‘Fulham make formal Dewsbury-Hall move as £30m Chelsea update emerges’
Fulham have approached Chelsea to sign Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall with the Blues’ price-tag for the 26-year-old now made clear.
Dewsbury-Hall joined Chelsea from Leicester City last summer after he had impressed at his boyhood club in their Championship-winning campaign under Enzo Maresca.
The 26-year-old followed the Italian boss to Stamford Bridge, but then struggled to nail down a consistent starting berth in his debut Blues season, with just 13 league appearances made all term.
Football Insider revealed prior to the recent January window that West Ham were looking into a loan move with an option to buy for Dewsbury-Hall, but while that did not materialise and he did impress throughout Chelsea’s triumphant Conference League campaign, Maresca’s strength in depth in midfield could now see him depart the club after just one year.
West London rivals Fulham were revealed to be interested in Dewsbury-Hall on Tuesday (22 July), and they have now moved to progress their interest into a formal move for his services.
Fulham approach Chelsea to sign Dewsbury-Hall
Journalist Ben Jacobs has now reported that the Cottagers have made a formal approach to sign Dewsbury-Hall after their initial interest was previously revealed.
He states that Chelsea value the 26-year-old as a squad player, and he is not someone who Maresca is actively looking to sell, but an exit is possible if Fulham stump up more than the £30million [BBC] that the Stamford Bridge outfit paid to Leicester last summer.
Dewsbury-Hall should leave Chelsea to play regularly
Football Insider verdict
You could certainly not have begrudged Dewsbury-Hall’s move to Stamford Bridge last summer, despite him likely knowing he would be a back-up to the likes of Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez, as he has got two trophies to show for his first season at the club.
15 of his 36 appearances all campaign came in the Conference League, however, and now that the Blues are back in the Champions League, you get the feeling that his game-time is set to reduce significantly under Maresca.
| Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 36 | 5 | 4 |
At 26-years-old, he needs to play regular football at an established Premier League side, and so a move to Fulham seems absolutely ideal, as he would not have to uproot to another part of the country and would surely be seen as a key player in Silva’s side.
Former scout Mick Brown told Football Insider during the last January window that Everton were sizing up a loan move for Dewsbury-Hall, so with West Ham’s previous links and Fulham’s new interest, he is clearly not set to be short of suitors this summer if the Blues are happy to let him leave.
Maresca has a wealth of midfield options at his disposal alongside Caicedo and Fernandez, with Dario Essugo recently signed from Sporting CP and Andrey Santos vying to return to the fold after a successful loan spell at Strasbourg.
With that said, it does seem quite likely that Dewsbury-Hall moves on soon, and he should jump at the chance to join a club like Fulham if he wants to progress his career from an individual standpoint.