Why Dewsbury-Hall is thriving at Everton after Chelsea exit

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has gone from a peripheral figure at Chelsea to playing a key role in Everton's rebuild.

The 27-year-old returns to Stamford Bridge with Everton on Saturday, with his side on a run of four victories from five Premier League matches, while his former club are under pressure and winless in four games in all competitions.

Since David Moyes took charge on Merseyside in January, no Premier League team has won more away games, fuelling belief that Everton can leapfrog fifth-placed Chelsea as they chase a first European qualification since 2018.

Could Dewsbury-Hall even break into England's World Cup squad?

At this point last season, Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca admitted Dewsbury-Hall was struggling in a bit-part role in west London, despite winning player of the season under his leadership during Leicester City's promotion-winning campaign in the Championship a year earlier.

It came at a time when Dewsbury-Hall was an unused substitute against Tottenham and Brentford - and not even in the squad for a trip to Everton.

He was instead saved for a 7,000-mile round trip to Astana in Kazakhstan for a meaningless Conference League group stage match in temperatures of -10C.

Impressively, Dewsbury-Hall shook off any disappointment to play in Chelsea's Conference League and Club World Cup final wins, a reward for his professionalism despite his knowing he was likely to leave soon after.

That character was part of the positive feedback Everton and Moyes - who tried to sign him for West Ham months earlier - received from their scouting operation, making Dewsbury-Hall their primary summer target.

Dewsbury-Hall has started every league match this season except one, because of a suspension for five yellow cards.

"For me to leave my old club, Chelsea, it had to be for something special - a project I really believed in," Dewsbury-Hall said after joining Everton.

The midfielder had other suitors and was open to staying at Chelsea, but felt the chance to play for Everton under their new American ownership at the new Hill Dickinson Stadium was too good to turn down.

The Toffees secured their target for an initial £24m, plus £3m in add-ons, on a five-year contract agreed in the summer.

After his first pre-season match against Roma, Dewsbury-Hall told BBC Radio Merseyside that he had "scratches" and wanted to show his new fans his willingness to "fight".

It helps that Dewsbury-Hall is approachable and is often seen out in Liverpool playing his second favourite sport, snooker, to relax.

He is also into golf and musical theatre through his partner, is doing a sporting directorship course through the Professional Footballers' Association and is among those willing to volunteer for charity projects in the community at Everton.

As at Chelsea and Leicester, Dewsbury-Hall is said to get on with everyone in the dressing room, and some are already tipping him as a future captain.

He has built a particular bond with Manchester City loanee Jack Grealish, whom he knew through mutual friends in football.

Former Everton captain Leon Osman told BBC Sport: "The form he is in is fantastic. He's been moved around that midfield and, no matter where he plays, his output is the same.

"He's got a left foot in the middle of the pitch, which gives huge balance, his passing range is very good and his vision is exceptional. But I think what sets him apart is his energy and the distance he covers."

Inside the club, they are half-jokingly calling their attacking midfield trio of Dewsbury-Hall, Grealish and Iliman Ndiaye the new "Holy Trinity" - a nickname once reserved for legendary 1960s and 70s trio Howard Kendall, Alan Ball and Colin Harvey.

Dewsbury-Hall is playing primarily in his favoured number 10 role at Everton but has willingly filled deeper positions when injuries or suspensions have required it.

At Chelsea, however, he had little chance of displacing star attacker Cole Palmer in that role, while British transfer-record signing Enzo Fernandez - bought for £107m - also prefers to operate in attacking midfield.

Since then, Brazilians Joao Pedro and Estevao Willian have arrived, both capable of playing in the same position.

That level of competition left little room for Dewsbury-Hall to flourish, and he started only one Premier League match last season, effectively relegating him to what many dubbed the 'B team', featuring mainly in cup competitions and the Conference League.

In lieu of an England debut, the Republic of Ireland have been in touch with Dewsbury-Hall because of his family heritage, and Everton captain Seamus Coleman has also asked him about making the switch.

"I see myself as English and have it in my head that I can play for England," Dewsbury-Hall told Everton's club channels. "I don't want to lead people on about what I want to do because I respect the Irish people and fans.

"I just want to give myself a chance to play for England, which is a lifelong dream. I'm playing for a massive club that's on the up, and I still believe I can do it."

That belief is backed by evidence. Dewsbury-Hall is Everton's joint-leading Premier League scorer this season, alongside Ndiaye, with four goals - as many as he managed in his previous 62 appearances combined for Leicester, Chelsea and the Toffees.

His two assists put him joint top for goal involvements with Ndiaye and Grealish, while only Grealish has created more chances and won possession more often in the final third for Everton in the league this season.

Dewsbury-Hall has created more chances, won possession more and made more tackles in the league this season than England's recently used number 10s, including Morgan Rogers, Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham, Morgan Gibbs-White and Palmer.

Palmer and Bellingham have both had injuries, but only Foden has scored more goals (six) and only Rogers has more assists (three) than Dewsbury-Hall.

"His performances will have already alerted Thomas Tuchel," said Osman, who made 437 appearances in central midfield for Everton.

"James Garner and Grealish are trying to get into the England team as well, but Dewsbury-Hall's performances in recent weeks have probably made him the outstanding candidate.

"When you're talking about going into tournament football, you've got a player that can cover three or four roles and be outstanding in any of them."

Additional reporting by Matthew Hobbs.