How former Championship star’s role could be crucial in bringing Leicester City back to the Premier League
Leicester City were eliminated from the English Premier League after the conclusion of the 2022-23 season. This came as a shock to many, as the Foxes won the title in 2015-16 and established themselves as a mid-table team. Now, they are in the second division and need to show the same resilience they showed back in 2013-14.
Now the Foxes will expect someone to step forward and take charge of their battle for promotion. One of the players who could play a huge role in this is midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. He is a homegrown talent and is making his presence felt in the Championship. Dewbury-Hall spent the 2020–21 season with Luton Town in the EFL Championship and got into Leicester’s first team the following season. He impressed everyone with his talent during that loan spell. Let’s look at some of his stats and how crucial the 24-year-old could be this season for the Foxes.
Player of the match in the first EFL Championship match
Leicester City began their 2023–24 campaign against Coventry at home. They were trailing 1-0 until the 77th minute, when Dewsbury-Hall equalised for his team. He then scored the winner after 10 minutes.
The midfielder has attempted 13 shots so far in the Championship, and five have been on target. Of these 13 shots, eight were attempted in the first match. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is not known for his scoring ability, but this season he has shown a different intent. The above shot map shows that the midfielder is more accurate with shots taken from inside the penalty box.
Controlling the left-side
Leicester City play in a 4-3-3 formation, and Dewsbury-Hall is a left-sided central midfielder. His heatmap above also suggests the same. The 24-year-old likes to go wide and cover as much area as he can. However, one thing that can be noticed from the ball progression chart is that the midfielder likes to create attacks from the centre. The progression chart also shows the dribbles, and most of them have been attempted in the final third.
Breakthrough 2020-21 season with Luton
Leicester City loaned out their talent in 2020–21, and that turned out to be the breakthrough season for the player. Dewsbury-Hall joined Luton and went on to play 39 games in the EFL Championship. He scored three times and created six goals for his teammates.
The above heatmap shows that he played a similar role for Luton, which was on the left side of the midfield. The midfielder averaged 2.2 progressive runs per 90 minutes, and most of them were on the left flank. Dewsbury-Hall stretched the opposition’s defence and created a lot of chances for his team.
The midfielder also showed his creativity by providing six assists. Looking at the above map, it can be observed that most of the shot assists came from set-piece situations. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is quite effective with his set-piece deliveries into the box, and these passes often create a shooting chance for his teammates. He averaged 1.5 shot assists per 90 minutes.
Another area where the midfielder was effective was the way he regained the ball high up on the field. Dewsbury-Hall averaged 8.5 recoveries per 90 minutes, and 57.1% of these came in the opposition’s half. This season, he has recovered the ball 6.09 times per 90 minutes, and 45.6 of those were in the opposition’s half.
Leicester City have a lot of expectations from their midfield talent, and he has already stepped up in the opening matches. They will be eager to get back to the top division and have a top-quality side. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has a huge role to play on this team.
