At the start of the season, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall wanted to be the main man for Leicester City and lead them back to the Premier League, and his dream has come true.
Of Leicester’s 68 goals scored so far this season, Dewsbury-Hall has had a hand in almost a third of them.
His tally of ten goals is decent enough for a midfielder, but where he is really affecting things for Leicester is in his assists. His low cross for Abdul Fatawu and then perfectly weighted first-time pass into Jamie Vardy’s path for the second in their 2-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday (a win which opened up a 14 point gap over Southampton in third place with 14 games to play) took his assists total to 12.
He now joins just six other Leicester players to register double figures in league assists in the past 30 years.
Steve Guppy (10) in 1997-98 and (11) 1998-99, Muzzy Izzet (14) in 2003-04, Steve Howard (14) in 2008-09, David Nugent (11) in 2013-14, Riyad Mahrez (11) in 2015-16 and (10) in 2017-18, and Harvey Barnes (10) in 2021-22 are the only players to have achieved that feat in the past three decades.
When James Maddison was sold to Tottenham Hotspur in the summer following relegation Leicester knew they were losing a substantial amount of goals and assists from their midfield.
After Brendan Rodgers challenged Maddison to improve his numbers he stepped up with 12 goals and eight assists in 2021-22 and ten goals and nine assists last season.
Dewsbury-Hall, who was taken under Maddison’s wing, has taken on that mantle and could overtake Izzet and Howard before the season is done – and he is not alone.
Fatawu took his tally to nine assists with a composed pass to Ricardo Pereira for Leicester’s second goal at Watford last Saturday and is likely to hit double digits before the campaign is done, which would make this season the first this century that two Leicester players have reached double figures for assists.
Fatawu, and especially Dewsbury-Hall, have become the attacking supply line, linking the five-man base to the final third, and they have become a potent weapon.
Fatawu celebrates scoring against Sheffield Wednesday (Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
Dewsbury-Hall’s total is the highest in the division, one more than Southampton’ Adam Armstrong and Ipswich Town’s Leif Davis, and he has created 68 chances for teammates. Only Sorba Thomas of Huddersfield Town (71), Gabriel Sara of Norwich City (76) and Leeds United’s Crysencio Summerville (80) have created more chances.
“At the beginning, when we were still in preseason, we looked at his numbers and they were very low for the type of player he is and the skills he has,” Maresca says. “Now maybe he is playing close to the box with us and it is more easy for him to score goals and give assists. He is doing very well for us.”
Fatawu has also become very popular with the fans, with his ability to cut inside and create on his favoured left foot. He scored only his third goal of the season on Tuesday evening when he converted Dewsbury-Hall’s low cross, but elsewhere his numbers are improving. After Dewsbury-Hall’s 2.79 chances per 90 minutes, Fatawu is the next highest in the Leicester attack with 2.3 chances per 90, but in terms of big chances, opportunities that would be expected to be taken, he is averaging 1.2 per game, more than double any other Leicester player, including Dewsbury-Hall.
The Ghana international also averages more crosses from open play into the penalty area than any other Leicester player (3.82 per 90 minutes) and per 90 minutes his assist rate is 0.47, a fraction higher than Dewsbury-Hall’s, who has played significantly more minutes than the 19-year-old winger.
“We are happy with Abdul but he is still very young,” Maresca says. “He has many, many things to improve, even tonight. His goal was good and he had many good moments, but along with Ben Nelson he is the youngest in the squad so it is normal that there are areas to improve.
“Like Kiernan, at the start of the season he was shooting from everywhere. But these type of players, the most important thing is the quality in the last third.
“They need to be calm in those moments. Against Watford he was inside the area and he could shoot himself but he just passed it inside to Ricky (Pereira) and Ricky scored without the keeper.
“In those positions you need that quality.”
Fatawu’s move from Sporting Lisbon will be made permanent before the end of the season and along with Stephy Mavididi, Leicester will have two wingers with plenty of potential to make an impact in the Premier League, when promotion is eventually achieved.
Mavididi, who started as a striker at Southend United and Arsenal, is a different type of winger, one who looks to create shooting opportunities for himself. His ten goals so far make him Leicester’s joint second highest scorer in the league, alongside Dewsbury-Hall, but he has only four assists so far.
All three of them have areas where they can improve, but the potential for goals and assists is certainly there for every Leicester fan to see.
(Top photo: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
