Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has quickly become one of Everton’s standout players in their bright start to the season.
The midfielder looks to have injected heaps of energy and creativity to a front line that has too often not had enough of it.
After struggling for consistent game time at Chelsea last season, Dewsbury-Hall has slotted into David Moyes’ system perfectly. His ability to drive forward and create chances has added a new dimension to the Blues forward line.
This season Everton brought in a plethora of attacking talent such as Tyler Dibling, Thierno Barry, Jack Grealish, and Carlos Alcaraz.
Yet it’s Dewsbury-Hall who along with Grealish, who has proved to be the heartbeat of this rejuvenated Moyes side.
The England international saw headlines last week for calling his recent suspension ‘mind boggling’, but his performances on the pitch have spoke more than words.
With consistent minutes under Moyes, Dewsbury-Hall has shown he can be a central figure at Everton, just like he was in his breakout season with Leicester.
The midfielder ranks in the 90th percentile for shot-creating actions per 90 (4.33) in the league so far this season.
His passing statistics for Everton put him among the best in the league, with him also ranking in the 90th percentile for passes into the penalty area (2.67) – an area Everton haven’t seen enough of in recent seasons, ranked 16th in the category last season at 6.87 per 90.
One of the areas Everton have been praised for is their defence, boasting a backline that features the likes of Jarrad Branthwaite, James Tarkowski, and Jordan Pickford.
Some might think adding such attacking talent to the squad may expose this, but the reality is Dewsbury-Hall is an extremely well-rounded footballer.
Looking at his numbers in the last year and comparing it to positional peers in the big five leagues, Dewsbury-Hall ranked in the 87th percentile for tackles p90 (1.90) and the 98th percentile for clearances p90 (1.54). Although it is important to note these stats can be slightly deceiving due to limited minutes at Chelsea last season.
Unable to get many minutes in the league, Dewsbury-Hall made up most of his Chelsea playing time in the Conference League. He would end up being a key player in their European run that ended with them winning the trophy in May.
In that time, he racked up 4 goals and 2 assists across 15 games. His performances impressed many including Chelsea fans, some of which were probably left wondering why he didn’t get more of a chance in the league.
Dewsbury-Hall can be almost certain his minutes will greatly increase whilst at Everton, injuries permitting. In the opening games this season he has slotted in seamlessly, playing in between Iliman Ndiaye and Jack Grealish.
The trio offer bags of creativity and Everton will be sure to score more goals this season if their strikers can hit form. However, that is still an area Everton seem to be lacking in, with Beto struggling and new signing Barry yet to hit the back of the net.
Still, there’s clear signs of improvement from Everton, with almost every attacking metric having gone up. Even with their strikers struggling, the likes of Ndiaye and Grealish are plenty capable of getting goals themselves.
Everton fans really do have something to look forward to with Dewsbury-Hall, a profile they have lacked for some time. He could be the man to help drive the Blues to a top 10 finish for the first time since 2017.
There’s a lot of quality opposition to try and compete with but with the added creativity and forward drive of Dewsbury-Hall they look closer than they have for a long time. If forwards are clinical, there’s no doubt Dewsbury-Hall’s attacking output will be a key in taking Everton to the next level.
Featured Image via alamy images.
