Exclusive:
Max Downman is only 15 but has already made a huge impression at Arsenal after training with the first team, and he is now set for a role in the senior group next season and will be part of their pre-season tour
Arsenal wonderkid Max Dowman has been told he will be part of the first team squad next season. And the 15-year-old is also set to join Arsenal’s pre-season tour in Asia this summer which is another clear sign of his huge potential.
Dowman does not turn 16 until December and was not eligible to play for the first team this season even though he is already being lauded as one of the club’s best ever prospects.
But Dowman has been catching the eye because he has already trained with the first team, went on a mid-season break to Dubai and got plaudits with his performances in Arsenal’s FA Youth Cup campaign this season.
Gunners midfielder Dowman, who is a creative midfielder, is also due to represent England in the under-17s European Championships this summer.
Dowman is regarded as a future England star and is already being seen as having the skill set to push for a first team place and even compete with club captain Martin Odegaard in the long term.
Dowman will still be at school into next season so clearly will be expected to attend lessons which may take a priority over training.
Arsenal starlet Ethan Nwaneri is currently the youngest Premier League debutant, making his senior bow aged 15 and 181 days when he came on as a substitute at Brentford in September 2022.
Current Premier League rules state that players in a matchday squad cannot be drawn from an age group lower than the U16s, with Dowman having been registered with the U15s at the start of the season. Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta even called Dowman a “big, big talent” when talking about his prospects earlier this month. “He trains with us a lot,” said Arteta.
“I think he is in the right pathway and everybody in the academy has done an incredible job to consistently protect him, inspire him, challenge him, keep him always up and the levels that he could produce, and he is doing well. He is doing the right steps and taking it slowly. He will dictate how fast we go.”
Arteta’s public message has now been echoed and Dowman has been told he will be in the first team squad next season and also be on the tour.
Dowman is Arsenal’s latest wonderkid to follow in the footsteps of Nwaneri and also Myles Lewis-Skelly who has enjoyed a remarkable breakout season.
Arsenal’s young players have been a huge boost this season and Arteta is also planning a big summer but that will see the likes of Jorginho – who is joining Brazilian club Flamengo – and Kieran Tierney go.
Loan players Neto and Raheem Sterling are going back to their parent clubs while Thomas Partey is sweating on his future but wants to stay. Oleksandr Zinchenko is set to leave with interest from Borussia Dortmund.
Arsenal want a centre forward with Viktor Gyökeres and Benjamin Sesko high on their wish list while they also want a left winger, Espanyol keeper Joan Garcia and Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi is set to join for £51m.
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