Thomas Tuchel has been asked about the possibility of Arsenal wonderkid Max Dowman forcing his way into the England squad for the World Cup this summer
Thomas Tuchel kept the door ajar when quizzed about the prospect of Max Dowman earning a place in this summer’s World Cup squad for England.
The German boss held a press conference on Friday morning following the announcement of his 35-man squad for the nation’s preparation fixtures against Uruguay and Japan later this month.
Whilst several Arsenal players secured their spots for the two encounters, scheduled for Friday, March 27 and Tuesday, March 31 respectively, including Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze, Declan Rice and Noni Madueke, Dowman’s name among others was conspicuously absent.
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When questioned about Dowman’s omission from the forthcoming fixtures, Tuchel acknowledged that while the youngster thrust himself into the limelight with his heroics against Everton earlier this month, the teenage prodigy remains outside Arsenal’s regular starting XI, reports Football London.
Speaking about the 16-year-old, he commented: “Well, he put himself in the spotlight no? With this amazing goal against Everton, and a crucial goal.”
“I think he is, at the moment, complete, and obviously a fantastic talent and an outstanding talent with this age. There cannot be a doubt about it.
“Everyone who tells me about Max praises him and is full of compliments about him. The reality at the moment is also that he competes for minutes – he’s not a regular starter for Arsenal.”
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“I think he’s in a fantastic environment, I think he’s in the best environment possible; in a competitive club, in a stable club, in a club where team work is the number one rule, this is how they play, this is how they function.
“So he learns from the very best, in the very best environment. And with these young guys, yeah, of course we know all these players and we see them as you do as well.
“At the moment I think he’s in a good place to fight for his position, fight for his minutes at Arsenal.”
Tuchel didn’t dismiss the prospect of selecting the youngster for this summer’s tournament, though, stating: “We always have the chance to call him, maybe, up for the World Cup.
“The thing with young players is to keep their momentum, maybe, going and keep their excitement, and they have a level of fearlessness with them. So no need to call him up now and increase the pressure and increase all the noise that comes with it. But yeah, we have all options.”
Having netted once and provided an assist for Arsenal in the Premier League across three appearances this season, the prospects look exceptionally promising for young Dowman. Should he maintain his impressive form for his club, it seems merely a question of when rather than if he receives his first England call-up for international duty.