Chelsea flop Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, 26, already planning for career after football despite signing six-year contract

KIERNAN DEWSBURY-HALL is already planning for life after retirement despite penning a six-year deal with Chelsea in the summer.

The midfielder has had a disappointing start to life in West London, making just one Premier League start since his £30m move from Leicester in July.

Dewsbury-Hall will likely be forced to look for a new club in the summer, with boss Enzo Maresca clearly favouring other Blues over the 26-year-old.

But it appears that the Foxes academy graduate is looking well beyond next season and is already planning for life after retirement.

According to Fabrizio Romano, Dewsbury-Hall has begun studying for a PFA Sporting Directorship course.

That course, which takes two years to complete, costs nearly £12,000 and helps train up the next batch of football directors.

Dewsbury-Hall could join a long list of pros that have turned their attention to director-level roles.

Former Arsenal midfielder Edu Gaspar returned to the Gunners as Sporting Director some 15 years after leaving north London as a player.

While ex-Chelsea and Barcelona star Deco is the current Sporting Director at Barca.

Dewsbury-Hall will still be able to keep a focus on returning to form alongside his studies, as the course only requires four face-to-face sessions per year and one two-hour virtual session every fortnight.

Despite a lack of minutes in the league, Dewsbury-Hall has started seven of Chelsea’s eight Europa Conference League games this season – scoring three times and registering one assist in the process.

And he still has a long list of suitors who could snatch him away from Stamford Bridge at the end of the season.

West Ham and former club Leicester were both linked with a move for the star in January, while Brighton were known to be admirers last summer.

However, Dewsbury-Hall remains tied down to his current terms in SW6 until 2030.