Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has suggested that Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has come to terms with his squad status at Stamford Bridge.
Soon after Maresca left Leicester City for the Blues, the Italian gave the green light to his new employers signing one of his former players from the King Power Stadium.
Having arrived in a £30m deal, Dewsbury-Hall may have expected to play a regular role in the starting lineup, but the Englishman has found his game time restricted.
A total of 12 starts and eight substitute outings have been made in all competitions, yet just 180 minutes across eight appearances have come in the Premier League.
Although there was constant speculation regarding the 26-year-old during the winter transfer window, he ultimately stayed put in West London.
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"He has realised"
On Thursday night, Dewsbury-Hall played the full 90 minutes as Chelsea edged out Copenhagen in the first leg of their Conference League last-16 tie in Denmark.
While receiving praise from Maresca, the playmaker will seemingly have to make do with a spot on the substitutes' bench against ex-club Leicester on Sunday.
Speaking at a press conference, as quoted by football.london, Maresca said: "At the beginning he struggled a little to accept that he was not playing many games.
"Now, probably after a while, he has realised that he has to be calm, he has to understand. At this moment he's much better. He played an important game tonight from the start. That shows that I really trust Kiernan.
"Kiernan knows that Cole [Palmer] played there, Enzo [Fernandez] played there, Christo [Nkunku] played there. So we have many, many players in terms of quality in playing in that position."
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Can Dewsbury-Hall have a long-term Chelsea future?
Having penned a five-year contract at Chelsea, Dewsbury-Hall is tied to the club in the long term, and there is no doubt that he has the potential to act as a quality squad member.
However, looking ahead to next season, he is already behind Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, Romeo Lavia and realistically Andrey Santos in the pecking order.
When just three goals and five assists have come from his 67 appearances in the Premier League, he is yet to prove that he deserves weekly game time in the top flight.
If Chelsea were to receive an offer of at least £25m in the summer, it is plausible that it would be considered with opportunities in a creative-midfield role likely to be further restricted due to the arrivals of Estevao Willian and Kendry Paez.
Darren Plant
