Max Dowman and Rio Ngumoha are too special for Thomas Tuchel to ignore: England boss MUST select teenage stars for March friendlies and give them World Cup chance

For every game that Dowman plays for Arsenal, it's usually accompanied by articles and social media posts confirming he's 'made history' or 'broken a record'. Of all the achievements so far in his extremely young career, Saturday's were by far the most important.

With the Gunners deadlocked at 0-0 against Everton, Mikel Arteta turned to the 16-year-old in the hope of changing the game. Indeed, it was the winger's wicked cross which led to Viktor Gyokeres' goal in the 89th minute, before the schoolboy himself became the youngest scorer in Premier League history with a solo run deep into added time.

What's perhaps most impressive is you could have foreseen Dowman taking that mantle from a mile off. When he's played for the senior side this season, he's looked like every bit a Premier League and Champions League-ready star.

"'Go and do your thing and win us the game'," Arteta claimed his message was to Dowman on the touchline. "I said these are the moments in the season when something special has to happen, and he knows he has the ability, which I have to give him the opportunity, and he will deliver.

"Probably in my head I had a gut feeling. Yesterday he was training in the last few days and I had a gut feeling that it was a moment for him. Probably because he doesn't seem to be fazed by the occasion or the moment or the context or the opponent. He just plays so naturally. He makes decisions to make things happen and what he delivered was incredible."

Any left-footed winger worth their salt will inevitably be likened to Lionel Messi at some point in their careers. Dowman is still to take his GCSEs and is drawing such comparisons.

Chelsea legend John Terry, who faced Messi many times over the course of his esteemed top-level career, took to social media soon after Arsenal's weekend win to say: "Max Dowman, what a player by the way, 16 years of age, absolutely incredible. I watched him play against Chelsea about a year ago and I’ve not seen anyone glide past people like this man does, other than Messi. That’s a big, big comparison but this man is a proper talent and will play a big part in Arsenal’s future and also England as well. Super, super talent. Big, big win for them [Arsenal] as well today."

Meanwhile, Wayne Rooney, one of the Premier League's original uber-talented 16-year-olds, has said of Dowman: "He seems, from the games I've watched, to not let that pressure affect him. He gets the ball, he holds on to it, he commits defenders, he goes to take them on, and so he definitely looks like he's got a confidence about him.

"Sometimes people think that enjoying success is arrogant and I just think they do it in the USA. They enjoy it and they celebrate it. So when we've got a young lad like that coming through as a 16-year-old, he's clearly got a lot of ability and you just hope he can go and fulfil that potential. Let him enjoy it and go and express himself."

While Arsenal are closing in on the Premier League title, outgoing champions Liverpool have made hard work of defending their crown. Arne Slot's Reds look nothing like the team that so easily finished in first place last season, and there have been very few positives so far along the way this term, with Dominik Szoboszlai claiming he and his team-mates should be grateful to even secure Conference League qualification at this rate.

One of the rare shining lights has been Ngumoha. With Liverpool's performances often slow and passive, fans have called on Slot to afford more minutes to the 17-year-old, whose fearlessness has proven a breath of fresh air. He only has one goal to his name at senior level - that coming on his Premier League debut to beat Newcastle in August - but every time he's on the pitch he's eager to make something happen.

Take Sunday's match against Tottenham. Liverpool's plan almost every time was to isolate Ngumoha against Pedro Porro, knowing full well he had the beating of Spain's first-choice right-back every single time. When the teenager was hooked for the final third of the game, there was bemusement around Anfield and they ended up surrendering their one-goal lead. The Premier League champions spent upwards of £400 million last summer and yet they are relying on a teenager to open games up for them.

When players of Dowman and Ngumoha's age and talent are coming to the fore, they usually step up several levels in quick succession over a short period of time.

Let's look at some of the best players in the world right now: Erling Haaland started the 2019-20 season as the most likely Red Bull Salzburg player to have a breakout after only playing five times the year before, and he ended that campaign as the star player for Borussia Dortmund; Birmingham City were mocked for retiring Jude Bellingham's No.22 shirt upon leaving for Dortmund himself, but there was soon an understanding as to why the Blues did that; Kylian Mbappe was a relative unknown heading into Monaco's title-winning 2016-17 season, yet moved to Paris Saint-Germain for a nine-figure fee 12 months later; Lamine Yamal wasn't even on EA Sports FC when he won Euro 2024 with Spain.

You get the idea. The true creme de la creme of youth talent make the leap to senior football so seamlessly that it's so easy to forget where they actually came from. We're not saying Dowman and Ngumoha will necessarily be as good as those players listed, but they are on similar or even better trajectories.

Should Tuchel turn to Dowman and Ngumoha this month or for the World Cup altogether, doubters will quickly point at Theo Walcott's failed fast-tracking into the England fold in 2006 as a reason to be sceptical.

As a 17-year-old, Walcott was a controversial selection for the 2006 World Cup. He had joined Arsenal from Championship side Southampton midway through the 2005-06 campaign but did not make a single appearance for the Gunners until the following season. Manager Sven-Goran Eriksson defended the decision to pick Walcott, claiming it would provide him with valuable experience at future tournaments. Walcott would enjoy a fine Premier League career and he earned 47 England caps, but the only other major tournament he went to was Euro 2012.

Dowman and Ngumoha would not be selections of such novelty. They are already playing meaningful minutes and making a tangible difference for teams at the top of the Premier League. A more useful comparison would be Bellingham's inclusion at Euro 2020 after one year of Bundesliga football with Dortmund, even though he was out of the English public eye.

Their involvement would not only be mindful for the future, but the present too. They have not yet had that innate bravery coached out of them just yet, and with so many players in England becoming risk-averse, that could prove a differential on the international stage.

It would be much harder to make the case for Dowman and Ngumoha if England's current crop of wide-men were actually hitting their stride, but most of Tuchel's other options are going backwards.

Phil Foden hasn't scored in his last 19 games and has been bombed out of the Manchester City starting line up, while the stats nerds have been vindicated by Morgan Rogers' regression to the mean after breaking xG models earlier in the season, scoring one of his last 35 shots dating back to Christmas.

Cole Palmer hasn't looked the same this season after battling injury and fitness issues likely brought about by participation at last summer's Club World Cup, and even despite Arsenal's success, Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze aren't enjoying the best of years on an individual level.

There is a gap in the market for dynamic English wingers to sneak into the picture and rent some space inside Tuchel's head. Of the more experienced cohort, Jarrod Bowen and Scotland target Harvey Barnes could come in and make an impact, but the gamble on youth is well worth the boss' consideration.

There hasn't been much reason for Tuchel to switch up his thinking given he's won nine of his 10 games in charge of the Three Lions, but even he must recognise how fast the game changes and he can't be at risk of being left behind.

Dowman and Ngumoha are ready now. The very least Tuchel could do is have a better look at them up close, see them in training and draw some other takeaways just by being in their presence. When the England squad drops later this week, there should be some fresh faces in the mix, and these two teens have earned the right to be in and around the squad.

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