Dowman has aura, belief… and GCSEs to finish – RooneyMedia caption, ‘I think we’ve got a special player on our hands’ – HartPublished1 hour agoWayne Rooney has praised Max Dowman’s impact after the Arsenal winger became the Premier League’s youngest goalscorer – but wonders if the 16-year-old might need to focus on his GCSEs over the closing weeks of the season.
The teenager scored in a 2-0 win over Everton on Saturday that helped the Gunners move nine points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Rooney was once the Premier League’s youngest scorer when he netted for Everton against Arsenal in 2002, and he went on to become an England great.
He can appreciate how Dowman is facing a balancing act between his flourishing football career and exam preparation.
“He has got his GCSEs, and his education, I’m sure for him and his family, is important as well,” Rooney stated on The Wayne Rooney Show.
“What an opportunity for him to be around the squad. He could be a Premier League winner when he’s still finishing school off.
“He’s got an aura and a belief about him and it was the same against Everton. If it’s education first, I don’t think we’ll see much of him over the next few weeks.”
Rooney added: “He won’t be in as much as he’d probably like, but then you’ve got many years ahead of you.”
Rooney says he was on £75 a week before turning professional – and borrowing money from his parents – when he scored against the Gunners aged 16.
“I was back out playing with my mates on the streets when I scored after the game,” he stated.
