong memories for all of us. But, more importantly, hopefully making amends for the mistakes made during the relegation season. The huge number of messages I’ve received in the last few days has truly impacted me, and I thank everyone for taking the time to do so; it means a lot to me and my family.
I’d like to thank all of the teammates I’ve played with, the coaches I’ve worked with, and the fans I’ve grown up with. I’m delighted I’m leaving the club with them in the Premier League, where they belong, and I wish Leicester City all the best for the coming season and beyond. I am one of your own, Leicester. But it’s time for me to go… Thank you for the ride. KDH.’ Current Leicester players react to Dewsbury-Hall’s leaving.
Dewsbury-Hall’s loss will be felt throughout the Leicester midfield. Last season, the former Luton Town loanee carried his hometown club on his shoulders, scoring 26 goals and helping them win the Championship. His influence was not lost on Leicester’s current crop of stars, who have been giving him well wishes in response to his departure message. Hamza Choudhury wrote, ‘Ahhh my brother, memories that will endure a lifetime’.
Tom Cannon, on the other hand, just replied, ‘All the best brother’. A Leicester icon, Andy King, who made 379 appearances for the club, also wished Dewsbury-Hall good success. It is obviously a sad day to be a Leicester City fan, but supporters will hope that the money brought in will be reinvested in the squad to help the club’s Premier League survival effort.
