catcherintherye
Player Valuation: £80m
I was thinking about Dowell the other day. He hasn't played much, but you really have to see the wider context. Sheffield United were in the hunt for the PL, which is worth £100 million + to a team which is always going to take priority. It can and would transform Sheffield United even if they came up for one season and went down. There was a lot of talk about how the championship will become (in time) a two tier league between those who had had PL money and those who hadn't, with the former consistently competing for the PL.
You then factor in Woodburn went back having completely flopped (more so than Dowell) and they needed another squad player. Powell fits the mould quite well. Maybe they hoped an opening would come, or injuries etc, but the team got into a rhythm without him and he filled in. He had some good games and some underwhelming ones. However the idea that a championship team is going to rip up their side to give a PL loanee a central role is a bit fanciful for me.
Anyway my wider point is I wouldn't be surprised if they look tomato the Dowell deal permanent. Everything you here form the manager is they seem happy with him. If they were too, for Dowell it would be a fantastic opportunity. Likely a 4 year deal, a contract on what, 20k possibly 30k per week with bonuses. The lad is made for life. If he impresses and gets another deal, his kids are made for life (as and when he has them).
He will go down as a failure for Everton but we will make a tidy profit on him (probably enough to keep the entire academy running for 2/3/4 years) plus a sell on fee. I think quite quickly for players the dream of playing for Everton is soon gone when the reality of a career earning the sorts of rewards described above is one end of the spectrum and the other is playing none league football for a couple of hundred quid a week and having to find another career.
That's what I find interesting about the whole thing. I looked at some of his contemporaries who looked similarly as promising as Dowell. Michael Donuhue is struggling to get a game for FC United. Della Brewster is at Cnference north level. Once you hit the early 20's and the PL youth contracts run out it can be a very sharp fall from grace, even for very promising players.
Who knows, maybe Dowell comes back and surprises us all. I'd be delighted if so. I felt this summer was probably last chance saloon for him and he didn't really make the impression needed on Silva. It's a shame, but a move to Sheffield United is a pretty good outcome all things considered when it will be branded a failure.
