Arsenal face major competition in race for Szoboszlai clone

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 17 Mar 2024 18:42 GMT
• 4 min read

Brighton & Hove Albion will return for Leicester City midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall this summer, according to reports.

The Seagulls were heavily linked with a move for the Arsenal and Liverpool target during the January transfer window, but they were unable to agree a deal with promotion-chasing Leicester.

Dewsbury-Hall, 25, is viewed as an ideal candidate to improve the squad depth available to Roberto De Zerbi, although Arsenal and Liverpool have both expressed their desire to sign him too.

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In January, Fabrizio Romano revealed that Mikel Arteta’s side have sent scouts to watch the Leicester man multiple times this year, and TalkSPORT have reported that Brighton will return for Dewsbury-Hall this summer. As a result, the Englishman is set to be involved in a transfer tug-of-war when the 2023-24 season ends.

Brighton currently have the likes of Pascal Gross, Billy Gilmour, Adam Lallana, Jakub Moder and Carlos Baleba as midfield options, but they have been severely hampered by the summer departures of Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo.

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Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall vs Chelsea

During Leicester’s 4-2 FA Cup defeat against Chelsea on Sunday afternoon, Dewsbury-Hall was by far the Foxes’ standout player.

He shone against €116 million man Moises Caicedo, completing four dribbles and two key passes, and providing one assist. He regularly enabled Leicester to escape pressure by driving forward with the ball and Dewsbury-Hall was certainly the Foxes’ most dangerous player.

Against Chelsea, Dewsbury-Hall proved that he is already Premier League quality and will be playing top flight football next season even if Leicester fail to secure promotion.

Data analytics experts SciSports believe that Dewsbury-Hall has a 95% similarity to Liverpool star Dominik Szoboszlai, with the pair sharing several similar traits, including their immense ball-carrying ability.

The Hungary international joined Liverpool for €70 million last summer and he has seven goals and four assists for the Reds so far this season.

Dewsbury-Hall, by comparison, has notched 23 goals and assists in 41 games this campaign. He is evidently ready for a step up, just like his former team-mate James Maddison last summer, and Arsenal are set to battle Brighton for his signature from July onwards.

If the Gunners do sign him, Dewsbury-Hall would perfectly suit the left central midfield role vacated by Granit Xhaka's exit last summer.

Declan Rice and Kai Havertz have both played in this role during the 2023-24 season, but the former has more regularly played as a defensive midfielder and the latter has shone as a centre forward in recent weeks. As a result, Dewsbury-Hall may be a smart addition, especially as Emile Smith Rowe may leave this summer.