Declan Rice has heaped praise on Arsenal youngster Max Dowman, labelling the teenage sensation as the ‘best 15-year-old in the country’. The midfielder has trained with the first team on numerous occasions this season, and he was even included in the squad that travelled to Dubai last month.
Dowman, a product of the Gunners’ academy, has been tipped for a big future under Mikel Arteta and many feel that is only a matter of time until he gets senior minutes under his belt. Rice has now spoken out on Dowman’s progress, holding the teenager in the same high regard that he holds Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly – who have both asserted themselves as two top prospects this season.
The England international told the BBC: “It is unbelievable times. I can’t talk highly enough of Ethan as well. Just wait until he hopefully gets into the team, the lads get to see him, because he is a special talent.
“Max is the best 15-year-old in the country. I have had so many texts about Max recently where people have watched him and said: ‘Wow, what a talent’. So he is one to watch out for. But I think at 15 there is still such a long way to go. You can be the best in the country at 15, but it doesn’t necessarily mean at 18 you are going to be.
“So you need to be hungry, keep working, keep pushing. I speak with Max a lot and he knows that. And he has got such a good family around him. He is unreal.
“Then obviously with Myles as well, Arsenal are blessed to have three players that can potentially have long Arsenal careers. Luckily enough, I have a really good relationship with all three of them because Max gets to train with us quite a lot.”
Rice went on to speak about how he is looking to keep the three Arsenal youngsters on the path to becoming established Premier League stars, adding: “Those three I have kind of taken under my wing a little bit because I have been in that position before and I had older players help me out.
“I get on really well with all of them and they are all really, really comfortable around me, which is all part of having a good relationship.”