Dowell previously played for Everton, where he had loan spells with Nottingham Forest, Sheffield United, Derby County and Wigan Athletic.

[6] Dowell made his debut for the club on 11 December 2014, replacing the injured Christian Atsu 11 minutes into a UEFA Europa League group match against FC Krasnodar at Goodison Park.

[14] In the 2016–17 season, Dowell was a member of the Everton U23 squad to win the inaugural Premier League 2 title, in which he made the total of 22 appearances and scoring 5 times.

[27][28] On 30 July 2020, Dowell joined Championship club Norwich City on a three-year deal,[29] for a reported fee of £1.5m.

[31] On 1 May 2021, Dowell scored twice as Norwich City defeated Reading 4–1 to secure the Championship title and make an instant return to the Premier League.

[32] Dowell scored his first Premier League goal for Norwich City on 16 April 2022 in a 3-2 loss to Manchester United where he also registered an assist to teammate Teemu Pukki.

[37] On 7 November 2023, Dowell made an appearance for the Rangers B team in a Scottish Challenge Cup fourth round match at home to Airdrieonians.

[38] Dowell signed for EFL League One club Birmingham City on 27 January 2025 on loan for the rest of the season.

[43] Following the end of the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Dowell was called up to the England U21 squad, for whom he made his debut in a 1–1 draw with Netherlands U21 on 1 September 2017.

[45] Born in Ormskirk, England, Dowell grew up supporting Everton, the team he would eventually play for, and idolised Mikel Arteta.