Kieran O’Neill Dowell was born on 10th October 1997 in Ormskirk, Lancashire, England. He joined the youth setup at Everton aged seven, and spent the next 15 years rising through the ranks with the Toffees.
Early Days at Everton
In June 2014, he signed a scholarship with the club, and made his senior debut six months later—against FC Krasnodar in the UEFA Europa League at home on 11th December. It was his only first team appearance of the 2014-15 season but it earned him his first professional contract.
Dowell scored 15 goals and provided nine assists in 55 appearances for the U21 side in his time at Everton.
However, senior appearances were few and far between at Goodison Park. He did make his Premier League debut in the 2015-16 season—at home against Bournemouth—but was restricted to just two total appearances. In fact, he did not play in the league for the club ever again.
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Loan Spells Across England
In August 2017, Dowell joined Nottingham Forest in the Championship on loan for the 2017-18 season. Here, he finally found sustained senior football. He scored 10 goals and provided five assists in 43 total appearances across all competitions for the Reds, and was their top goal scorer for the season.
Next season, after spending the first half languishing on the fringes back at his parent club—where he made just two League Cup appearances—Dowell went out on loan to Sheffield United in January 2019. He contributed two goals and one assist in 17 matches, helping the Blades finish second and win promotion to the Premier League.
Dowell returned to the Championship twice more in the 2019-20 season. He joined Derby County in July 2019, and managed only one assist in 10 matches before Everton cut short his season-long loan in January 2020, and sent him to Wigan Athletic. There, he found his form again, and contributed five goals and two assists in 13 matches.
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Up … and Down Again with Norwich
In July 2020, Dowell was signed permanently by Championship side Norwich City with Everton reportedly receiving £1.5 million. He put pen to paper on a three year contract, and enjoyed an absolute rollercoaster ride in Norfolk.
During his first season at the club, Norwich finished as champions to win promotion to the Premier League. However, they had a terrible time of it in the top flight, and were relegated immediately back to the Championship, having finished 20th with just 22 points. In his third and final season , the club finished 13th in the second tier of England’s football pyramid.
Dowell played in 75 matches across all competitions for Norwich City, scoring 12 goals and providing six assists in his three-year spell at the club.
Move to Glasgow with the Light Blues
Rangers Football Club signed Dowell on free transfer in July 2023 upon the expiration of his contract with Norwich.
“I’m buzzing and really glad to get it done early towards the end of the season,” said Dowell after joining the Light Blues.
“I know a lot of Rangers fans and Scottish lads from my previous clubs, and they just speak so highly of Rangers—the intensity of it, the pressure of it—and that is a really good pressure as you are expected to win every game.
“There were so many positives for me to come here.”
Manager Michael Beale welcomed Dowell to the club:
“I am delighted to welcome Kieran to Rangers. He already has great experience in his career, with a number of Premier League appearances, and he is a player we feel will fit well into our squad and our style of football.
“I have seen him develop as a young player through the Everton Academy and also through the England junior and under-21 team. He is a good fit for our squad and has already been a teammate of Tom Lawrence, John Lundstrum and Todd Cantwell in previous clubs.
“It is fantastic, as a club, to be able to complete our first signing ahead of the summer break and I am excited to see what the future holds for Kieran at Rangers.”
Dowell’s first season in Glasgow was riddled with injury, and he managed to play in just 16 matches, contributing two goals and two assists. The 2024-25 has begun more positively, and he has already made eight appearances, albeit without any goals or assists so far.
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International Career
Dowell represented England at various age groups—from U16 to U21—from 2012 to 2019, scoring three goals in 43 appearances.