Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall in Liverpool would be disastrous Lavia substitute

The midfielder for Leicester might leave if the team is demoted this summer.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, a midfielder for Leicester City, has recently been linked to Liverpool as Jurgen Klopp assembles his team for the 2023–24 Premier League season.

How far along is Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s move to Liverpool?
Anfield Watch believes that the Reds have been keeping tabs on the Englishman’s development over the past year, but their level of interest has recently increased significantly.

This comes after a second offer for Southampton’s Romeo Lavia was turned down, while Fluminense was hesitant to trade with target midfielder Andre.

Dewsbury-Hall, who is valued at £24 million by Football Transfers, had a reliable but unspectacular performance as Leicester fell into the Championship, but concerns will be raised about his capacity to shine at Anfield as Klopp pursues a decisive comeback.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s talent level?

With the wise £35 million acquisition of Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton & Hove Albion, Liverpool kicked off the summer transfer window in style. The equally exciting £60 million agreement for Dominik Szoboszlai laid the groundwork for a more promising campaign on Merseyside.

These acquisitions were important because James Milner, Naby Keita, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all left in June after their contracts expired. However, Klopp and his team may not have expected Fabinho and Jordan Henderson to leave because Saudi Arabia was interested in holding them.

Dewsbury-Hall is by no means a below-average player; he performed admirably last season despite a terrible season for the Foxes that brought an end to their long tenure in England’s top division.

According to Sofascore, the 24-year-old had a 22/23 Premier League average rating of 6.86, scored two goals and provided two assists from 32 appearances, completed 79% of his passes, made 1.3 crucial passes per game, averaged 1.7 tackles per game, and won 52% of his ground duels.

Dewsbury-Hall has been praised for his “cultured left foot” by former manager Brendan Rodgers in 2022. His FBref ranking among the top 13% of midfielders across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for progressive carries, the top 10% for successful take-ons, and the top 1% for blocks per 90 shows that he is the prototypical middleman between defense and attack.

Given Liverpool’s pressing need for a defensive midfielder and the fact that Dewsbury-Hall primarily plays in the central midfield as a box-to-box presence, Klopp simply cannot replace Lavia with the City star.

Lavia, 19, joined Southampton from Manchester City in a $14 million deal a year ago and just finished his first season playing at the highest level. Journalist Benjy Nurick has praised Lavia as a “absolute monster” for being his team’s lone bright spot as they themselves fell short of the Premier League.

Despite having a prodigious talent, the one-cap Belgian international did not match Dewsbury-Hall’s Sofascore rating and received a score of 6.80. However, he did complete 86% of his passes, win 2.1 tackles and 1.1 interceptions per game, and prevail in 57% of his ground duels, showing a better fit for deployment in the defensive portion of Liverpool’s center.

Amidst a group of players at Liverpool who are looking to find silver-laden success this season, he could continue his journey to the top of the game while also serving as the metronomic heart of the sinking Saints ship and using his energy and intensity to maintain the last shred of coherence.

Even if a deal for Lavia cannot be secured, switching to Dewsbury-Hall as a replacement this summer may be terrible for the Merseysiders.