Liverpool have recently been credited with an interest in Leicester City midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall as Jurgen Klopp prepares his squad for the 2023/24 Premier League campaign.
What's the latest on Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to Liverpool?
That's according to a report from Anfield Watch, which claims that the Reds have been monitoring the Englishman's progress over the past year, although interest which has grown substantially of late.
This is after a second bid was rejected for Southampton's Romeo Lavia, with Fluminense also reluctant to part with midfield target Andre.
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Dewsbury-Hall, rated at £24m by Football Transfers, looked solid if unspectacular as Leicester nosedived into the Championship, but questions will arise regarding his suitability to star at Anfield as Klopp targets an emphatic resurgence.
How good is Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall?
Liverpool started the summer transfer window in style with the astute £35m purchase of Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton & Hove Albion, with the equally electrifying £60m deal for Dominik Szoboszlai building the blocks for a brighter season on Merseyside.
Such signings were necessary; James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all departed in June upon the expiry of their contracts, but Saudi Arabian interest in holding midfielder Fabinho and captain Jordan Henderson resulted in two exits Klopp and co might not have anticipated.
Dewsbury-Hall is by no means a subpar player; he performed well last season, by and large, despite a dreadful campaign for the Foxes that ended their illustrious journey while playing in England's top-flight.
As per Sofascore, the 24-year-old recorded an average rating of 6.86 in the 22/23 Premier League, clinching two goals and assists apiece from 32 outings, completing 79% of his passes, making 1.3 key passes per game, averaging 1.7 tackles per match and winning 52% of his ground duels.
Hailed for his "cultured left foot" by former boss Brendan Rodgers in 2022, Dewsbury-Hall has been described as the archetypal middleman between defence and attack, evidenced through 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.
Dewsbury-Hall can occupy the No. 6 role but primarily features in the central midfield, as a box-to-box presence, and given Liverpool's urgent need for a defensive midfielder, Klopp simply must not move for the City star in the stead of Lavia.
Lavia, aged 19, completed his first season of top-level football with Southampton after joining from Manchester City in a £14m deal one year ago, and has been hailed as an "absolute monster" by journalist Benjy Nurick for serving as his side's shining light as they crashed out of the top tier themselves.
A prodigious talent, the one-cap Belgium international did not match Dewsbury-Hall's Sofascore rating and yielded a score of 6.80, though he did complete 86% of his passes, win 2.1 tackles and 1.1 interceptions per game and succeed in 57% of his ground duels – illustrating a better fit for deployment in the defensive segment of Liverpool's centre.
And all this as the metronomic heart of the foundering Saints ship, utilising his energy and intensity to hold the last vestige of cohesion together; among a crop of players at Liverpool, hoping to find silver-laden success this season, he could continue his ascent to the top of the game.
Even if a deal for Lavia can not be secure, turning Dewsbury-Hall as the alternative could well be rather disastrous for the Merseysiders this summer.
