Michael Owen, the youngest Ballon d'Or winner of England ever, has dressed early in the young player of the Premier League seasonal race, but admits that he is flying blindly.
Although he was regularly an expert in public interest, the former striker admitted that he did not look enough to form a full opinion, and leans on 'sources' for his judgment instead.
Owen revealed his choice and told the Premier League website: 'I am really at the Hype train, because I have not seen enough of him to form a strong opinion, but my sources tell me that he is a bit special, so I will follow that in contrast to my own eyes at the moment.
“We may not see him playing very much this season, but even a glimpse of his talent would be exciting.”
The young man in question is the 15-year-old attacking midfielder Max Dowman from Arsenal.
He debuted at the age of 18 at just 13 years and scored 17 goals in 22 U18 Premier League matches last season.
In September 2024 he became the youngest goalcorer ever in the UEFA Youth League.
In December 2024, only 14 years old, he established a record as the youngest player who came up in Premier League 2 and was soon invited to train with the Senior Squad, with a view to integration in the first team for the 2025-26 campaign.
Dowman earned his first caps for England at both U16 and U17 level in 2024, before he was mentioned in the team for the European U17 championship 2025, where he all started the England matches.
Dowman closed his breakthrough this summer by making the first team for the season-especially pulling a penalty in Arsenal's 3-2 victory over Newcastle in Singapore
In 2024-25, the Premier League Young Player of the Season Award was claimed by Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch.