EFL Championship club welcome transfer capture of ex Birmingham City ace from Rangers with pigeon reference
The former Birmingham City star has joined Hull City on a permanent basis from Rangers.
An English Championship manager has hailed the arrival of a star from Rangers - with reference to a pigeon.
Hull City have signed Kieran Dowell on a permanent basis from Ibrox, bringing him back to the EFL a year on from his loan move to Birmingham City, where he won League One. He’s now back at Championship level where he has shone for the likes of Norwich City and the 28-year-old attack-minded midfielder debuted off the bench towards the end of Saturday's 2-1 win over Swansea City.
It made sure Hull sat inside the top six and promotion play-off spots with boss Sergej Jakirovic now delighted with the signing from Rangers. As the club dashed to get him signed up for him to debut last weekend at a team that also includes Rangers favourite John Lundstram, the Tigers head coach joked of what it took to get it done.
Why have Hull City signed Kieran Dowell?
Jakirovic joked to Hull Live of the Dowell’s late night announcement on Friday prior to his debut: "Glasgow is so far away from Hull, so you know a pigeon is coming with the papers. It's unbelievable. You are on the team sheet, and you don't know if you will play or not because of the registration.
“I'm very pleased because I think he's a very good player. Injury may have stopped him for a while (at Rangers), but with his experience, with his profile, no adaptation, which is very important in the transfer window of January, I think he can improve this team."
Former Birmingham City and Norwich City man Dowell said of his move to Hull from Rangers: “I’m glad to be here. I’d known about it for a little while and was on the phone to ‘Lunny’ straight away to get his thoughts and he couldn’t speak highly enough of the place.
Why Kieran Dowell has signed for Hull City from Rangers?
“The club is doing great in the league, and I know Jared (Dublin) from Sheffield United. I’ve always had a good relationship with him over the years, so I had a good feeling about it.
“I’m 28 now so I’ve had a lot of years in the game and a fair bit of success, so hopefully I can help the lads. There’s a really good atmosphere around the place, which I expected from what I’d heard. I can play wide off the right, as a sole number 10 and I’ve played deeper midfield, but attacking midfield is where the gaffer sees me playing.
“All anyone said to me when they heard of the interest was that I’ve scored a lot of goals against Hull City. One of the hat-tricks was at the MKM Stadium, so I’ve got good memories of playing here and hopefully I can make many more.”