Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's Determination Amid Everton's Transfer Deadline Day Turmoil

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall rode transfer deadline day like every Everton supporter – stomach in knots, head spinning – but he stepped off the rollercoaster annoyed for very different reasons.

While fans raged at a window that ended with David Moyes holding a thinner squad, one recognised striker and no natural cover at either full-back, the midfielder walked back into Finch Farm determined to shut out the noise. Even the surreal late twist – US international Folarin Balogun abandoning a £40m move after a deal sheet had gone in – didn’t drag him into the gloom.

Inside the dressing room, he insists, the mood is nothing like the outside panic.

“The mood’s really good, to be honest,” Dewsbury-Hall says. “Definitely not the same as what I’ve seen on the outside. There’s a good mentality this year of: ‘We’ll show everyone.’”

So far, Everton’s performances back that up. And that is why the reaction to deadline day grated.

“I’ve seen all of the reactions, all of the meltdowns, and in all honesty it annoyed me a bit,” he says, not bothering to sugarcoat it. “I get where people are coming from; everyone wants to sign everyone and have the perfect squad. But there are still 19 lads in this building who are going to hopefully take this club to good things this year. That was getting disregarded.

“I saw people saying: ‘We’ll be lucky to stay up this year.’ What message is that sending to the lads who are already here? I’m not blaming anyone. We get it. It didn’t work. But let’s all be positive – right, it’s done, bang, let’s go – and that’s what we’ve been trying to say in the dressing room. Of course we would have wanted to sign a couple more, but we’re happy with what we’ve got and it’s given us more impetus now to move on.”

A smaller squad, a sharper edge

Moyes has already voiced his concern about what a bruising window might do to the players he has. The optics are obvious: key targets missed, numbers down, ambitions questioned.

Dewsbury-Hall doesn’t see a fragile group.

“Not really, no,” he replies when asked if the business has hurt the dressing room. “I know we’ve got a smaller squad but we’ve got some really good players. Our starting XI is top, a European starting XI.

“I get it, you need a whole squad, but we’ve got 17, 18 players at a really, really good level. I don’t think a couple of years ago it was at that level. Actually I know it wasn’t.

“Things can be out of your hands in football and that’s what happened for us. But we quickly realised: ‘Hang on a minute, look around the dressing room – top player, top player, top player.’ If we’re doing the right things we can still be successful.”

For that to happen, Dewsbury-Hall will have to stay at the centre of everything. Since his £28m move from Chelsea last summer, he has grown from smart signing to on-pitch reference point. Regular minutes and an expanding role have justified his decision to walk away from Stamford Bridge.

“I’m in the prime years of my career,” he says. “I couldn’t afford to spend more years stagnating.”

He has not just found a team. He has found a voice.

With Séamus Coleman gone and a huge leadership void left behind, Everton built a new leadership group over the summer. Dewsbury-Hall, only a year into his time at the club, is in it.

“Because Séamus has left such a big hole we need a group of experienced lads to crack on together and keep the standards high and to drive things,” he explains. “It’s just the more experienced lads – [Jordan] Pickford, Tarky [James Tarkowski, the new club captain], Jimmy [James] Garner, myself. The ones that have been playing in the Premier League for years or feel like they are settled at the club.

“It’s nice [to be voted in after just one season] but it’s definitely an impact I wanted to have. I’m really pleased that the lads look at me as someone that can be important for the dressing room.”

Guiding the next wave

That responsibility stretches to the younger faces around him. Harrison Armstrong, the 19-year-old midfielder, knows that better than most.

Armstrong came within a whisker of leaving on deadline day, with a move to Nottingham Forest close enough to spark fury in the away end at Bournemouth. The backlash from Everton supporters forced a dramatic rethink from the club’s owners.

“They definitely made their feelings known and obviously it worked,” Dewsbury-Hall says. “Big credit to them for that, they were amazing that day. And I know for a fact it made Harrison feel very good and it helped him. He is a very confident lad and well respected in the dressing room for such a young age.”

Dewsbury-Hall has taken on the role of mentor, though not without a few digs.

“If there is anything I can help him with then I will. Shooting’s definitely one because his shooting is sometimes not the best, and I’ve told him that many times. But he’s got pretty much everything else.

“He always likes to say he’s got a better strike than me so I just tell him to look at the [Crystal] Palace goal [on the opening day] or the Wolves goal last season. We have good banter.”

The jokes sit on top of something more serious: a senior player setting standards for the next generation while the club tries to rebuild its identity on and off the pitch.

Eyes on Europe – and England

Dewsbury-Hall is not shy about what he wants from this season. He lists the targets one by one: European qualification, a deep cup run, improvement in every part of his game – and a first England cap.

His form has already caught the eye of Thomas Tuchel, who names his next England squad on Friday. The midfielder knows how close he is now.

“I know I’m the closest I have ever been now,” he says. “You get a message two weeks before the squad is announced. I got one for the long list for the World Cup and I’ve had one for these next games. It’s nice. It means you are doing OK.

“It’s a long, long message. It tells you that it’s a legal requirement for us [the Football Association] to tell you in advance that you are in contention and to be available for these dates. It’s a good feeling because you think: ‘OK, I am close,’ but you know you have to keep pushing it to the last minute.

“It’s up to me. It’s got to be me that forces his hand to choose me. It’s not going to be given to me.”

That line might as well be the motto for Everton’s season. Nothing will be handed to them: not European football, not respect, not even basic faith in the project after a bruising window.

Dewsbury-Hall hears the doubts. He just prefers to answer them on the pitch.