Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall: Joining Blackpool from Leicester is right move at right time

Blackpool’s latest recruit Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall believes now is the perfect time to make his first foray into men’s first-team football.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall played for Leicester in the FA Cup at Brentford last Saturday Picture: NIGEL FRENCH/PA WIREKiernan Dewsbury-Hall played for Leicester in the FA Cup at Brentford last Saturday Picture: NIGEL FRENCH/PA WIRE
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall played for Leicester in the FA Cup at Brentford last Saturday Picture: NIGEL FRENCH/PA WIRE

The midfielder became the club’s ninth signing of the January transfer window on Monday, when he made the loan move from Leicester City.

A regular in the Foxes’ Under-23 side, this is the 21-year-old’s first loan deal and Dewsbury-Hall believes it comes at a good time in his development.

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“It’s very important for me to go and get some game- time,” he said of his arrival.

“I think I’m ready for men’s football. I’ve played a lot in the Under-23s but I think I can push on now and take my game to the next step.

“I’m really excited to come to Blackpool, get some games under my belt and hopefully make a difference to the team, and see where it takes us.

“They’re a great bunch of lads here, so I’m buzzing and I can’t wait to get started. It’s all happened so quickly, so I’ve not had too long to settle in.”

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The midfielder arrives at Bloomfield Road fresh from making his first-team debut for the Foxes in their FA Cup fourth-round win at Brentford on Saturday.

Dewsbury-Hall, who was named Leicester’s development squad player of the season last term, will spend the remainder of the season with the Seasiders.

“It was a great experience,” he said of his debut at Griffin Park.

“Obviously Leicester are doing so well this season, so it was just an honour to go in there and play some good football.

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“I’m happy the gaffer at Leicester (Brendan Rodgers) put the trust in me to play me in a big game.

“It’s great to train with those players at Leicester on a daily basis and you learn little bits off them all the time.

“Hopefully I can bring some of the skills I’ve learned at Leicester to the pitch here at Blackpool.

“I’m a ball-playing midfielder, a playmaker, so I like to pass the ball, move and dribble.

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“First and foremost, I want to create chances and hopefully score a couple of goals as well.

“I’m a hard-working midfielder who just likes to get on the ball. Hopefully I can bring some excitement to the fans.”

A box-to-box player, Dewsbury-Hall has made more than 70 consecutive Premier League 2 appearances since September 2017.

This season he has also starred for the Leicester Under-21s in the EFL Trophy this season. His two goals in five unbeaten games have helped the Foxes through to the last eight of the competition.

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The midfielder takes the Blackpool number 15 shirt recently vacated by Jordan Thompson, who made the move to Championship side Stoke City this month.

He follows Grant Ward, Jordan Thorniley, Marc Bola, Ben Heneghan, Connor Ronan, Gary Madine, Chris Maxwell and James Husband in joining the club during the January transfer window.

Meanwhile, Thompson, Ryan Hardie, Michael Nottingham, Christoffer Mafoumbi, Adi Yussuf, Nick Anderton, Rowan Roache and Emil Jaaskelainen have all departed.

And manager Simon Grayson has not ruled out further business in the final three days of the transfer window