Rangers outcast 'key' to record breaking title bid as big spending EFL club urged to sign him this summer

Forgotten Rangers midfielder Kieran Dowell has been labelled as a ‘must buy’ for Birmingham City this summer as the Midlands club close in on a record breaking title win.

The English midfielder moved to St Andrew’s on a loan deal until the end of the season in January, and has been on to be one of the Blues’ top performers, scoring three goals in 11 games for the club, where he features regularly in Birmingham’s starting line-up alongside fellow Ibrox loanee Ben Davies, who joined the title chasing club last summer.

Kieran Dowell has scored three goals in 11 games since joining Birmingham City on loan in January. Cr: Getty Images. | Getty Images

Currently nine points clear of Wrexham at the top of EFL League One, Chris Davies’ team are closing in on an immediate return to the English second tier, losing just one of their last 21 league games. Having already accumulated 83 points, they require just seven more wins (or 21 points) from their final 10 league games to break the division’s record points total of 103 points - a record currently held by Midlands rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The big spending EFL League outfit shelled out a reported £29.6million on new signings in the summer, with the aim of making an immediate return to the second tier, and focus is already shifting to the summer transfer window with promotion edging ever closer. With Dowell’s loan deal set to expire in the summer, the club have been urged to make him one of their first purchases once promotion is confirmed by former England international Lee Hendrie.

“They're coming out of League One into the Championship, they're going to need players like him,” Hendrie told FootballLeagueWorld. “I think that will be the key to their success. If they can keep a good squad of players who can adapt and play in the Championship, I think he's definitely one that you'd think that they'd want to maybe keep on a permanent basis in the summer."

Ben Davies and Kieran Dowell during their time together at Rangers. | SNS Group

“Squad depth in the Championship is so key because of the relentless amount of games, and that has been proven in League One as well for them. I do feel that they should keep Dowell on a permanent. There's still more to come from him, so keeping Dowell is a must.”

The 27-year-old appears to have no future at Rangers, having been told he was free to leave by the club during the winter transfer window. Signed on a Bosman free transfer by ex-head coach Michael Beale in the summer of 2023, the Ormskirk-born player started just six games for the club this season prior to his departure.

Both Dowell and Davies are expected to start for Birmingham this weekend, who return to league action with a clash against bottom club Shrewsbury Town on Saturday.