Rangers are expected to make Kieran Dowell their first signing of the summer.
The 25-year old Norwich City midfielder, much like Todd Cantwell, will be arriving with a reputation built on impressing during his breakthrough years.
As part of England’s Under-20 World Cup winning side, Kieran Dowell was an integral member of a hugely talented squad.
One that seemed destined for bigger things.
Names such as Dominic Calvert Lewin, Dominic Solanke, Kyle Walker-Peters and Kikayo Tomori have gone on to be regulars in the Premier League and beyond but it is three other members of the squad that bring a Rangers connection.
Dowell’s teammates in South Korea included Sheyi Ojo and Ovie Ejaria – at the time both on the fringes of Liverpool’s first team under Jurgen Klopp and pushing for more minutes.
A year later and the pair arrived at Ibrox with Steven Gerrard, but it has been downhill ever since.
The other name that will be familiar to Rangers fans is one time target Josh Onomah who was linked in January.
The former Spurs midfielder will be out of contract in the summer after signing a short term deal with Preston in January to put himself in the shop window.
Rangers could yet rerun for the 26-year old given our need for fresh legs and our budget.
What Kieran Dowell might bring to Rangers
During the tournament, Dowell played on the right-hand side of the three attacking midfielders behind a central striker.
A position that Rangers has struggled to fill since Gerrard hoped that Ojo would be the answer.
Dowell is different to every other midfielder that Michael Beale has at his disposal in that he is as hard working as Ryan Jack but with more quality on the ball.
Graceful, hardworking, and with a measured left foot.
The closest player in the current squad would be Steven Davis in terms of intelligence, passing range and technical ability.
Alongside Cantwell and Nicolas Raskin, Kieran Dowell would be another upgrade to the squad, if he the standard for the rest of the summer then we could be in for a good one.
A World Cup winning team isn’t a bad one to cherry pick from, even if it was a few years ago now.
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