After Phillip Cocu was appointed as the club’s new manager and Frank Lampard left for Chelsea, Derby County started the 2019–20 season as an unknown entity.
The Dutch icon enjoyed a great deal of success with PSV, winning the Eredivisie three times, but he suffered in his previous position in Turkey with Fenerbahçe.
While Wayne Rooney’s signing to the Rams in January 2020 was one of the biggest news stories in Championship history, the acquisitions of Krystian Bielik, Matt Clarke, Jamie Paterson, and Graeme Shinnie were all positive.
But not every acquisition was successful, as the addition of a midfielder on loan from Everton did not win over fans right away until he joined as a Derby player.
Because of his connections to Nottingham Forest, Kieran Dowell was under a lot of early pressure.
As the Rams’ second acquisition of the season, Kieran Dowell immediately headed to Florida to attend the team’s preseason camp.
The attacking midfielder was under pressure to go past his previous allegiances and provide performances that the black-and-white crowd could be proud of after spending time on loan at fierce rivals Nottingham Forest.
He threw up a penalty on his debut against Huddersfield Town, though, so things did not start off well. At John Smith’s Stadium, Derby had taken a 2-0 lead thanks to Tom Lawrence, but Karlan Grant’s goal from the penalty spot gave the East Midlands team a nervous finish.
As the Rams continued their undefeated start to the first three games, Dowell started the next five games for his new team and provided what turned out to be his sole assist in a 2-2 draw away at Stoke City.
But his impact was lacking, and Derby frequently felt that they could have gotten more from a guy who was essentially taking Mason Mount’s place in the attacking midfield after he had returned to Chelsea in the summer after spending a season on loan at Pride Park.
The 22-year-old had made an impression during the 2017–18 season while playing for Nottingham Forest, but his nine goals and four assists from the Championship campaign seemed like a lifetime ago, and he was unable to duplicate that performance.
