Dewsbury-Hall claims Chelsea transfer noise a non-issue | OneFootball

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall believes that Chelsea’s squad can remain focused on its football amid the firestorm of transfer news which has surrounded the club in recent weeks.

Joining from Leicester in early July, he was one of the first of twelve summer arrivals for the Blues, with more signings, both incoming and outgoing, still yet to be completed.

He claims that the noise is not distracting the squad, saying that “We’re in a bubble, you can’t let that sort of thing affect you. We are just going out every day and training as well as we can. We only have one job and that is to lay as well as we can for the club.”

Despite that, he reports that he is looking forward to the window’s close at the end of the month, at which point the squad will be able to focus fully on its football.

“When the transfer window finishes then it can be pure focus on the season. When its open you get speculation, every club does. When it closes, everyone knows where they stand and we can kick forward. We just have to deal with that and let the club do what they need to do.”

Transfer noise rather centres around the futures of Ben Chilwell and Raheem Sterling, both of whom are training apart from the first team after falling out of favour.

Desbury-Hall’s attitude is somewhat conflicted, saying that while Maresca’s honest approach earns him favour in the squad, it is also difficult to see teammates edged out of the first team.

“I think people respect [Maresca] for [his honesty]. As a player you want clarity, and he is a person who will give you that. I think it would cause more upset if you aren’t honest with people, so the fact that he is is a good thing.

“If you have friends in the team you want to see them everyday and train. These are decisions we don’t make as players, it isn’t in our hands. I am new to the club so I just want to make a good impression and get on the pitch.”

As he attempts to maintain his attention on footballing matters, he looks forward making his return to European competition against Servette.

“Its very exciting, I’ve got good memories of playing in Europe,” he said. “It’s a competition you want to be in as a player, so the fact that we’ll be travelling over Europe is quite exciting.”

He continued, saying that Chelsea must approach the match and the competition as a whole with the requisite respect. While the Blues’ European pedigree is extensive, he would be happy to add the Conference League to the trophy cabinet.

“Any competition is worth winning whether it’s the Premier League or the Carabao Cup,” he said. “It’s all silverware in my opinion and worth having on your resume. Any European competition is worth winning because it shows you have done well in the Premier league to get in.

“Chelsea have won the Champions League in recent years, but to add another European trophy to the resume, I don’t think anyone would turn their nose up at that.

“There won’t be many games we go into that we aren’t favourites to win. That’s the problem you have as a Chelsea player. It is an opportunity for us to go forward and give a good performance and have a good start to this European journey.”

Dewsbury-Hall’s position in the squad is somewhat complicated. He was a regular in Maresca’s Leicester setup, playing as an attacking midfielder, but now faces competition from the likes of Cristopher Nkunku, Cole Palmer, and the newly signed Joao Felix, among others, for minutes, but he sees no reason why he will not be able to lay claim to the position.

It’s a complex position, but he just wants an attacking threat who can press well for the team. I feel I am as well suited to it as anybody and I believe in my ability. I’m comfortable playing anywhere.

“As long as I am on the pitch, I’m happy. Whether its left wing, right back, left number 8, I’m happy,” he joked.