John Terry reveals what he has noticed about ‘top player’ Max Dowman in the Arsenal academy

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Former Chelsea captain John Terry has been full of praise for Arsenal academy prospect Max Dowman, who has impressed in recent months.

The playmaker has quickly worked his way through the ranks, featuring heavily for the under-18s, despite only recently turning 15 years old.

Max Dowman has been involved in senior Arsenal training too, with Mikel Arteta keen to bring him into the setup early.

While it’s still early days for the youngster, there is some hope that he can be the next Hale End academy star to join the likes of Ethan Nwaneri, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Bukayo Saka by featuring in the first-team regularly.

While there is still a long pathway for Dowman ahead, John Terry has already noticed some key things about his game at an early age.

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John Terry praises Arsenal youngster Max Dowman

Max Dowman’s FA Youth Cup display against Manchester United has certainly put him on the radar of fans of other clubs.

However, having been involved at Arsenal for the past few months, many fans are already excited for what future he could have at the club.

While there are still plenty of steps ahead before he reaches first-team level, Terry has outlined a few things he noticed about the youngster.

Speaking on TalkSPORT, the former Chelsea captain and England international said: “He [Dowman] is a top, top player.

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“He was taking the ball on the half turn, drifting away from players, looking back… he is a very, very good player.”

It’s plenty of praise from someone who knows what it’s like to come through at his side’s academy before kicking on to become one of the best in his field.

There will be some hope that Dowman can follow a similar path when it comes to Arsenal and the road ahead for him.

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Arsenal must convince Max Dowman to stay at the club

One of the toughest things to do at a lower academy level is to convince players that the current pathway is the right one.

It has gone for and against Arsenal in recent months, with Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly featuring for the first team, while Chido Obi and Ayden Heaven left to join Manchester United.

While he only recently turned 15, the Gunners will be doing everything they can to convince Dowman of staying at the club.

Players cannot be offered a first professional contract until the end of their under-16s year, or around the time they turn 17.

At this point, the contract cannot be over a certain amount of time, restricting clubs from tying down their best prospects into a long-term deal at a young age.

This means Arsenal will have to do its best to convince Dowman to stay when the time comes, though its pathway could do plenty of talking in that regard.