Leicester City has enjoyed an exceptional beginning to their return to the Championship, clinching victory in ten out of their initial eleven league matches as Enzo Maresca’s squad aspires to secure promotion immediately.
The Foxes underwent significant changes during the summer, with key players departing the King Power Stadium, including Youri Tielemans, James Maddison, Caglar Soyuncu, Timothy Castagne, and Johnny Evans. Nonetheless, Maresca successfully retained some crucial first-team players, including academy graduate Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, despite interest from elsewhere.
Dewsbury-Hall, who previously had loan spells with Blackpool and Luton Town, made his Premier League debut under Brendan Rodgers two seasons ago and has since established himself as a consistent presence in the starting lineup. His impressive performances have also attracted the attention of top-flight clubs, with Fulham, Liverpool, and Manchester City reportedly expressing interest in him.
Despite the growing interest in his services, Dewsbury-Hall has continued to perform at an exceptional level and is arguably the most influential player in the Championship this season, at least according to statistics. He has contributed significantly in terms of goals and assists, amassing five goals and three assists this season, totaling eight goal contributions. Only Sammie Szmodics of Blackburn Rovers has managed more goal contributions with nine.
Delving deeper into the statistics, Dewsbury-Hall leads both the non-penalty expected goals (xG) and expected assists (xA) charts when combined. In the 2023/24 campaign, he has recorded an xG of 3.8, ranking fifth-highest in the league, along with an xA of 4.7. When combined, these figures result in a total of 8.5 expected non-penalty goal contributions, the highest in the entire division.
According to FBref’s data, Dewsbury-Hall excels in several key metrics in the Championship, including shots, shots on target, non-penalty goals, shot-creating actions, progressive passes received, touches in the attacking penalty area, and challenges lost.
Dewsbury-Hall has featured in every game for Leicester City this season, typically occupying the left side of a midfield trio in a 4-3-3 formation.
In conclusion, Dewsbury-Hall is a versatile and impactful box-to-box player, excelling both offensively and defensively. His outstanding performances make a strong case for him being the best player in the Championship since the start of the season, and he remains a target for top clubs in the Premier League.
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