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Max Dowman set for 'dramatic change' at Arsenal with 11,300% pay rise
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- Max Dowman set for 'dramatic change' at Arsenal with 11,300% pay rise
Max Dowman is set for a life-altering change when he turns 17 and signs a first Arsenal professional contract that lands him an 11,300 per cent pay rise.
That is the opinion of experienced former Aston Villa , Tottenham and Everton scout, Bryan King, speaking exclusively to Football Insider.
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The 16-year-old wonderkid agreed pre-terms on his first professional deal in January, and will put pen to paper when he turns 17 at the end of December.
Dowman's minutes are being managed carefully by Arsenal and Mikel Arteta, although clamour for his breakthrough appears to grow with every one of his performances.
The England youth international started in the Carabao Cup against Ipswich Town last week and scored a brace, seemingly on a different level to defenders more than 10 years his senior.
Arteta admitted last week that Dowman could be loaned out in the future, but that he is keen to keep him around the squad for now.
'Max Dowman is going from £350 a week to £40,000 a week'
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Dowman is undoubtedly recognised among the best talents in English football and has already been earmarked for massive success with Arsenal and the international team.
Yet massive expectations bring massive pressure, and both the Gunners and his family, who have acquired FIFA agent licences to represent him, will be keen to protect him.
King explained that the brilliant youngster's new deal will be worth 115 times more than his current agreement and net him a whopping 11,300% pay hike.
"He's 16, he's on scholar wages. He can't sign until he's 17. So really, he's going to be going from £350 a week to about £40,000 a week," King told Football Insider.
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"I see that the father and the brother have become FIFA agents to look after him from when he turned 16.
"Until he hits that 17 year old, when things are going to change for him dramatically, especially wage-wise, I would imagine, he hasn't got too much to worry about."
Sources: Max Dowman update at Arsenal What did Mikel Arteta say about Dowman?
If Arsenal were to make Dowman available for loan, there are few clubs in Europe that would not register an interest.
It would be a difficult choice for the Gunners, who would need to balance several factors, including the quality and physicality of each league.
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"We haven't really listened to any of the [loan] possibilities because we were clear that we want to have him in the squad, that we wanted him to be part of the pre-season," Arteta said when asked the question last week.
"I'm going to start to see where we are from there. We will evaluate every six months where we are, what is the best thing for him to do and from there make the right decisions.
"It will depend on a lot of factors: what he needs, where the team is as well, the availability that we have in the squad, the amount of minutes that he's playing, the quality he's delivering when he's got those minutes."
He added: "Which country? Depends. But now he's in a great place. He's in a good place right now and let's keep him here."
