Kieran O'Neill Dowell (born 10 October 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL Championship club Norwich City.
![]() Dowell playing for Norwich City in 2021 | |||
Personal information | |||
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Full name | Kieran O'Neill Dowell[1] | ||
Date of birth | (1997-10-10) 10 October 1997 (age 24)[2] | ||
Place of birth | Ormskirk, England | ||
Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[3] | ||
Position(s) | Attacking midfielder | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | Norwich City | ||
Number | 10 | ||
Youth career | |||
2005–2014 | Everton | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2014–2020 | Everton | 2 | (0) |
2017–2018 | → Nottingham Forest (loan) | 38 | (9) |
2019 | → Sheffield United (loan) | 16 | (2) |
2019–2020 | → Derby County (loan) | 10 | (0) |
2020 | → Wigan Athletic (loan) | 12 | (5) |
2020– | Norwich City | 49 | (7) |
National team | |||
2012 | England U16 | 1 | (0) |
2013–2014 | England U17 | 7 | (0) |
2014–2015 | England U18 | 3 | (0) |
2016–2017 | England U20 | 16 | (1) |
2017–2019 | England U21 | 17 | (2) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:26, 4 September 2022 (UTC) |
Dowell previously played for Everton, where he had loan spells with other clubs.
Born in Ormskirk, Lancashire, Dowell joined Everton's academy at the age of 7.[4] After progressing through the ranks and the reserve side, he signed a scholarship with the club in June 2014.[5] He then scored in a friendly for the Everton U21 side, in a 1–0 win over Rhyl on 26 July 2014.[6]
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.[7] With his only first team appearances of the season, he signed his first professional contract with the club.[8]
After being given a number 51 shirt in the 2015–16 season, Dowell, however, suffered ankle injury that saw him sidelined for two months.[9] He scored on his return for the Everton U21 on 6 December 2015, in a 3–1 win over Liverpool U23.[10] 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.[11] 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.[12] Dowell then started the final game of the 2015–16 season against Norwich City at Goodison Park.[13]
Two months after making his Premier League debut, Dowell signed a three-year contract with the club, keeping him until 2019.[14] 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.[8] His performance throughout April won him April's Premier League 2 Player of the Month.[15]
On 3 August 2017, Dowell signed on a season-long loan with Championship side Nottingham Forest.[16]
Dowell made his Nottingham Forest debut, coming on as a second-half substitute, in a 1–0 win over Millwall in the opening game of the season.[17] He scored his first goal for Forest in a 4–3 win at Brentford on 12 August 2017.[18] Since making his Nottingham Forest debut, he became a first team regular.[19] Dowell scored again on 30 September 2017, in a 2–1 win over Sheffield United.[20] Four weeks later, on 28 October 2017, he scored his first ever hat-trick, in a 3–2 win over Hull City.[21] After the match, Dowell's performance was praised by local newspaper Nottingham Post and the club's supporters.[22] 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.[23]
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.[24]
On 11 July 2019, Dowell joined Derby County on a season-long loan.[25]
On 3 January 2020, Everton cancelled Dowell's loan to Derby and sent him on loan to Wigan for the remainder of the season.[26] 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.[27][28]
On 30 July 2020, Dowell joined Championship club Norwich City on a three-year deal.[29] He scored on his debut for Norwich in a 3–1 EFL Cup defeat to Luton Town on 5 September 2020.[30]
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.[31]
Dowell scored his first Premier League goal for Norwich City on 16 April 2022 in a 3-2 loss to Manchester United where he also registered an assist to teammate Teemu Pukki.
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.[32] In May 2017, Dowell was selected for the England U20 in the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup.[33] 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.[34] 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.[35]
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.[36]
On 27 May 2019, Dowell was included in England's 23-man squad for the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.[37]
Dowell also qualifies for the Republic of Ireland, under FIFA's grandparent rule.[38]
Born in Ormskirk, England, Dowell grew up supporting Everton, the team he would eventually play for, and idolised Mikel Arteta.[39] While at the academy, he was a ball-boy when he was 14.[40] At 20, he moved out of his parents' house for an apartment.[41]
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Everton | 2014–15[43] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
2015–16[44] | Premier League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
2016–17[45] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
2017–18[46] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
2018–19[47] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
Total | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | |||
Nottingham Forest (loan) | 2017–18[46] | Championship | 38 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 43 | 10 | ||
Sheffield United (loan) | 2018–19[47] | Championship | 16 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 2 | ||
Derby County (loan) | 2019–20[48] | Championship | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | ||
Wigan Athletic (loan) | 2019–20[48] | Championship | 12 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 5 | ||
Norwich City | 2020–21[49] | Championship | 24 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 26 | 6 | ||
2021–22[50] | Premier League | 19 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 1 | |||
Total | 43 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 50 | 7 | |||
Career total | 121 | 22 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 138 | 24 |
Norwich City
England U20
England U21
Norwich City F.C. – current squad | |
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