Wayne Rooney has hailed Arsenal’s teenage prodigy Max Dowman as a player destined for a “massive future” after the 15-year-old impressed on his Premier League debut.
Dowman, aged just 15 years and 234 days, came off the bench in Arsenal’s 5-0 thrashing of Leeds at the Emirates on Saturday, becoming one of the league’s youngest-ever debutants. The attacking midfielder capped his cameo with a decisive contribution, winning a late penalty converted by Viktor Gyokeres.
Rooney, who burst onto the scene with Everton at 16 in 2002 and briefly held the record as the Premier League’s youngest goalscorer, praised Dowman’s maturity on his BBC podcast, The Wayne Rooney Show.
“To play at that age in the Premier League is crazy,” Rooney said. “I know I played young, but I think he’s around 150 days younger than I was. For Max and his family, it’s like living in a dream. His future is so bright — he’s going to have a massive future. Everyone in football keeps mentioning his name.”
Dowman’s teammate Ethan Nwaneri still holds the record as the league’s youngest-ever player, making his Arsenal debut at 15 years and 181 days against Brentford in 2022.
Reflecting on the pressures of breaking through so early, Rooney added: “It’s surreal — one minute you’re in the youth team, the next you’re sharing a dressing room with your heroes. It can be overwhelming, but from what I’ve seen, Max looks very level-headed. Hopefully, he understands what’s coming his way very soon.”