Everton confirm youngster loan deal

The January transfer window is just days away and Everton have already confirmed a deal - youngster Kieran Dowell is heading to Sheffield Utd on loan for the rest of the season.

The move is not unexpected, with Toffees director of football Marcel Brands confirming that Dowell was one of the players he was hoping to loan out in order to gain some regular first-team experience.

Dowell made his debut as a 17-year-old against Krasnodar in the Europa League in 2014, before making two Premier League appearances at the end of the following season.

A highly-rated youngster in the academy, Dowell’s wicked left foot saw comparisons with Toffees legend Kevin Sheedy.

However, he has failed to really kick-on since those early appearances and has struggled to work his way into Marco Silva’s first-team squad this season.

The Ormskirk-born forward has made just two appearances in the Carabao Cup, failing to make an impression in either game.

But at 21 Dowell needs to be playing regular senior football, meaning this is a move that makes sense all round.

Dowell is familiar with the Championship having spent last season there on loan at Nottingham Forest, where he scored nine goals in 38 league appearances.

Forest fans were hugely impressed with the impact Dowell made at the City Ground, though his form did fade a touch towards the end of the season.

He moves to a side battling for promotion at the top of the table, with the Blades currently in fourth place, 10 points behind leaders Leeds United.

Dowell is unlikely to be the first player to leave the club on loan this month, with Brands also revealing Mason Holgate may also leave temporarily in order to get some first-team experience.

It is set to be a quiet month on the incoming front however, with January a notoriously tough month to do deals.

Brands has already said he will employ a one in, one out policy to his squad and will not overpay for any transfer targets as he looks to bring some much-needed stability to the squad following the chaos of the Koeman/Walsh/Allardyce era.