Kieran Dowell

Kieran O'Neill Dowell (born 10 October 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Hull City.

Dowell previously played for Everton having graduated from their youth academy in 2014, from where he had loan spells with Nottingham Forest, Sheffield United, Derby County and Wigan Athletic. He would later depart Everton and join fellow English side Norwich City in July 2020. He would then join Scottish club Rangers in 2023, and spent the second half of the 2024–25 season on loan at Birmingham City. He joined Hull City in January 2026.

Internationally, Dowell represented England at under-16, under-17, under-18, under-20, and under-21 level.

Club career Everton Born in Ormskirk, Lancashire, Dowell joined Everton's academy at the age of 7. After progressing through the ranks and the reserve side, he signed a scholarship with the club in June 2014. He then scored in a friendly for the Everton U21 side, in a 1–0 win over Rhyl on 26 July 2014.

Dowell made his debut for the club on 11 December 2014, replacing the injured Christian Atsu 11 minutes into a UEFA Europa League group match against FC Krasnodar at Goodison Park. Everton, who had already advanced into the next round, lost 0–1. With his only first team appearances of the season, he signed his first professional contract with the club. He scored on his return for the Everton U21 on 6 December 2015, in a 3–1 win over Liverpool U23. Dowell went on to score nine more goals for the reserve side, including a stunner against Southampton U21 and a hat-trick against Leicester City U23. On 30 April 2016, he made his Premier League debut as an 87th-minute substitute for Ross Barkley in a 2–1 home win over Bournemouth. Dowell then started the final game of the 2015–16 season against Norwich City at Goodison Park.

Two months after making his Premier League debut, Dowell signed a three-year contract with the club, keeping him until 2019. In the 2016–17 season, Dowell was a member of the Everton U23 squad to win the inaugural Premier League 2 title, in which he made the total of 22 appearances and scoring 5 times. His performance throughout April won him April's Premier League 2 Player of the Month.

Loan spells On 3 August 2017, Dowell signed on a season-long loan with Championship side Nottingham Forest. He made his Forest debut, coming on as a second-half substitute, in a 1–0 win over Millwall in the opening game of the season. He scored his first goal for Forest in a 4–3 win at Brentford on 12 August 2017. Since making his Nottingham Forest debut, he became a first team regular. Dowell scored again on 30 September 2017, in a 2–1 win over Sheffield United. Four weeks later, on 28 October 2017, he scored his first ever hat-trick, in a 3–2 win over Hull City. After the match, Dowell's performance was praised by local newspaper Nottingham Post and the club's supporters. However, Mark Warburton was sacked as Forest manager on 31 December 2017 and was replaced by Aitor Karanka. Dowell fell out of favour under the new manager and struggled to hold a place in the starting eleven. He played just 59 minutes during the last eight games of the season.

On 28 December 2018, it was announced that Dowell would join Sheffield United as of 2 January 2019 on loan for the rest of the season. On 28 April 2019 United were promoted to the Premier League. The following season, on 11 July 2019, Dowell joined Derby County on a season-long loan. On 3 January 2020, Everton cancelled Dowell's loan to Derby and sent him on loan to Wigan for the remainder of the season. On 14 July 2020, Dowell scored a hat-trick as Wigan defeated Hull City by a scoreline of 8–0; the result was Wigan's biggest victory in club history.

Norwich City On 30 July 2020, Dowell joined Championship club Norwich City on a three-year deal, for a reported fee of £1.5m. He scored on his debut for Norwich in a 3–1 EFL Cup defeat to Luton Town on 5 September 2020. On 1 May 2021, Dowell scored twice as Norwich City defeated Reading 4–1 to secure the Championship title and make an instant return to the Premier League. On 21 February 2023, he made his final appearance for Norwich City, starting in a win over Birmingham City, thereafter sustaining a knee injury that ended his season.

Rangers On 24 May 2023, it was announced that Dowell had signed a pre-contract agreement to join Scottish Premiership side Rangers. He made his debut for the club, starting the match, in a 1-0 defeat away to Kilmarnock on 5 August. He scored his first goal for Rangers during a league match at home to Livingston on 12 August. On 7 November, Dowell made an appearance for the Rangers B team in a Scottish Challenge Cup fourth round match at home to Airdrieonians. He started the match and scored the second goal for Rangers in a 4-2 defeat.

Birmingham City (loan) On 27 January 2025, Dowell returned to England and signed for EFL League One club Birmingham City on loan for the rest of the season.

Hull City On 23 January 2026, Dowell left Rangers, signing permanently for Hull City on an 18-month deal. He made his debut the following day when he came off the bench as an 88th-minute substitute for Kyle Joseph in the 2–1 home win against Swansea City. He scored his first goal for Hull City on 7 February, in the 2–3 home loss to Bristol City.

International career After representing England at lower youth levels, Dowell was selected for the England under-20 team for the first time, making his debut in a 1–1 draw against Brazil alongside Everton teammate Dominic Calvert-Lewin. In May 2017, Dowell was selected for the England U20 in the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup. After setting up two goals in a 3–0 win over Argentina on Matchday 1 of the group stage, he scored the only goal against hosts South Korea, ensuring a place in the second round for England. He also started in the final, in which England beat Venezuela 1–0 for England's first triumph in a global tournament since their World Cup victory in 1966.

Following the end of the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Dowell was called up to the England U21 squad, for whom he made his debut in a 1–1 draw with Netherlands U21 on 1 September 2017.

On 27 May 2019, Dowell was included in England's 23-man squad for the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

Personal life Born in Ormskirk, England, Dowell grew up supporting Everton, the team he would eventually play for, and idolised former Everton midfielder Mikel Arteta. While at the academy, he was a ball-boy when he was 14. At 20, he moved out of his parents' house for an apartment.

Career statistics

Honours Sheffield United EFL Championship second-place promotion: 2018–19

Norwich City EFL Championship: 2020–21

Rangers Scottish League Cup: 2023–24

Birmingham City EFL League One: 2024–25 EFL Trophy runner-up: 2024–25

Hull City EFL Championship play-offs: 2026

England U20 FIFA U-20 World Cup: 2017