In what would be his latest breakout moment, Thomas Tuchel is apparently considering inviting Max Dowman to come and train with England’s senior side in the next few weeks, according to The Sun.
It would continue a rapid rise for a teenager who only left school this year.
It is a case of when, and not if, he represents the Three Lions.
Key to his development right now is being surrounded by the right support network who will keep him grounded.
As a club, Arsenal have always been very good at looking after their youngsters off the pitch, hence why they are keeping the player away from the media at the moment.
Yet he can only be safeguarded for so long. The more goals he scores, the more lucrative the sponsorship deals, the bigger the brands that will want to work with you, the more you will become a millionaire within a few years, the more everyone will be your mate, the more everyone will want to date you, and everywhere you turn, you will be told how special you are.
His employers can’t protect him forever. That will come down to having decent family and friends in his life.
England can afford to be patient with Dowman
That’s why Mikel Arteta will appreciate his international manager resisting the urge to hand him his first cap, even after a few withdrawals in the last few days.
I’m sure all parties have even already discussed what’s best for Dowman off the pitch?
Because on it, there is no question he wouldn’t look out of place at Wembley, even against Spain.
Fortunately, the English are currently blessed with options in attacking midfield.
So this isn’t a Wayne Rooney situation where Sven-Goran Eriksson felt compelled to fast-track a 17-year-old into his team.
Even if he wasn’t spoilt for choice, Tuchel knows the scrutiny that he would place on a 16-year-old if he were officially named in his latest squad.
Having worked in the UK, the 53-year-old is qualified enough to know there is a trend in Britain where it’s enjoyable to see the rise of someone, but then a morbid fascination to see them fall flat on their face.
You can be the public’s and media’s darling, but one mistake at a World Cup or Euros and suddenly everything you say or do is scrutinised.
Ask David Beckham, or even Ronaldo or Messi, about the pressure of being built up as the next big hope for an entire nation.
Training with England could be the perfect next step
By suggesting a training session instead, the coaching staff gets a close-up view of the talent, while he himself gets used to his surroundings.
All away from the cameras.
The Gunner is with the Under-19s anyway, working at St George’s Park, which is where he will play against the Republic of Ireland on Friday.
So, logistically, he can train with Ben Futcher and then spend some time under Tuchel’s leadership.
Only a serious injury or attitude issues will stop Max Dowman from winning many caps, but not yet. Zero rush.
Let’s wrap him up in a comfort blanket and look after him.
A call-up now?
The juice wouldn’t be worth the squeeze.
Dan Smith
What do you think, Gooners? Would training with England’s senior squad be the ideal next step for Dowman, or should he be left to develop with the Under-19s for now? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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Yes, especially after Dowman struggled against Chelsea U21 through the right wing
The kid is very talented, but he still needs to compete with other young English central midfielders like Nwaneri, Lewis-Skelly, JJ Gabriel and O’Reilly
I hope Arteta will use him ahead of Odegaard as our right-sided AM in the next EPL game
there are a few lessons to be had here.. protect the young
both physically and mentally.. Patience pays off. Personally I never understood the Jack Wilshire hype,
short lads tend to have an inflated ego. He would have
benefitted from training alongside Declan Rice.
@kjelli
🎯… 👍🏾
He’s a good player and can only improve
With us selling Trossard and Martinelli, we’ll probably use him a lot more than last season, which is a shame because we need to protect him as much as we can from injury and keep him progressing. Protect him mentally also.
But he’s up to the challenge I’m sure
“ With us selling Trossard and Martinelli, we’ll probably use him a lot more than last season”
Max last few first team outings have come at 10. I don’t think he will be used in the wings much often now, his future is 10.
Places pressure on Eze for game time I think, if Max not available for Ipswich and Ode rested, 10 would have been Eze.
Eze needs to become the new Trossard. And why bring in a Trossard replacement with Eze on the books?
@Moon Girl
I say, try him out in other positions. Just like every other academy prospect before him. It should be a part of his footballing education. It might turn out he’s better suited for the wings. Might add some versatility to his game also, which wouldn’t hurt.
I don’t disagree in principle, we’ve seen that before as you point out. And he has played RW wing already, and was promising. It’s possible, though with the way Arteta and co use the wings, sticking him in the right still seems most likely. Deploying a left-footer on the left wing seems less likely to me. If they train him elsewhere, it seems more likely to once or twice be in a deeper lying CM-area position to help build his understanding of the defensive and controlling obligations of that role for example.
I agree with Dan Smith.
Completely agree with the article, he’s 16 years old! His development is already being managed carefully. We don’t want to risk things…
Nothing wrong with him coming on as a sub in SOME games, getting 20 minutes or so here or there.
Can’t protect him from the world, and he has to play to develop. Can only go so far in practice training, it somewhat simulates a real match, but only yields so much like tactics and fundamentals. Games let players adjust and adapt, read the game, and make corrections.
Agree 100%. He’s being trained for the future correctly right now.
I think he’s being handled just fine as he is.
Is the average number of games for a Premier league player 500 -600 games? Start too early and your shattered early, wasn’t’ Rahim Sterling practically finished by the time we loaned him because he had started at 16 with Liverpool? Did Jack Wilshire suffer because he played too many games when he was a teenager? Spare Max Dowman now to protect him later