Midfielder Kieran Dowell, born in England on 10 October 1997, was evidently conceived under a wandering star. This ambulatory existence of his left a breadcrumb trail of loan spells strewn carelessly across England before he landed himself (via parachute, presumably) at Rangers in 2023.
If there's anything that would give you the indication that Dowell is not much a fixture, it's his grab-bag approach to football clubs. He attached himself tentatively to Everton, serving as a trainee in July 2014 before making a grand total of two first team appearances in his debut season of 2015-2016.
Everton, perhaps growing tired of Dowell's mere hovering, shipped him out on loan to Nottingham Forest in August 2017. Dowell played under Nottingham's leafy canopy in their 2017-2018 season, making 38 first team appearances and booting in nine goals. A steady increase, one supposes.
2019 saw Dowell retreat to Sheffield United, yet another loan agreement. 16 first team appearances, with a brace of goals for his effort. By July of the same year, he catalogued Derby County as the next port of call in his hardback football atlas. 10 appearances. No goals. Right.
An impressive spell at Wigan Athletic in January 2020 saw him accrue five goals over 12 matches, perhaps underestimating the value of goalposts. In July 2020, Norwich City obviously saw him as a bargain at around £2m.
There he was at Carrow Road, scoring five goals over 24 appearances in the 2020–2021 season, only one in the following season, and another five over 23 appearances in the 2022–2023 season. Consistent inconsistency could well be Dowell's middle name.
Only then did he hop on a plane to Rangers in July 2023. A trip North of the border, 24 first team appearances and two goals followed. A loan deal with Birmingham City kicked off in January 2025. At least it's not in Scotland, he might have thought.
With one start in the League Cup 2024 - 2025, a 'blink and you'll miss it' moment in Champions League Qualifiers 2024 - 2025, and the Europa League 2024 – 2025 for the Gers, it's safe to say Kieran Dowell is a true globetrotter. But at Rangers, he's just a player passed around like a parcel at a children's party.
