16th birthday 

©TM/IMAGO

Last March, Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice described Hale End academy product Max Dowman as ”the best 15-year-old in the country”. In recent years, we have seen the likes of Bukayo Saka, Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly progress through the youth-team ranks and make a huge impact on the first-team, but the excitement around teenager Dowman might just eclipse all of those aforementioned talents. This season he has already become the youngest ever player to play in the Champions League and the youngest player to start any game for a top-five league club this century.

This New Years Eve, Dowman celebrates turning 16 years of age, and, in turn, here at Transfermarkt we can give him his first market value. Given his immense impact for club and country at youth level, his first-team achievements at such a young age, and the hype around him, the Arsenal attacker is given a first market value of €20 million. That already makes him the joint-most valuable 16 year old on the planet alongside Hertha’s defensive midfielder Kennet Eichhorn and the 21st most valuable player at Arsenal.

When it comes to the highest ever first market values given to players on Transfermarkt, Dowman now ranks fifth on the all-time list. As illustrated in the graphic below, four players before him were given an initial market value of €25m and three of them played for Barcelona. In 2023, Barca wonderkid Lamine Yamal was given a €25m first valuation – he is now the world MVP at €200m. In 2019, 16-year-old Ansu Fati was given a €25m market value, whilst in 2021, midfielder Gavi was also given an initial market value of €25m. The other player was in fact Callum Hudson-Odoi; the 18-year-old was given a  first market value of €25m in 2019 after bursting onto the scene with the Blues and England.