Leicester City manager Enzo Maresca has spoken out about the future of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall with Arsenal big fans of the English midfielder.
The Foxes progressed to the fifth round of the FA Cup yesterday after a 3-0 win over Birmingham City.
However, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall wasn’t involved and Maresca has spoken to Leicester Live about the 25-year-old.
HITC Football understands that Arsenal, Newcastle and Everton are all huge fans of the central midfielder.
Leicester have placed a £30m price tag on one of their star players after Brighton & Hove Albion opened talks with him.
It would be a blow to their promotion hopes to lose Dewsbury-Hall before the transfer window closes next month.
They’ve already lost Cesare Casadei after his loan spell from Chelsea was cut short, but they might be about to bring in another player as his replacement.
Maresca discusses Dewsbury-Hall future amid Arsenal admiration
Leicester City’s manager was asked if Dewsbury-Hall’s absence yesterday was connected with his future and said: “No. The reason why he was not in the squad was because we gave him, Harry Winks, and Jannik [Vestergaard] a rest for Tuesday’s game.
He was then asked if he was confident the 25-year-old would still be his player after Thursday’s deadline and responded: “This is a question for the club, not for me.
“We have talked about the transfer window for sure, but it’s not a question for me.
“At the end, we need some balance. We’ll see. Anyway, I’m not saying anything because Kiernan is our player.
“In the moment that something happens, I will tell my thoughts about it.”
Dewsbury-Hall is one of the stars of the Championship this season
There is always plenty of hype around academy talents emerging in the first team from a very young age but that wasn’t the case with Dewsbury-Hall.
He made his competitive senior debut four months after his 21st birthday on loan at League One Blackpool.
It was his spell at Luton Town in the Championship the following season that got tongues wagging and it wasn’t long before Brendan Rodgers introduced him to his first team.
Dewsbury-Hall started 28 Premier League matches last season and was a key player for the Foxes despite their relegation to the Championship.
He’s proved he’s way too good to be playing in the second tier this season, already racking up nine goals and nine assists in the league.
It’s no wonder Maresca is worried about the likes of Arsenal and Brighton taking note of Dewsbury-Hall’s performances recently.
Mikel Arteta could use a player like Dewsbury-Hall
The left-footed 25-year-old would be the perfect player to fill the role Granit Xhaka occupied last season.
He loves playing in that area of the pitch and would combine brilliantly with Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard in the half-space.
Mikel Arteta has maintained faith in Kai Havertz after his big-money move from Chelsea last summer.
The German has done OK without being outstanding and Dewsbury-Hall has shown he can be a bigger threat in key areas this season.
Whether Arsenal have the cash available to tempt Leicester to sell Dewsbury-Hall is yet to be seen, but Maresca will be praying that none of the Premier League teams circling end up making an offer they can’t refuse.
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