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According to reports in the Daily Mail, Sheffield United are looking to make Kieran Dowell’s move to Bramall Lane a permanent one after his initial loan spell.

The Everton man has made just 16 appearances for the Blades, starting only eight of those, and with the Yorkshire club being promoted to the Premier League a move for the midfielder comes as a quite a surprise.

Championship player

The 21-year-old is by no means a bad player, but he has just 72 minutes of Premier League football under his belt up to this point.

He netted nine goals in the Championship last season during a spell with Nottingham Forest, but he has failed to stand out as one of the best in the division over the past two years.

Dowell is undoubtedly a good option to have in the second tier, but bringing him in as one of your first signings as a Premier League club shows a lack of ambition.

Need to improve

If there’s one area of Chris Wilder’s side that needs improving it is the attacking midfield role.

Despite being at Bramall Lane since January, Dowell hasn’t been a consistent starter, with Mark Duffy usually keeping him out of the starting XI.

With the youngster unable to stand out in the Championship, you have to wonder why Wilder wants him back at the Lane after their promotion to the top flight.

Duffy himself needs replacing as he hasn’t shown anything that suggests he is ready to make the step up to the Premier League, and the spot that he occupies is one of the most important roles in Wilder’s system.

If the Blades are to bring in a new number 10, why on earth would they want to sign the man who has proven he isn’t good enough to be the first choice ahead of what they’ve already got?

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He is only 21 years of age and could still improve as a player, but upon promotion to the Premier League, the Yorkshire club’s main priority has to be short-term success so that they can fight off relegation.