The playmaker has enjoyed an impressive start to his spell at Birmingham City away from Rangers/

A pundit has urged League One title hopefuls Birmingham City to make a permanent move for a talented Rangers star this summer.

Birmingham City are flying high at the top of the League One table with 83 points from 36 games, leaving them nine points clear of Wrexham at the top of the table while also having two games in hand on the Welsh side. The Blues also have a major 12 point gap on Wycombe with one game in hand and need to pick up 16 points from 10 games to guarantee their place in the Championship next season.

The West Midlands outfit have ambitions of returning to the Premier League in the near future and have been urged to make a move for Rangers loanee Kieran Dowell, who has been pulling the strings with a series of impressive midfield displays at St Andrew’s in recent weeks.

Lee Hendrie tips Birmingham City to sign Rangers ace

One-time England international and current Sky Sports pundit Lee Hendrie believes Kieran Dowell would be the perfect permanent addition to help Birmingham City continue their trajectory towards reaching the promised land of the Premier League.

Hendrie says he has been really impressed by the calibre of performances Dowell has shown in League One this season and believes he is more than capable of making the step up to the Championship if promotion is achieved. He told Football League World: “They're coming out of League One into the Championship, they're going to need players like him, and I think that will be the key to their success.

"If they can keep a good squad of players who can adapt and play in the Championship, I think he's definitely one that you'd think that they'd want to maybe keep on a permanent basis in the summer."

Hendrie continued: "Squad depth in the Championship is so key because of the relentless amount of games and that has been proven in League One as well for them. I do feel that they should keep Dowell on a permanent. There's still more to come from him, so keeping Dowell is a must."

What does the future hold for Kieran Dowell?

Dowell has registered three goals and one assist in 14 appearances since joining City on loan in January. He had struggled for first team exposure at Rangers under Philippe Clement and had only started two Premiership games this season while being included in the starting lineup just once in the League Cup.

His Rangers career has not gone to plan and it remains to be seen if he is a part of the new manager's plans come the summer after an injury-hit spell at Ibrox. Dowell is proven at Championship level from spells at Norwich City, Nottingham Forest, Sheffield United, Wigan and Derby County and has played over 100 games at that level.