Gary Lineker doesn’t think that England will copy Spain’s stance on playing Lamine Yamal when it comes to handing Arsenal’s Max Dowman an early call-up.
Yamal earned his first call-up for Spain when he was 16, as Luis de la Fuente turned a blind eye to the winger’s age.
“He is different, and we haven’t looked at his age; we look at his ability, and he is ready to play,” De La Fuente told the media at the time.
Given natural comparisons between Yamal and Dowman, the question of when the Arsenal academy jewel will follow in the Barcelona starlet’s footsteps at international level is being asked.
Gary Lineker thinks England are too cautious to call up Max Dowman despite Lamine Yamal comparison
After Dowman’s impressive display against Mansfield Town, Gary Lineker spoke about what the future could hold for the teenager with regard to a senior England call-up.
Be honest: What did you make of Max Dowman’s performance vs Mansfield Town?
“16, do you think he can sneak into the England squad?” Lineker asked The Rest Is Football panel.
Alan Shearer replied, “Theo did it at 17, didn’t he?” But it wasn’t Theo Walcott that Lineker wanted to compare Dowman to.
“Right, if he is that good, in Spain, they’d go, in you come son…like Lamine Yamal, they played him. He played him from when he was 16,” Lineker said.
The pundit then revealed his opinion on why England won’t follow suit and call Dowman up as a 16-year-old.
“But we won’t do that because everyone’s so cautious.”
While being cautious is one thing, Micah Richards shared another reason why he thinks an England call-up is currently out of reach for the playmaker.
“He’s a special player, but in terms of England, he’s not going to play enough for Arsenal, is he?”
Should Max Dowman go to the World Cup with England: Too soon, or just right?
Both Richards and Lineker made good points, but returning to Lineker’s comparison between Dowman and Yamal, it has to be pondered whether England could be missing a trick.
De La Fuente saw no risk in calling Yamal up, and he hasn’t looked back since.
In the teenager’s first major tournament, he helped Spain to win Euro 2024, contributing to a goal in every knockout game in the competition, with three assists and one goal between the round of 16 and final.
Is it time for England to put Dowman’s age aside and realise the raw talent they have at their disposal? Or are things simply too early for the Arsenal teen?
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