da apostaganha： Glasgow Rangers midfielder Kieran Dowell made his first appearance for the first-team since August in the 5-0 win over Annan Athletic last time out in the SFA Cup at Ibrox.

da poker： The left-footed star had not played a single minute of action for the senior side since Russell Martin’s first few weeks in the dugout, and returned to play with a goal against the fourth-tier outfit.

Dowell found the back of the net with an excellent header from Joe Rothwell’s ball into the box to score his first goal of the 2025/26 campaign for the Light Blues.

However, that outing against the lower league side may not be enough to convince Danny Rohl to keep him around as part of the squad heading into the second half of the season.

Why Rangers still need to sell Kieran Dowell

A bright performance and a goal against a League Two team should not change the club’s stance on what they want to do with the left-footed flop before the end of the January transfer window.

Prior to the 5-0 win over Annan Athletic, the Daily Record had reported that Dowell is one of a number of players who have been placed on the transfer list by the Light Blues, whilst they also noted that Championship team Hull City had been linked with a move for him.

As well as the Tigers, Leicester City, who were in the Premier League last season, have been linked with an interest in signing the former Norwich City star.

Dowell’s lack of impact at Rangers

Stat

Rangers

Birmingham

Games

39

23

Goals

3

5

Assists

3

5

Minutes played

1,436

1,818

Stats via Transfermarkt

Dowell, as shown in the table above, played almost 400 more minutes on loan at Birmingham in the second half of last season than he has played in his entire career at Ibrox since a move from Norwich in 2023.

The 28-year-old dud has failed to prove himself to be a reliable player, hence his lack of game time, and the Gers must now look to make a signing in the January transfer window to allow them to finally sell Dowell.

The star Rangers could sign to finally sell Dowell

The English midfielder was needed against Annan Athletic because of the lack of midfield alternatives available to Rohl to rotate the squad, with Connor Barron set to miss months through injury.

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Signing another midfield option would provide the German head coach with enough options in his squad to sanction the departure of Dowell, as there would be no need to keep him around as depth.

The Daily Record reports that Sunderland central midfielder Dan Neil, whose contract with the Premier League side is up at the end of the season, is one of the targets on Rangers’ list.

Signing the English midfield maestro on a cut-price deal, due to his expiring contract situation, could open the door for Dowell to be sold to Hull or Leicester, as the Black Cats star would come in to compete for one of the three midfield spots.

Neil is a versatile midfielder who has played 20 club games as an attacking midfielder, 90 times as a central midfielder, and 120 times as a defensive midfielder in his career, per Transfermarkt, which shows that he can provide cover in the double pivot or in the ten role, where Dowell plays.

The 24-year-old star scored six goals and provided eight assists in the 2023/24 and 2024/25 campaigns combined, per Sofascore, whilst Dowell has only produced three goals and three assists in his Rangers career.

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This suggests that Neil could offer even more of a threat at the top end of the pitch than the left-footed flop, even though he is more of a deep-lying midfielder than a natural playmaker.

25/26 Championship

Neil

Rank vs CMs

Tackles won

81

Top 14%

Duels won

208

Top 9%

Aerial duels won

35

Top 20%

Interceptions

46

Top 8%

Ball recoveries

252

Top 3%

Possession won in the final third

15

Top 14%

Stats via FotMob

Journalist and Sunderland supporter Josh Bunting described him as the “perfect player for Danny Rohl” because he has the “bite” needed for Scottish football, and the statistics in the table above back that up.

He was one of the top-performing central midfielders out of possession in the Championship as Sunderland won promotion to the Premier League, which suggests that Neil could be well-suited to the physicality of the Scottish Premiership.

Neil has struggled for game time, playing three times, in the Premier League this season, but that is because the Black Cats signed former Arsenal star Granit Xhaka in his position, so that he should not be judged too harshly on his lack of minutes this term.

His form in the Championship for Sunderland suggests that he could be an excellent addition to the squad as a versatile midfield option who can offer quality in and out of possession, thus allowing the club to finally cash in on Dowell.

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