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.
Chelsea ratings vs Arsenal
CHELSEA missed the chance to pull clear in the race for Champions League football as they suffered a 1-0 defeat at Arsenal.
Mikel Merino scored the only goal of the game as the Blues produced a limp performance at the Emirates.
They were without several key men including Cole Palmer.
And they struggled to create chances against Arsenal with a threadbare subs bench to boot.
But who was Chelsea’s best player in North London?
And which players will want to forget about their performance as soon as possible?
See SunSport’s Andy Dillon’s verdict on the Chelsea players here
Read the full article here