Derby County failed to see the best of Everton loanee after Nottingham Forest exploits | OneFootball

The midfielder joined the Rams on loan in the summer of 2019, but he struggled just two seasons after playing for Forest.

Derby County entered the 2019/20 campaign as an unknown entity following Frank Lampard's departure to Chelsea and Phillip Cocu's arrival as the new manager of the club.

The Dutch legend struggled in his previous job in Türkiye with Fenerbahçe, but he had an incredible amount of success in his home nation at PSV, winning the Eredivisie three times.

The additions of Krystian Bielik, Matt Clarke, Jamie Paterson and Graeme Shinnie were good ones, while Wayne Rooney signed a deal to join the Rams in January 2020 in one of the biggest news stories in Championship history.

However, not every signing was a hit, and the addition of an Everton midfielder on loan failed to impress supporters from the moment he arrived as a Derby player.

Kieran Dowell had a lot of immediate pressure due to Nottingham Forest links

Kieran Dowell was the Rams' second signing of the season, and flew straight out to Florida to join the team for their pre-season camp.

The attacking midfielder spent time out on loan at bitter rivals Nottingham Forest, and there was pressure on him to put those past allegiances behind him and put in performances that supporters could be proud of in black-and-white.

However, things did not get off to the best of starts as he gave away a penalty on his debut against Huddersfield Town. Tom Lawrence had handed Derby a 2-0 lead at the John Smith's Stadium, but Karlan Grant was able to pull one back from the spot to create a nervy ending for the East Midlands outfit.

Dowell started the next five games for his new side, and registered what proved to be his only assist in a 2-2 draw away at Stoke City as the Rams maintained their unbeaten start through the first three matches.

However, his influence was struggling to come through, and Derby were often left wanting more from a player that was effectively replacing Mason Mount in the attacking midfield role after he had returned to Chelsea in the summer following a year on loan at Pride Park.

The then 22-year-old had impressed while at Nottingham Forest in the 2017/18 campaign, but the nine goals and four assists that he had picked up for the Reds in the Championship felt like a long time ago and he was not able to replicate that form.

Kieran Dowell's loan ended early following half a season of disappointment

Dowell's next appearance did not come until the end of October, but at this point it was clear where his future was going to lie.

Derby's supporters had not been impressed by his performances, and it was clear that Cocu's patience was running thin, with the team finding it difficult to pick up any level of consistency over the course of the first half of the season.

Dowell played just three more times in black-and-white before his loan was brought to a premature end.

He returned to Everton after less than six months as a Ram, tasting victory on the pitch just once. His lack of goal contributions was a huge reason behind the termination of the deal, while the Toffees would have been hoping for more game time for their young talent.

Rooney joined Derby just a couple of days before Dowell returned to Goodison Park, and with it came an up-turn in form for the team as they finished the season in 10th.