It did not take long for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to make an impression on his first Chelsea appearance.

The midfielder’s Blues bow was delayed because of injury, but having missed the Wrexham and Celtic friendlies Dewsbury-Hall was soon in the thick of things against Club America on Wednesday night.

He had already created a couple of openings when he delicately crossed for Marc Guiu to double our lead. That assist was emblematic of a positive performance Dewsbury-Hall reflected on a couple of days later.

‘Happy is the one word I would use to describe it,’ he told us of his first game.

‘It was nice to finally get on the pitch and wear the kit. It was a great feeling, and nice to get to know the lads on the pitch. I’ve got to know them off the pitch. Now I’m hoping as pre-season goes on, I will get more minutes ready for the start of the season.

‘As a new player you want to get straight in and show people what you can do, but I knew there was no point me trying to rush it,’ Dewsbury-Hall added of his recovery from injury.

‘It was about making sure you get it right. There’s a long season ahead and now I’m in a good place, so by the time the season starts I will be ready to go.’

After the Club America game, Enzo Maresca said ‘you can see Kiernan is talking a different language to his teammates in terms of he knows exactly what he needs to do on and off the ball’.

So, then, Kiernan, what does Enzo mean by that?

‘It’s a collection of a lot of things,’ he replies.

‘Positional awareness, knowing when to be in certain instances in the game when we have the ball, getting in the box, trying to score goals and get assists, and trying to be aggressive off the ball. They are the main principles, without giving too much away!

‘It’s an important position in the team so you need to be clued up in what you need to do while you’re playing it. Thankfully I feel like I have an understanding of the position, and there is still so much for me to learn.’

During their season together at Leicester, Dewsbury-Hall learned the process required to successfully implement Maresca’s footballing ideology. He is therefore as well placed as anyone to explain what's needed.

‘It will take a bit of time. It was similar this time last year. There was a long way to go. We were making mistakes, but you could see there was progress from week to week, and I feel like that is what we are seeing at Chelsea.

‘Against Club America there were patterns of play that were really slick and smooth. We were getting into great positions. It’s only our third game of pre-season and it’s good you can see progression, and the fans can see that, because six months down the line I’m sure it will be completely different to what you can see now.’

Dewsbury-Hall is keen to use his experience of Maresca’s system for the wider benefit, too, smoothening this period of adaptation for his new team-mates.

‘Naturally I am giving advice on the pitch,’ he says.

‘In the last year or so I evolved into that person anyway. When I first broke in, I was a bit quieter, but there has been a progression in my personality and mentality in the last year or so. I feel like I’m a more influential person.

‘I wanted to try and bring that here to Chelsea, and it obviously helps I know the system. If there are any lads with queries I can give my opinion, and I think they respect that. I want to be someone the lads can talk to and the lads can look at.’

The 25-year-old says he has thoroughly enjoyed his time on tour so far. Going out for meals and getting to know the other players on a personal level has been a highlight, as has witnessing the global appeal of Chelsea first hand.

He can see the talent in the group, and believes the mixture of characters and cultures will forge the type of team spirit that can be decisive in crunch moments. Dewsbury-Hall has also observed a collective willingness to work hard, ask questions, and ‘buy into’ Maresca’s methodology.

Now, the focus returns to match action. We play Manchester City tonight, and then following the English champions come the best that Spain and Italy have to offer in the form of Real Madrid and Inter Milan.

‘They are three really tough games, three great tests,’ smiles Dewsbury-Hall.

‘It’s a good thing we have tests like that going into the Premier League because it gets you firing and gets you ready against top opposition.

‘It’s going to be hard but these top teams that want to come at you, if you can get it right on the ball you can open up teams and create chances. It is about fitness for the lads and getting ready for the first game, but it’ll also be good because they are going to be good football matches as well.’

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