Thomas Tuchel should call up Max Dowman NOW – England star, 16, is ready to follow footsteps of Ronaldo, Messi and Yamal

THOMAS TUCHEL has not been afraid to make brave decisions during his time in charge of England. And the Three Lions boss should have no fear about calling up Max Dowman over the next fortnight. Max Dowman could get the chance to train with England during the international break Credit: Getty Thomas Tuchel could make a bold decision and include Dowman Credit: Alamy The Arsenal wonderkid, 16, is due to be with England’s Under-19s for this international break, however he may get the chance to train with the seniors. Five players withdrew from duty on Monday and Tuchel is considering using it as a chance to get a closer look at Dowman in training. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! But why not go all the way and have the teenager as a proper part of the squad for the four games England have coming up? The forward does not need to start against world champs Spain in a sold-out Nations League game at Wembley on Saturday night. Nor does he have to for the double header with the Czech Republic, or the clash away at Croatia. Being around the squad, though, and getting a few minutes off the bench could be priceless for Dowman’s development. What better education can there be than being around the likes of Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane for two weeks? Dowman is like a sponge right now and Arsenal have seen the benefit of having him around their top stars since he was 14 years old. Most read in Sport BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS Such a strategy is nothing new and at the 1994 World Cup, Brazil took Ronaldo to the tournament without him playing a single minute. It was agreed that the then 17-year-old was a future star, so being around the group early would benefit Brazil and Ronaldo. That looks like a good shout now as the striker didn’t have a bad career did he… England should already have one eye on Euro 2028, which is less than two years away. Dowman will be 18 by then – his GCSEs a distant memory – and surely a strong contender to be in the squad. So with that in mind, perhaps the best solution is to ease the teenager in slowly over the next two years. That way England avoids a situation where they suddenly parachute Dowman into an environment he has little experience of. There is also the argument that the teenager is quite simply good enough to make an impact right now. Lamine Yamal has won the Euros and World Cup for Spain while being a teenager Credit: Getty Dowman has been training with the Arsenal first team since he was 14 years old Credit: Getty His two goals at Ipswich earlier this month in the Carabao Cup certainly suggested that. It was after that game when Mikel Merino compared Dowman to Lamine Yamal. The Arsenal midfielder is a team-mate of both wonderkids, having won Euro 2024 and this summer’s World Cup alongside 19-year-old winger Yamal. Merino believes both have the same fearless attitude and players have been breaking through earlier in recent years. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi made their international debuts when they were 18, but Yamal won the Euros the day after his 17th birthday. He is the perfect example of the old saying – ‘If you’re good enough, you’re old enough’. Dowman falls into that category, too, and Arteta has rightly pointed out how rare it is to see someone impress in English football at this age. The Arsenal boss said: “He is 16 years old, you don’t see that in this league. In other leagues in Europe, that’s a totally different context.” BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK Dowman would be helped by the fact that Arsenal have more players in this England squad than any other club. The four involved could easily be far more, too, if Ben White and Declan Rice were fit. That would make it easier for Dowman to step up and so far he has risen to every challenge thrown at him. England will be that next step. It’s just a question of when the teenager makes it. Comment now