Michael Owen, England's youngest-ever Ballon d'Or winner, has chimed in early on the Premier League's Young Player of the Season race, but admits he's flying blind.
Despite being a pundit regularly in the public eye, the former striker conceded he hasn't watched enough to form a full opinion, and instead is leaning on 'sources' for his verdict.
Revealing his choice, Owen told the Premier League website: 'I'm joining the hype train really as I haven't seen enough of him to form a strong opinion, but my sources tell me that he is a little bit special so I'll follow that as opposed to my own eyes at the moment.
'We might not see him play an awful lot this season but even glimpses of his talent would be an exciting thing.'
The young man in question is Arsenal's 15-year-old attacking midfielder Max Dowman.
He debuted at Under 18 level aged just 13, scoring 17 goals in 22 U18 Premier League matches last season.
In September 2024, he became the youngest-ever goal-scorer in the UEFA Youth League.
In December 2024, aged just 14, he set a record as the youngest player to feature in Premier League 2 and was soon invited to train with the senior squad, with a view to integrating into the first team for the 2025–26 campaign.
Dowman earned his first caps for England at both U16 and U17 level in 2024, before being named in the squad for the 2025 European U17 Championship, where he started all three of England’s matches.
Dowman rounded off his breakthrough this summer by making first-team pre-season appearances - most notably drawing a penalty in Arsenal's 3–2 win over Newcastle in Singapore
In 2024-25, the Premier League Young Player of the Season award was claimed by Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch.