Arsenal star Max Dowman ready to follow in footsteps of Wayne Rooney and Jude Bellingham
It was an iconic piece of commentary to celebrate a superstar in the making.
'Remember the name: Wayne Rooney,' screamed TV legend Clive Tyldesley after the former Everton whizz kid scored a wonder goal on October 19, 2002, five days before his 17th birthday.
We may soon have a new name on our lips. Arsenal teenager Max Dowman does not turn 16 until December 31 and is set to write his own name into the record books in this Premier League season.
The Essex lad has been training with the first team for nearly two years, Declan Rice described him as 'the best 15-year-old in the country' and an Arsenal academy coach, Gustavo Oliveira, likened him to Brazil legend Kaka.
Dowman starred in the club's pre-season tour of Asia, is still at school and has to get special permission to get time off to join training. He got time off from lessons to join the senior stars on the mid-season break in Dubai last February.
Dowman played for England's under-17s in the Euros this summer and became the competition's youngest ever scorer. Despite playing THREE YEARS above his age group, he scored 19 goals and provided five assists in 23 games for the under-18s last season.
Now Dowman is eligible, ready and will be part of the first team squad. He was in the travelling party for the season-opener at Manchester United on Sunday to give him experience, even though he was not named as one of the substitutes.
There will be no holding him back. He is an attacking midfielder who scores goals, dribbles and runs with the ball as if he is gliding across the pitch. Even if he does not play every week, you can bet there will be a special moment or goal this season.
If Rooney was the Premier League's original generational talent and Jude Bellingham was a teen global superstar, then Dowman has got the same mind-blowing potential.
Arsenal legend Lee Dixon even admitted he would normally be reluctant to talk up a teenager - but says Dowman is an 'exceptional talent' even amid the club's other teen talents like Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly.
Dixon told betting firm 10bet: 'Normally at this point when we talk about a kid like that, I kind of back off a little bit and I say just let him develop. Don't put any pressure on him. Often for young kids, you need to take stuff away from them rather than add more, but this kid is super special.
'That's not to say Nwaneri or Myles Lewis-Skelly aren't, but this kid has got something that you can't put your finger on. He blows you away when he does his stuff. I'm reluctant to build him up because he doesn't need building up.
'You just watch his show reel, watch him when he comes on. His ability on the ball, wow. We've been waiting for him for a long time, and Mikel said that every club in the world knows him.
'We've got an absolute gem on our hands and if you're good enough, you're old enough. He's already shown what he can do. Had he struggled a bit in pre-season, you'd back off, thinking it's a bit early. But he's shown that he is ready. He is an exceptional talent.'
Arsenal now find themselves with almost an embarrassment of riches. From a position of struggling to get youngsters through, they now have arguably the best in the country. Teenagers Marli Salmon and Andre Harriman-Annous could be next.
Lewis-Skelly became England's youngest player to score on their debut - aged 18 years and 176 days - last March. Nwaneri is the youngest player in Premier League history after making his debut aged 15 years and 181 days in 2022.
Nwaneri is having to be patient in his progress. Borussia Dortmund pushed hard to sign him and were the most likely club - well ahead of Chelsea and others - to tempt him away. Instead, Nwaneri committed himself to a mega contract to stay at Arsenal.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta will have to find a way to give him game time. But in Dowman's case, it may be more of a challenge just to hold him back.
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
a minute ago
- The Independent
Arsenal set to hijack Tottenham's move for Crystal Palace forward Eberechi Eze
Arsenal are set to hijack north London rivals Tottenham's pursuit of Eberechi Eze as they await news on Kai Havertz' knee injury. As late as Tuesday Spurs appeared to be in the driving seat for the forward, with talks progressing over a deal for the 27-year-old. However, the PA news agency understands the Gunners are now exploring a move, with reports suggesting the England international prefers a switch to Mikel Arteta's side. Their interest has accelerated after Havertz was forced off in Sunday's victory over Manchester United, although sources insist it is still too early to give a prognosis on the Germany international. Eze, whose £68million release clause expired on Friday, played 84 minutes of the weekend draw at Chelsea and trained on Wednesday ahead of Palace's Conference League play-off at home to Fredrikstad, with head coach Oliver Glasner insisting he and captain Marc Guehi, a target for Liverpool, would start the European tie. 'Before Chelsea I think many of you were surprised that Marc and Ebs started and played almost the whole game,' he said. 'Most of you will be surprised that they will start again tomorrow because of all the rumours. But again, they are committed.' Eze was released by Arsenal as a 13-year-old.
Telegraph
2 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Arsenal hijack Tottenham's deal for Eberechi Eze
Arsenal have made a dramatic move to hijack Tottenham Hotspur's bid to sign Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze after Kai Havertz suffered a knee injury that has left the club sweating on his fitness. Havertz is still waiting on the full prognosis of his injury that is a blow to head coach Mikel Arteta, but Arsenal have not wasted any time in reviving their interest and attempting to steal Eze from under the noses of Spurs. Tottenham had been close to sealing a deal to sign Eze for around £55m plus add-ons with the player ready to join them, but sources claim he will favour a move to Arsenal if both clubs can agree a fee with Palace. Arsenal are believed to be ready to offer a total package worth over £60m for Eze with sporting director Andrea Berta leading the pursuit of the player and an agreement is expected to be reached. Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner on Wednesday claimed that Eze will play for his team in their Europa Conference League play-off against Fredrikstad on Thursday night. It is believed that Spurs are ready to move on to other targets if Eze moves to Arsenal in what would be a bitter blow to head coach Thomas Frank and chairman Daniel Levy. Tottenham have enjoyed some success this summer with the signings of Mohammed Kudus and Joao Palhinha, and agreeing a new contract with captain Cristian Romero. But the club missed out on Morgan Gibbs-White and losing Eze to Arsenal will undoubtedly anger supporters. Sources had expected Arsenal to initially look at the loan market or for cheap options to find cover for Havertz, but the club instead swiftly revisited their interest in Eze as Tottenham failed to close a deal for the player. Tottenham had even discussed the possibility of allowing Richarlison to move in the opposite direction to Eze, to Crystal Palace, to free up funds and space to then rival Newcastle United's bid for Yoane Wissa. It remains to be seen whether or not Arsenal will try to make any sales if they sign Eze after Leandro Trossard, who had been tipped to move away, signed a new contract on improved terms. Arteta cannot afford another attacking crisis, having been forced to play midfielder Mikel Merino as a makeshift striker last season. The club have signed striker Victor Gyokeres and winger Noni Madueke this summer, but Gabriel Jesus has not played since January and Havertz's injury could leave Arteta short of forward options.
The Guardian
5 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Downing tools: the Premier League's most infamous attempted forced exits
Following Alexander Isak's decision to post an incendiary message on Instagram as part of his increasingly bitter attempt to force an exit from Newcastle, we look at how some others Premier League players have tried to inflict bitter breakups on their employers. Some were successful, some were not. Van Hooijdonk led Nottingham Forest to Premier League promotion in 1997-98 by scoring 29 goals in 42 league games. Yet where there should have subsequently been optimism, things soured as the Netherlands striker became increasingly upset with the club's inability to strengthen in the market, while also selling key players in Kevin Campbell and Colin Cooper. He returned to the Netherlands in August after a transfer request was turned down, going on strike to display his irritation. Van Hooijdonk stayed fit by training with his former club NAC Breda, eventually returning to the City Ground in November to end the standoff. Forest finished bottom, were relegated and did not return to the Premier League for 23 years. Chelsea released a statement claiming Gallas had threatened to score own goals if was selected for the 2006-07 season opener against Manchester City and refused to play in an FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool as part of his attempts to leave the club, which he ultimately did on deadline day in September 2006, sealing a move to Arsenal. The Frenchman denied Chelsea's accusations, saying: 'If people want to hide behind false accusations in order to give a reason for why I left so they can calm down the club's supporters then they can.' Whatever the case, the defender got his way, with his switch to the Emirates allowing Ashley Cole to travel in the opposite direction. Berbatov wanted to live his 'dream' of moving to Manchester United, but there was a problem: Tottenham did not want to sell him. Juande Ramos, the Spurs manager, called in Berbatov for a meeting to discuss the Bulgarian's future and it resulted with him being left out of the squad for a 2-1 defeat by Sunderland in August 2008. Ramos said the striker was not 'focused enough' and would not 'be good for the dressing room and the team effort'. Berbatov eventually got his way and a £31m deal was agreed with United, allowing him to make his much-desired move to Old Trafford on deadline day. The problems for Manchester City began when Tevez did not fancy warming up in a Champions League game at Bayern Munich in September 2011, subsequently feeling the full wrath of the manager, Roberto Mancini, who had no hesitation in declaring the Argentinian 'finished' at the club. The two had never been close but the spat ended the relationship for good, with fuel thrown on to the bonfire by Tevez's agent. 'What is he apologising for?' Kia Joorabchian asked. 'It's almost like a false: 'I'm sorry.' He doesn't believe, deep down, that he did anything wrong.' Tevez's elected sabbatical in Argentina cost him £9.3m. In February he came back and apologised after a move to one of Milan, Inter and Paris Saint-Germain failed to materialise. Sometimes it is best to take the route-one approach, unless, that is, there are TV cameras around and your desired transfer does not go through. Few will forget the sight of Odemwingie parked outside Loftus Road as he tried to seal a move from West Brom to QPR on deadline day in 2013. The Nigerian assumed a deal had been agreed but, unfortunately for him, that was not the case, leaving him with little else to do but chat with Sky Sports News via the window of his car before eventually driving back to the Midlands. 'It was hard because I was angry and it was a really tough period to go through,' Odemwingie said as he recounted the incident to the Guardian in 2024. 'It was very embarrassing in many ways.' Berahino was hot property after scoring an impressive 20 goals for West Brom in the 2014-15 season. Mauricio Pochettino was desperate to bring the striker to Tottenham and two offers were made, both subsequently turned down by West Brom's chairman Jeremy Peace. Berahino reacted by tweeting he would never play for Peace again before going on strike. He was clearly desperate to join Spurs, but his furious attempts at doing so did not work. West Brom, and Peace in particular, dug in, and the player remained where he was, eventually moving to Stoke in 2017. The 32-year-old is currently unattached after a spell in Slovenia with Tabor Sezana. Any interest, Thomas Frank? Payet is proof that downing tools can speed up a player's exit. The Frenchman wanted to leave West Ham in January 2017 in order to complete a move to Marseille, so stopped coming to training and refused to play for a club where he had been the undoubted star during the previous season. Payet's teammates did not like his attitude, so kicked him out of their WhatsApp group, while Slaven Bilic, West Ham's manager at the time, made it clear that Payet was still part of his plans. 'We do not want to sell him,' he said. 'We have said hundreds of times that we do not want to sell our best players. We want to keep them.' None of that made a difference, with Payet sealing a £25m transfer to the south of France at the end of the month. They say you should never go back, and that proved to be the case following Ronaldo's surprise return to Old Trafford in 2021. Quite simply, the move was a disaster, with the Portuguese superstar simply not the player he once was. Going on to suffer an almighty fallout with Erik ten Hag was another problem. He left the stadium after being substituted in a pre-season friendly against Rayo Vallecano, twice refused to go on before walking down the tunnel in a match against Tottenham and then sat down to do that interview with Piers Morgan, in which he claimed to have been 'betrayed' by the club. There was no way back after that and Ronaldo soon joined the Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr, where he remains to this day, happier and much, much richer.
