Chris Davies pitch plays out for Kieran Dowell as Rangers loanee opens up on transfer choice
Kieran Dowell says he is ‘buzzing’ and enjoying his football again after making a dream start to his Birmingham City loan spell.
The 27-year-old playmaker netted his first Blues goal against Cambridge United on Tuesday and is banishing the pain of 18 months on the fringes at parent club Rangers.
Dowell swept home the third goal of Blues’ 4-0 win over the League One strugglers in a Man of the Match performance.
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“I’m buzzing with the start,” Dowell told BirminghamLive. “It was nice to go into the starting line-up so quickly, I think that’s helped me to settle in and build up relationships with the players who I’m around on the pitch.”
Manager Chris Davies has used Dowell primarily off the right-wing, allowing him to roam inside when Blues have the ball to create space for the marauding Ethan Laird on the overlap, but he has also been needed in the number 10 position and in central midfield.
“It’s a very fluid formation with the swing of Ethan going up on the right, so I guess the right side of the pitch probably suits me best as a left footer,” Dowell commented. “I’ve played a few positions so far and he spoke to me about that before I came to the club, so I knew that was to be expected. He’s a great manager and one of the reasons why I came to the club.”
Davies could hardly believe Dowell was willing to play in League One, such is his talent and pedigree in the Championship, but the sales pitch wasn’t that difficult. Playing in a team that regularly enjoys more than 60 percent possession is right up Dowell’s street.
Explaining his reasons for swapping Rangers for Blues, Dowell said: “To be honest, it was probably just more of a chance to start enjoying my footy again. I’ve come to a club that’s dominating the ball and playing positive football and that’s what it’s going like so far.
“The manager alluded to how dominant the team is before I came and he was right. In the games I’ve played it’s been good to be a part of, with the possession we have.”
In an interview with Blues News, the club's match-day programme, Dowell added: "The reality of my situation was that I have not played as much as I wanted to in the last 18 months, so I am grateful to the club for giving me that platform to play again.
"It was probably the only club in League One I wanted to go to, because when I spoke with Craig Gardner and the manager I could see that this was not a League One team, not a League One club, so I was very excited to join and be a part of the journey over the next few months."
