Kieran Dowell exit: Confirmed Rangers permanent transfer update emerges
Kieran Dowell is currently on loan at Birmingham City and faces an uncertain future at Rangers.
Rangers sent Dowell out on loan to Birmingham for the rest of the season in the winter transfer window after he earned just two Premiership starts under Philippe Clement in the first half of the campaign.
The attacker has hit the ground running at the League One club, bagging three goals and one assist in 14 games across all competitions so far.
With 13 starts to his name in England, Dowell has started more games and scored more goals in two months for Birmingham than he did in the previous 18 months at Ibrox.
Chris Davies moots permanent Dowell transfer
Reflecting on Dowell‘s time with the Blues so far, manager Chris Davies explained that he has been ‘encouraged by’ the 27-year-old since his arrival.
The 40-year-old confirmed that he would like to have the midfielder in his team beyond this season and also suggested that he has talked to Birmingham’s director of football, Craig Gardner, about the same.
| Competition | Matches | Minutes | Goals | Assists |
| League One | 11 | 853′ | 3 | 0 |
| FA Cup | 1 | 90′ | 0 | 0 |
| EFL Trophy | 2 | 170′ | 0 | 1 |
However, he admitted that he is not certain of the player’s situation at Rangers.
“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 (28 March).
“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.”
Davies went on to heap praise on Dowell for his contributions to Birmingham since his arrival and suggested that Clement may not have used him properly.
The Blues boss is also hopeful that the former Everton ace would want to stay at St Andrew’s beyond his existing loan deal.
“Players come in and you get a feel for them straight away, early on you could see his craft, his intelligence, and I think he suits the style of play I want to play as well”, Davies said.
“Maybe with other managers he’s been under, they haven’t really been playing him to his strengths. That’s not a criticism of them, that could be the same for me with other players as well. He’s fitted in well to how we play.
“You can see he’s loving it. He’s played a lot of football.”
Dowell to leave Rangers
Dowell is set to enter the final year of his contract at Rangers and it is hard to see him at Ibrox next season.
Therefore, it would make sense for the Englishman to make his move to Birmingham permanent, especially if they earn promotion to the Championship.
The Blues are on course to earn automatic promotion as they sit atop the League One table, boasting a nine-point lead over second-placed Wrexham with two games in hand.
It is also worth noting that Rangers are in the process of a takeover, with Barry Ferguson tasked with managerial duties until that is finalised.
Dowell faces further uncertainty at Ibrox as there is clarification about who will be leading the Light Blues next season.