Rangers have been hit by a crushing blow by leading January target Kieran Dowell, according to Football Insider.
The reliable site claim the Everton attacking midfielder has decided to “snub” a loan move to the Glasgow giants and instead join one of his suitors in the English Championship.
This comes after widespread reports, including by the Scottish Sun, that Rangers were set to make a move to sign Dowell, while the reliable Four Lads Had a Dream blog. claimed this week that discussions over a deal had already begun.
OPINION
There was genuine hope among the Ibrox faithful that a deal could be done for Dowell next month, especially after Steven Gerrard went public to express his admiration for the 21-year-old. However, given Football Insider’s track record when it comes to transfers, it now appears the England Under-21 international will be remaining south of the border for the rest of the campaign. Dowell proved himself as a goalscoring midfielder at Nottingham Forest last season, scoring 10 goals across all competitions, and would have been an ideal replacement for recent departee Ovie Ejaria. Rangers will now have to look elsewhere to fill the goal creating and goal scoring void behind Alfredo Morelos, who is being weighed down by the burden to bang them in. What is for certain, if Rangers don’t recruit a playmaker who can add a real cutting edge in the final third, they aren’t going to beat Celtic to the title.