Leicester star Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is not seeking a move away this summer but still may be forced to quit his boyhood club.
The midfielder – voted the club’s player of the season – has played a pivotal role in the Foxes’ promotion this term. The 25-year-old has scored 12 goals and notched 15 assists in Leicester’s Championship title-winning campaign.
And in a major boost for the club, Dewsbury-Hall has expressed his desire to remain in East Midlands. Speaking at the Foxes’ Player of the Year awards, he said: “I’ve been at this club since I was 8 years old… I’ve got no intention of leaving”
The midfielder’s performances this term garnered admiring glances from elsewhere. Brighton were linked in January and are expected to make a move for him in the summer.
Manchester United are also admirers of Dewsbury-Hall. While he has expressed his desire to stay, Leicester’s dire financial situation may force their hand.
The Foxes lost £89.7m last season and have already been charged by the Premier League for breaching Profit and Sustainability rules. They may have to sell a key player this summer to ensure they do not break the EFL’s own spending rules.
Dewsbury-Hall moving on would greatly assist that task. Being an academy graduate, any sale would represent pure profit on the club’s balance sheet.
The midfielder has three years remaining on his contract at the King Power Stadium. Manager Enzo Maresca has already confirmed that he will hold talks with club chiefs regarding the financial situation in the close season.
Speaking after leading Leicester to the Championship title, he was asked if he could start planning for next term and replied: “No, to be honest. Now it’s time to enjoy a little bit, finish well, then we’re going to sit with the club.
“I’ve told you already this season that, in January, when we had the problems with Casadei and Sensi, that was not the moment to talk about that.
“I told you when we had the financial problems that it was not the moment to talk about that because we needed to be focused on our target. Now the season is finished, I need to sit with the club and to try to clarify things that unfortunately this year I didn’t like.”
Leicester will round off their season this weekend against Blackburn Rovers at home, a game which could potentially represent Dewsbury-Hall’s last game for the club. There is also major doubt over the future of top goalscorer Jamie Vardy, who sees his contract expire this summer.
