Last night was mostly an opportunity for the youngsters to prove their worth to Enzo Maresca in tricky conditions in the Conference League.
Chelsea took hardly any first team stars with them to Kazakhstan for the 3-1 win over Astana, with only Pedro Neto remaining from the side who beat Spurs.
Neto proved his quality was beyond that of the Conference League with his 45 minute display, setting up Marc Guiu for his second goal.
Samuel Rak-Sakyi impressed in the middle of the park. The Cobham star misplaced just one pass in the middle of the park in freezing conditions last night.
He was arguably the best performer in midfield for the Blues, despite the fact he was alongside first team stars Carney Chukwuemeka and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall of Chelsea runs with the ball whilst under pressure from Branimir Kalaica of Astana during the UEFA Conference League 2024/25...
Photo by Chris Lee – Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall tipped to break into Chelsea Premier League side
The latter has found appearances very hard to come by despite being one of Enzo Maresca’s favourite players from his time at Leicester City.
The Englishman is yet to start in the Premier League at his new club, however Don Hutchinson has claimed that he believes it won’t be long before he breaks into the Premier League side.
He said: “I like Dewsbury-Hall. I think he’s one of those guys – we know he’s a good player. Maresca obviously trusts him, they paid a lot of money for him. But I think he’s one of these guys where his attitude is really good.
MORE CHELSEA STORIES
“He doesn’t mind being patient, he probably knows in his heart when he made the move that he was gonna be close to starting a lot of games, but the form of Lavia, Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez, they’re obviously ahead of him.
“It’ll be one of them where when Maresca needs him, it’s all about having the attitude to be ready, and not to sulk. He showed that tonight with his performance. What impressed me tonight was when he started the game, he was at it. His character was good.
“That will stand him in good stead if anyone goes out of form. Joao Felix has forced his way into the Chelsea side in this competition. The next one I think will be Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.”
Dewsbury-Hall already linked with move away from Chelsea
Despite only joining in the last transfer window, it has already been claimed that the midfielder could be on the move away from Chelsea.
Chelsea have already been tipped to sell Dewsbury-Hall, with a number of Premier League sides reportedly interested in him.
There is no doubting the midfielder’s quality when he does play. Pat Nevin has previously described Dewsbury-Hall as ‘super’.
However, the performance levels of the other midfielders at the club have made it very difficult for anyone else to break into the side.
Related Posts