Tuchel explains Dowman thoughts on senior England role | OneFootball

Thomas Tuchel has cooled the growing clamour around Max Dowman, insisting England will not rush the 16-year-old into the senior squad despite his Everton heroics and rising World Cup chatter, and arguing the teenager is better served fighting for minutes in what he calls “the best environment possible”.

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Thomas Tuchel has moved to lower the temperature around Max Dowman, setting out why the 16-year-old has been left out of England’s latest squad even as talk grows about a possible World Cup place this summer.

Pressed about why Dowman was not selected for the upcoming matches, Tuchel explained that while he put himself in the spotlight with his heroics against Everton earlier this month, that the teenage sensation is not a regular starter for the Gunners at present.

He said of the teenager: “Well, he put himself in the spotlight no? With this amazing goal against Everton, and a crucial goal.

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“I think he is, at the moment, complete, and obviously a fantastic talent and an outstanding talent with this age. There cannot be a doubt about it. Everyone who tells me about Max praises him and is full of compliments about him.

“The reality at the moment is also that he competes for minutes – he’s not a regular starter for Arsenal.”

For all the noise around his record breaking strike and his impact off the bench, Tuchel is making clear that England selection still depends on being established at club level, which is more than fair.

Tuchel was also at pains to stress that Dowman’s current situation in north London is precisely where he should be. “I think he’s in a fantastic environment, I think he’s in the best environment possible; in a competitive club, in a stable club, in a club where team work is the number one rule, this is how they play, this is how they function,” he said.

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“So, he learns from the very best, in the very best environment. And with these young guys, yeah, of course we know all these players and we see them as you do as well. At the moment I think he’s in a good place to fight for his position, fight for his minutes at Arsenal.”

For Arsenal, that reads as an endorsement of Mikel Arteta’s handling of a player who is still juggling football with GCSEs and all the demands that come with being 16 under a global spotlight.

The England manager also hinted that part of his job is to shield Dowman from being dragged too quickly into the full international spotlight. “The thing with young players is to keep their momentum, maybe, going and keep their excitement, and they have a level of fearlessness with them,” Tuchel said.

“So, no need to call him up now and increase the pressure and increase all the noise that comes with it. But yeah, we have all options.”

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With friendlies to come and the World Cup on the horizon, Dowman’s name is now firmly in the wider conversation, yet Tuchel’s message is that the best thing for him, and for England (and Arsenal), is to let him continue to grow with his clubs while others carry the immediate burden.

For now, Tuchel has turned instead to established figures from the Emirates, with Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Noni Madueke and Ebere Eze all included in his latest squad for the upcoming friendlies against Uruguay and Japan.