Chelsea have announced the signing of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall from Leicester City.
The 25-year-old has signed a five-year deal with Chelsea and is reunited with head coach Enzo Maresca, who has also swapped King Power Stadium for Stamford Bridge this summer.
Dewsbury-Hall is the Blues' fourth addition, after centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo on a free transfer from Fulham, attacking midfielder Omari Kellyman from Aston Villa and Marc Guiu from Barcelona.
Our latest summer signing: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall! 🫡 pic.twitter.com/1OuST65GTv
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) July 2, 2024
"I have made it pretty public about what I think of the new head coach," Dewsbury-Hall told the club's official website. "He is fantastic. He is top. He completely changed the way Leicester wanted to play last season and we saw it worked.
"I personally fell in love with the way he wanted to play and I know a lot of the other lads did as well.
"I am very confident coming here that he is going to implement his style and that the lads are going to buy into it and are going to enjoy it.
"I'm a box-to-box midfielder. I am somebody who likes to attack, drive at defenders and make things happen with goals and assists. I will also give 100 per cent for the team defensively and I am someone who overall can contribute in every aspect of the game.
"I think scoring more goals has been down to a combination of everything. I spoke to Enzo Maresca about adding more goals to my game and thought of methods to do it, and I have managed to do that."
Dewsbury-Hall's goodbye to Leicester fans
The midfielder, who joined Leicester as an eight-year-old back in 2006, shared a farewell message to Foxes supporters via his social media.
“Well what can I say? What a journey it’s been," Dewsbury-Hall wrote on Instagram. "17 years of my life devoted to this club and it’s been a pleasure. I’ve loved every minute of my time at this football club and created some memories & friendships I’ll never forget.”
Who is Dewsbury-Hall?
The midfielder, born in Nottingham, joined Leicester’s youth team in 2006. He progressed through the ranks and made his first-team debut in the FA Cup third round in January 2020.
Loan spells at Blackpool and Luton Town followed before Dewsbury-Hall became a permanent member of Leicester’s squad for the 2021/22 season.
He has already made 59 Premier League appearances, scoring three goals and assisting four times.
Dewsbury-Hall was a standout performer in the Championship last season and a key factor in the Foxes clinching promotion back to the Premier League. He directly contributed to 26 goals, was named in the Championship Team of the Season and earned the Leicester men’s Player of the Season award.
The Englishman joins a group of players who have moved to Chelsea from Leicester, including Wesley Fofana, N’Golo Kante and Ben Chilwell.
Chelsea start their pre-season schedule with a match against Wrexham in California on 24 July.
They begin their Premier League campaign by hosting champions Manchester City on 18 August.
