How can one talk about Kieran Dowell without bringing a feeling of melancholic nostalgia? Born on the respectable date of 10 October 1997 (which makes him a sprightly 28 years of age), this English midfielder spends his time prancing around the pitch mainly as a central attacking midfielder for the so-called Scottish giants, Rangers. He's a towering chap as well, standing at a grand height of (or should we say 'stooping to') 1.86m (or 6ft 1in if you still operate on the Empire's archaic system). Dowell weighs in at a meagre 70kg (11st), a lightweight in the game. For the fashion-conscious footy fans out there, he's spotted gallivanting around in a number 20 jersey.
Our esteemed Mr Dowell capered onto the scene as a trainee with Everton in the Premier League back in the good old days of July 2014. He made a whopping two appearances in his rookie season of 2015 - 2016. Quite impressive for a newcomer, right?
Then, our journeyman embarked on a grand tour of England's footballing landscape, moving to Nottingham Forest on loan in August 2017. Here, he put on a middling performance, appearing a commendable 38 times and even managing to put the round thing in the back of the net 9 times in his 2017 - 2018 season.
His adventures didn't end there. Off to Sheffield United he trotted in January 2019 on another loan, where he made 16 appearances and scored a paltry two goals. Subsequently, Dowell flitted to Derby County in July 2019 where he made the earth-shattering total of ten appearances. But don't worry, his tour was far from over. Next stop was Wigan Athletic in January 2020 where he managed 12 appearances and even scored five goals. Blimey, he was on a roll, wasn't he?
His days of aimless wandering came to an end when he was transferred from Everton to Norwich City in July 2020 for a modest fee of £2m. During his stint at Norwich between seasons 2020 - 2023, Dowell made 66 appearances and potted 11 goals. A veritable flurry of activity if there ever was one.
In July 2023, Kieran set his prying eyes northwards and made his move from Norwich City to Rangers in the Scottish Premiership. There he made a grand total of 26 appearances and scored just two goals in two seasons. But, behold, the wanderlust took hold yet again. He tootled down to Birmingham City in the Championship as a loanee in January 2025.
Apparently the grass wasn't greener on the other side this time and our aberrant nomad returned to Rangers in June 2025. In the present 2025 - 2026 season, Dowell has blessed us with two more appearances. For added measure, he dabbled with the League Cup 2025 - 2026 for Rangers with one start and also tried his boots on the big stage — the Champions League Qualifiers 2025 - 2026 — with two starts and one appearance as a substitute for good measure.
All in all, Dowell's footballing adventures would give Jules Verne a run for his money. His tale might have been different if only he'd chosen Parkhead over the other side. But let's not delve into the 'what ifs'.
