It might not have happened for Kieran Dowell at Rangers but the midfielder is certainly making a big impact at Birmingham City.
Despite only joining the Blues in January, Dowell has impressed Chris Davies and is a legitimate long-term transfer target when his loan deal from Rangers expires in the summer.
It’s not just Kieran Dowell either, Ben Davies is another who has shone for Birmingham as they earn promotion to the English Championship in a barnstorming season.
One of the first tasks of Kevin Thelwell, the new Rangers sporting director, will be getting a return on the Ibrox club’s investments when it comes to shipping out their loan stars this summer.
Kieran Dowell scores in record-breaking Birmingham victory
Kieran Dowell scored for Birmingham City over the weekend as the Blues romped to victory against Mansfield Town and secured a record League One points total.
With two games to go, Birmingham have already smashed the 103 points earned by Wolves in 2011 by reaching 105 points after the 4-0 victory at St Andrews.
Blues manager Chris Davies reckons the record may never be beaten, with Birmingham setting their sights on the EFL record of 106 points, set by Reading in the English Championship in 2006.
Rangers loanee Dowell, 27, was crucial to the victory, netting the Blues’ third goal in the match and laying on an assist for Tomoki Iwata to complete the scoring.
Rangers look to free up £4.2m for Kevin Thelwell
Kieran Dowell is one of four first-team Rangers stars currently out on loan and Kevin Thelwell may find it easier to shift the ex-Norwich star than some of the others.
Ben Davies is open to a move to Birmingham but given Rangers opened their chequebook to sign the defender from Liverpool, might cost substantially more than free-agent pick-up Dowell.
According to Salary Sport, Dowell earns £16k per week (£832k per annum) whilst Davies’ contract at Ibrox is worth £27k per week (£1.404m), meaning the club could cut over £2.2m from the wage bill with their permanent sales.
Rangers also have Rabbi Matondo out on loan at Hannover 96, who reportedly have a £1m option-to-buy clause inserted into the deal in the event of promotion.
With three Bundesliga 2 games to come this season, Hannover find themselves in 9th although they are only four points off a promotion play off tie in 3rd.
Nonetheless a place in next season’s Bundesliga remains a long-shot.
Matondo, 24, earns £23k per week meaning Rangers commit almost £1.2m in wages per year to the Welsh international.
Rangers also have Jose Cifuentes out on loan at Aris Thessalonki and whilst the Greeks are open to a permanent deal, they are reportedly trying to negotiate down the original £4.2m option-to-buy.
Ecuador international Cifuentes, 26, earns around £16k per week with Rangers paying £832k per year to keep the midfielder in Glasgow.
In total, Kevin Thelwell can cut the Rangers wage bill by over £4.2m by shipping these four players out permanently, with any transfer fees attached to their exits simply a welcome boost.
