Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall Tottenham transfer truth clear - that won't be why he'd return to London
Claims that Everton are having to fend off interest from Tottenham Hotspur for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall are bizarre
Claims that Everton are having to fend off interest from Tottenham Hotspur for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall have to be one of the strangest transfer rumours of the year.
With a 13-day gap in between Blues fixtures, it seems that tittle-tattle is being used to fill the void as Football Insider report that sources have told them Everton are set to resist attempts to prise Dewsbury-Hall away from the club and are ready to take a firm stance that they will “definitely” not sell the 27-year-old with Spurs linked with a move for him.
Just where this Tottenham speculation has come from remains a mystery, but the thought that either Hill Dickinson Stadium chiefs or the player himself would be looking to entertain any such switch seems utterly bizarre. Back in the summer of 2022, Richarlison’s transfer from Everton to Spurs was negotiated across the dining table in the elegant surroundings of Scott’s in Mayfair.
The plush seafood restaurant sells caviar and boasts an elegant oyster and champagne bar, but the Blues’ late chairman Bill Kenwright still left with a bad taste in his mouth as he felt that opposite number Daniel Levy had his club over a barrel as they needed to sell to satisfy PSR issues and ended up accepting an offer for the Brazilian for some £20million less than their valuation of the player. To add insult to injury, Everton ultimately were still deemed to have breached that financial year, and a subsequent brace of points deductions loomed for that and the following 12 months.
Those dark days are over now for the Blues though. Playing on the Mersey waterfront, they’re now based at a venue that financial experts estimate will bring in an additional £60million a year in revenue and they have ambitious new owners in place with The Friedkin Group (Dan Friedkin currently ranks at 316 in the world on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a daily ranking of the world’s wealthiest people, with an estimated fortune of $11billion (approximately £8.13billion).
David Moyes, the club’s most consistent manager of the modern era, who delivered nine top-eight finishes (a position they currently occupy) in his first spell at Goodison Park, including their highest-ever Premier League position of fourth in 2004/05, is back at the helm. The Glaswegian gaffer also played a pivotal role in prising Dewsbury-Hall away from Chelsea.
The Nottingham-born player was on Moyes’ radar when he first returned in January but speaking last November, Dewsbury-Hall was adamant he made the right choice after making his £25million switch in August. He said: “I did have a fair few options after a successful season. After speaking to many people, family members, people I trust, and speaking to people at Everton, if I was going to leave a club like Chelsea, it was everything I wanted to go to: a new project; a new stadium; an exciting future; plans.
“That’s something I wanted to be at the forefront of. If I’m at the start of this new chapter, I think that’s a very important part of a club’s history.
“I spoke to the manager, he was fantastic. He explained exactly what he wanted from me and what he wants going in the future. I respect him a load because I appreciate what he’s done. I think he’s the same as me.
“So, it just felt right. Ever since I’ve come through the door, I know it’s the right decision because of the way I’ve been treated, the way my family has been treated, everything has just been first class.
“It’s nice that’s happened because it’s made me realise I definitely made the right decision and it makes me excited about what we can do in the future. It makes me excited just to come in every day and keep improving and see what happens.”
He added: “The feeling of the club. It feels like a real family club, I don’t really know how to explain it really.
“The fanbase is so big and it means so much to the people, which I love because football’s my life and it feels like it’s their life as well. We’re sort of on the same page.
“I see how passionate they are and how much they want to win, and it just resonates with me because that’s how I live my life. I’m not saying that the other clubs weren’t like that, but I just feel like Everton’s on a different level.”
The way Dewsbury-Hall talks, he gets Everton. It’s the same with the way he plays.
After an altercation with Nottingham Forest captain Morgan Gibbs-White late on in the Blues’ 3-0 win at Hill Dickinson Stadium in December, he was asked what happened and replied: “I don’t know, I mean, you know what it’s like when the temperature gets a bit hot.
“It’s all handbags. But look, I feel like if you play for this club, you’ve got to show a bit about you. It is what it is, but I enjoyed that.”
Indeed, while he enjoyed his year in London at Stamford Bridge, picking up winners’ medals in the UEFA Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup, why would Dewsbury-Hall want to swap what he’s got right now to join basket case Spurs who finished 17th on 38 points last season but promptly sacked Ange Postecoglou, the manager who delivered their first major trophy in 17 years and have just axed Thomas Frank as they sit five points above the relegation zone?
Other than Everton’s final five away fixtures of the season, the only reason for Dewsbury-Hall to be returning to the capital any time soon is to indulge in his “guilty pleasure” of musical theatre and take in a West End show. At least Mr Kenwright would have approved of that!
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