Leicester starlet Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall set for first time opportunities

Leicester youngster Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is ready to make an impact on the first team during pre-season, according to the club’s former loan manager Dean Hammond.

The midfielder, 21, has made only one appearance for the senior side, in the FA Cup victory at Brentford in January, but impressed on loan at Blackpool before lockdown. Leicester were due to bring back some players for pre-season training from Saturday.

Hammond spent three years as a player at Leicester from 2013-16, before taking charge of the club’s loan players until early in 2019, when he left the club for family reasons.

Leicester have high hopes for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (left) ahead of the coming season

He said: ‘I really like Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. He is left footed and good technically, but more than anything I like his mentality.

‘He was prepared to go to Blackpool, where he was a long way from home, and he did very well there before League One was suspended.

‘If he can go in and do well at the start of pre-season then he has a chance to get himself in the manager’s thinking for the season.’

Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers showed he was prepared to give home-grown players a chance when he called up 19-year-old Luke Thomas for the first team for the final three games of the 2019-20 campaign, with regular left-back Ben Chilwell injured.

Along with Dewsbury-Hall, Hammond also believes Josh Knight, a defender who spent last term on loan at Peterborough, can shine if given the opportunity.

The youngster earned many plaudits for his Blackpool loan spell and how he applied himself

Hammond followed the progress of Harvey Barnes, who had successful loan spells at MK Dons, Barnsley and West Brom before becoming a key member of the first-team at Leicester.

He added: ‘The loan system is going to be so important due to the pandemic. Clubs will have to try to bring players through their youth system as we all assume budgets will be dropped and the money won’t be available for new signings.

‘That’s great for young players coming through because it means they will get opportunity. They might jump up a few stages because there won’t be so many players to compete with.

‘If these players have already been on loan or can go on loan, it’s really beneficial for their career. They get to experience first-team football and a first-team environment.

‘You can learn your trade before you play at your parent club. Harvey is the perfect example of that.’

Hammond relished his role at Leicester and is keen to work his way back into the professional game in a similar capacity. He is currently working on his own fitness platform and also does one-on-one coaching with young players.

Along with Barnes, Hammond also worked closely with Hamza Choudhury, another academy product who has progressed to the first-team group.

‘The loan manager role is one for ex-players,’ he argued. ‘You need someone who as been on loan themselves and can relate to players in the same position.

Manager Brendan Rodgers is set to a give a host of youngsters their chance during pre-season

‘It’s your job to find the right club for a certain player. It might be because they play in a certain way, or they have a manager who will work well with the player, or a good dressing room.

‘You don’t want to send them to a club with bad eggs, or an aggressive manager when a player is a withdrawn character. This is where the loan manager role will expand – you’ll need a few more people to help him and watch and analyse possible destinations.

‘The department will grow at every club because of the pandemic. They will have to produce more of their own players and those players will go on loan.

‘I would love to get back into a loan manager role as I enjoyed it a great deal at Leicester and I think it can be very beneficial for clubs. I love helping people and I love seeing them improve.’