Kieran Dowell transfer: Rangers trigger and Birmingham City’s stance on permanent deal
Kieran Dowell spent the second half of the season on loan at Birmingham City from Rangers
Kieran Dowell is one of two players who have returned to Rangers after successful loans at Birmingham City with their futures now up in the air.
Dowell and Ben Davies were important cogs in Chris Davies’ League One title-winning Blues team. Dowell followed Ben Davies to St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park in January and made a big impression.
Chris Davies wanted ‘a bit of craft’ from Dowell and the 27-year-old playmaker offered plenty of ingenuity in his 23 appearances for Blues, scoring five goals and creating another five.
He quickly established himself in Blues’ XI and started 21 times, despite joining a team that was already top of League One and progressing nicely in two cup competitions at the time.
What happens now?
Dowell still has 12 months remaining on his contract at Ibrox but it’s hard to see him forcing his way back into the fold.
He only played 32 games – including just nine starts – for Rangers in the 18 months prior to joining Blues in January. Now appears to be an obvious time to cut ties.
Explaining why he made the switch to Blues, Dowell said: "The reality of my situation was that I have not played as much as I wanted to in the last 18 months, so I am grateful to the club for giving me that platform to play again.”
Dowell’s future hinges on who Rangers appoint as their next manager. The Gers haven’t appointed a replacement for Philippe Clement since sacking him in February. Ex-Blues and Rangers midfielder Barry Ferguson has led them on a temporary basis in the second half of the season.
Steven Gerrard has been linked with a return to Rangers but other reports hint at a more left-field appointment.
Dowell isn’t likely to get clarity on his own future until that decision has been made.
Do Blues want Dowell for keeps?
Davies has admitted that he would like to explore the possibility of bringing Dowell to St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park full-time.
“He’s definitely someone I have been really encouraged by since he’s come in and from my point of view I want players like that here,” Davies told BirminghamLive.
“My communication is always around that stuff with Craig (Gardner - director of football), squad management and planning and who I think can really help us, and I think Kieran has done really well.
“I don’t know the exact context of what’s happening there with him, but it’s definitely something we will have to look into.”
Blues are moving into the league Dowell has called home for the vast majority of his professional career. The midfielder has been promoted twice from the Championship before with Norwich City and played in the second tier for Nottingham Forest, Sheffield United, Derby County and Wigan Athletic.