Enzo Maresca has been told he should have targeted one of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s teammates instead following the latest transfer between Leicester City and Chelsea.
The Foxes have been subject to big raids from Stamford Bridge chiefs since confirming promotion back to the Premier League. Whilst it has served as a major boost to the club financially, the departures of Maresca and his coaching staff followed by Dewsbury-Hall in a £30m deal on Tuesday leave questions to be answered on the playing side before the season starts.
On the other side of the negotiation table, pundits are going to query whether this was a smart move on Chelsea’s end too. Already possessing a wealth of midfield talent, journalist Gab Marcotti has posed the idea whether the 25-year-old was in fact the correct one to be targeted of Maresca‘s former Leicester squad.
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“I mean Maresca must like him,” he began to tell ESPN FC. “It’s not an enormous amount of money to spend. Sure, why not?”
Dewsbury-Hall did enjoy his best form under Maresca, scoring 12 goals and providing 14 assists in 44 Championship matches. But instead, Marcotti thinks Harry Winks was a better fit for the Italian’s system and therefore should have been the one to make the move.
“I would have thought, if you are going to replicate [the same tactics], then Harry Winks would have been the guy he signs – or somebody who can do Harry Winks-type stuff. I am not comfortable with Enzo [Fernandez] in the playmaker role. I just don’t think that’s his position. And obviously, Dewsbury-Hall doesn’t do that and [Moises] Caicedo doesn’t do that either. [Conor] Gallagher either.”
Signed last summer, the former Spurs midfielder only scored twice in comparison to his departing teammate but proved himself to be a more complete option in the middle. Via Fbref.com, Winks had a pass completion over 15 percent higher, completed 30 tackles more touches in the defensive and middle thirds of the pitch.
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