Max Dowman can only be loaned out once he turns 17 in December (Photo: Getty)
Ally McCoist has urged Rangers to make an ambitious move for Max Dowman after Mikel Arteta revealed he was ‘open’ to loaning out the Arsenal wonderkid.
16-year-old Dowman is regarded as one of the best young talents in world football following his first-team breakthrough last season, and widely tipped to be a key player for the Gunners and England in the coming years.
The winger is yet to play in the Premier League this campaign but the hype surrounding him has only grown after scoring twice in the Carabao Cup victory over Ipswich Town last week.
As Arsenal compete to win both the Premier League and Champions League, Dowman may struggle for minutes, fuelling speculation he could leave on loan.
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Regulations mean the teenager cannot be loaned out until he turns 17 on December 31, but there is already a clamour to sign him with Jack Wilshere’s Luton Town making enquiries.
Arteta has previously stated that he wants to develop Dowman at the Emirates, but now says the club will not rule out a loan move.
‘We will evaluate every six months where we are and what is the best thing for him to do and then make the right decision,’ the manager said ahead of Arsenal’s clash at Brighton on Saturday.
Dowman scored twice as Arsenal beat Ipswich in the Carabao Cup (Photo: Getty)
‘It depends on a lot of factors. What he needs, and what the team needs as well, the availability we have in the squad, the minutes that he is playing and the qualities of those minutes.
‘We have to be open, but now the focus is to be here and to impact the team.
‘We haven’t really listened to any of the possibilities because we were crystal clear that we wanted to have Max in the squad, that we wanted him to be part of the pre-season and then start to see where we are from there.’
Mikel Arteta is monitoring Dowman’s development closely (Photo: Getty)
Scotland legend McCoist is a huge fan of Dowman’s and, in light of Arteta’s comments, is hopeful his beloved Rangers could sign the wonderkid.
‘Aye, I would take him, 100 per cent I’d take him at Ibrox,’ the former striker told talkSPORT.
‘I would [loan him out]. I wouldn’t have a problem with it if Mikel Arteta thought it was the best thing for his development.
‘A conversation before about, I remember, Phil Foden. I thought it had been the right thing for him to go out.
‘It wasn’t because Pep Guardiola kept him and then he went on to have a fantastic period after that. So, I can understand the pros and cons of both, but I would not have a problem. I would be okay for him to go and get some serious game time.’
