Arriving at Stamford Bridge last summer, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s Chelsea career was short-lived.
On Monday morning, it was revealed that Everton submitted an official bid for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Hours later, Fabrizio Romano took to X with an exclusive that a deal had been reached for £25 million, with a further £3/4 million in add-ons.
🚨🔵 EXCL: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to Everton, here we go! Permanent deal agreed with Chelsea and player side.
Understand fee is worth £25m fixed plus add-ons up to £28/29m total package.
KDH, Ugochukwu and Chukwuemeka are all leaving Chelsea on permanent deal. pic.twitter.com/MPcFgjAe0s
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 4, 2025
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The move comes as no surprise, with Dewsbury-Hall not managing to establish himself at Chelsea since arriving last summer for £30 million. A move away seemed like the obvious choice.
But this bit of business is a masterclass in knowing when to cut your losses.
Chelsea almost break even on Kiernan Dewsbury Hall
Chelsea have signed a lot of players under BlueCo. Of course, not all of them are going to do well. But for a signing that came last summer, failed to break into the first team, and left again, you would expect more of a financial hit than £5 million, with a possibility of dropping to £1 million.
Since Todd Boehly and Clearlake took over, there has been a shift in how the club views players, looking at them as financial assets.
Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly laughing
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
While this approach has certainly drawn criticism, when you consider the tightening of financial restrictions year-on-year, it allows the kind of flexibility other big clubs don’t have.
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Take Manchester United for example. In January, it emerged that they had discussed the sale of Kobbie Mainoo for the sole purpose of easing financial pressure. Such an idea would have been laughable a few years ago, but now it’s a reality for some teams.
Newcastle, too, had to sell Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh last summer to reach PSR compliance.
Chelsea’s approach, while unorthodox, is fit for purpose in today’s game. There’s a method to the Boehly madness.
Sale of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall frees up money for Alejandro Garnacho
The links to Garnacho are not going away. There was a clear message from Chelsea that while interest was there, outgoings and the deal for Xavi Simons would take precedence.
Alejandro Garnacho of Manchester United looks on during the Premier League match between Manchester United FC and Brighton & Hove Albion FC at Old Trafford on January 19, 2025 in Manchester, England
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
But now that Dewsbury-Hall has been sold, and Lesley Ugochukwu looks set to be sold to Burnley, all of a sudden Chelsea have £30+ million that they did not have yesterday.
Garnacho’s desire to join Chelsea is clear, and now so is the cash (or most of it).
Chelsea’s outgoing business has been superb this summer, and the more they can get done, the more we can get excited about new arrivals at the club.