EFL Championship outfit Wigan Athletic are keen on taking promising Everton midfielder Kieran Dowell on loan in the January transfer window, according to reputed journalist Alan Nixon. (h/t Devon Live)
Having earned promotion back to the English second tier, the Latics find themselves 16th after 17 matches, having accrued 20 points. Paul Cook’s side must push up in the standings and are looking at possible recruits in January, with Dowell emerging as a potential target. (h/t Devon Live)
The 21-year-old Dowell has been with Everton for over a decade now, having joined up with the Toffees’ academy back in 2005 at the age of 8 years. The midfielder made his first-team debut way back in December 2014 in a UEFA Europa League against Russian outfit FK Krasnodar, which the Merseysiders lost 1-0.
Since then, however, the Englishman has gone on to make just four more senior appearances, two of which have come in the ongoing campaign.
Dowell spent the 2017/18 campaign out on loan with Championship side Nottingham Forest and excelled during his time at City Ground, registering 10 goals and 5 assists in 43 appearances across all competitions. The Everton youngster scored the winning goal against Mexico in the 2018 Toulon Tournament earlier in the summer, firing the England Under-21s to their second triumph in a row in the competition.
A versatile operator, Dowell relishes playing in the No.10 role but can slot in a traditional No.8 position and has been used in the wide areas to good effect as well. The England U21 international possesses the technical abilities and the intelligence to develop and grow into a midfield mainstay at Goodison Park for years to come.
However, for that to come to fruition, the 21-year-old needs to be playing regular first-team football. Under Marco Silva, Dowell has made just two senior appearances this term in the Carabao Cup. Meanwhile, he has made the matchday squad for the Premier League on just three occasions.
Dowell is at a stage in his career where he needs plenty of minutes under his belt to be able to make the step up to the big leagues. And considering that he is not getting regular playing time at Everton, he would be best served going out on another loan spell until the end of the season.
At Wigan, he is likely to be competing with Nick Powell and Josh Windass for a starting berth in the attacking midfield role. However, the former’s future is surrounded by uncertainty as he is in the final year of his contract with the Latics and has attracted serious interest from RB Leipzig, Burnley and Celtic. (h/t TEAMtalk)
Windass, on the other hand, hasn’t made the best of starts to life at DW Stadium, having arrived from Rangers in the summer. Hence, Dowell has a good chance of getting constant first-team action with Paul Cook’s side. And as a result, it would be in Everton’s best interest to loan the 21-year-old out to Wigan instead of using him sparingly in cup competitions.
