Burnley backed to sign Arsenal star but 'waste' warning raised | OneFootball

FLW's Burnley fan pundit would love to have Max Dowman on loan in January, but feels that he'd rather see his own players developed

It's been a terrible start to life under Nicky Hayen at Burnley, with the Clarets just one of two sides in all three EFL leagues yet to win a league game heading into the first international break.

Burnley sit bottom of the Championship, having conceded more in eight games than they did in the entirety of the 2024/25 campaign under Scott Parker.

Turf Moor has seen two 100+-point seasons the last two times that the Clarets have been in the second tier, but that's a far cry from how they've started this season, and the three-week break has been welcomed to try and put some onus on drilling tactics into the squad on the training ground.

What's arguably more worrying is that the quality in the squad doesn't seem to be there from the last few years in this division, albeit it is early days. Already, Burnley fans are looking at how they can improve things in the January transfer window.

Burnley fan pundit gives verdict on Max Dowman loan possibility

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One name which has been floating around the provisional loan market for January is Arsenal starlet Max Dowman, who last season became the youngest player to score for both the Gunners and in the history of the Premier League.

Given how often the 16-year-old is in and around the senior squad for one of the best sides in the world, this currently shows how bright a future the winger has. However, with Dowman turning 17 on New Year's Eve, he'll be eligible for a loan spell the day after, when the January transfer window opens.

So far this season, Dowman has played just nine minutes of Premier League football, but did net a brace in their recent EFL Cup win over fellow top-flight outfit Ipswich Town.

Clearly, he's good enough for first-team football, and Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has opened up about the possibility of him going out on loan midway through the season to aid his development.

Understandably, that's got fans of Championship clubs excited and hopeful, but FLW's Burnley fan pundit, Aaron Wright, is showing some reservations.

"If the club could get the deal done, it would be something else," he admitted. "But I do have some reservations, purely because: is this the right club at the right time for him?

"As a player, though, he looks exciting, looks like someone we'd need. But with the amount of young wingers we already have at the club and on loan, it could be a bit of a waste.

"But anything to improve our team. I'm open to it, and he could do that."

Burnley's current winger situation amid Max Dowman loan possibility

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Burnley's current wide situation is more than saturated, to the point where Marcus Edwards and Mike Tresor, the latter able to deputise on the right wing, were left out of the Clarets' 25-man EFL squad altogether.

Nicky Hayen's side already added the likes of Lluc Castell and Largie Ramazani, the latter on loan from Leeds United, in the summer to bolster their wide options, with Jacob Brunn Larsen and Jaydon Banel, when he returns from injury, also ready to make an impact.

As Wright said, Burnley may not be the right club for Dowman to continue his development. Arsenal will be incredibly meticulous when deciding the next steps for one of the most exciting prodigies in the game right now.

If he'd just be another winger at Turf Moor, then he may as well continue being a bench option at The Emirates.

Max Dowman would immediately improve Burnley's, and any other Championship side's, attacking options

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That being said, Dowman would come into a squad with plenty of depth out wide and immediately be the best winger that Burnley has.

The one issue with that, though, is that could be said for almost any Championship side who would think they could be in with a chance of landing him in January.

There's an argument to be made that, if Dowman wasn't coming through at one of the best clubs in the world right now, and instead was an academy graduate at a mid-table Premier League side, he'd be given more of a chance in the top flight. His recent foray against Ipswich shows he can be an effective winger against fellow elite opposition.

So, regardless of who is already playing on the wing at Burnley, the Arsenal youngster would likely come straight into the side, but as Wright argued, perhaps there'd be more attractive propositions in the second tier right now than Nicky Hayen's, who look in real danger currently.