Harry Redknapp has urged Thomas Tuchel to seize the moment and include 16-year-old Max Douman in the England squad. The former Tottenham manager is convinced that the Arsenal youngster is a remarkable talent and ready to shine on the international stage.
Douman made his Premier League debut for Arsenal in August 2025, becoming the second-youngest player in the tournament’s history. Since then, he has clocked up valuable minutes in the league, Champions League, and domestic cups, and last season, he made history as the youngest English champion.
Redknapp said:
Max Douman is a rising star at Arsenal. He’s a genuine talent, a truly special player.
I firmly believe he deserves a spot in the Euro squad. He scored twice against Ipswich. This lad is an incredible talent.
In Redknapp’s view, age should not deter selection for the national team. He pointed to Spain’s approach, highlighting their willingness to trust young players at the highest level.
I think he’s more than ready. I would just throw him in and see what happens. Look at Spain — they aren’t afraid to bring in 17- or 18-year-olds. If they’re good enough, they play.
And this kid is really something special. Over the next few years, people are going to see him reach a completely different level. He’s a very, very strong young player.
Redknapp also expressed disappointment with some of Tuchel’s decisions during the recent World Cup. England reached the semi-finals, only to be knocked out by Argentina. However, Redknapp felt let down by the omission of Cole Palmer and Trent Alexander-Arnold from the squad.
We got beaten by Argentina, a team I considered quite average. They weren’t exceptional and were awful in the final.
I was frustrated we didn’t take Cole Palmer and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
He was particularly surprised by Palmer’s absence, believing the young talent could have provided something special in the crunch moments of the semi-final.
Don’t tell me that with 25 minutes to go, you wouldn’t have thought, ‘Hang on, we need a bit of magic here, and Cole Palmer is on the bench’.
Redknapp regards the current England squad as one of the strongest in the world and is adamant that they should be achieving more.
We breeze through qualification, but as soon as we face even a moderately serious opponent, we seem to struggle.
Look at our players compared to those from other nations. Some foreigners come to the Premier League and hardly make an impact, yet they excel for their national teams.
Our squad is better than any of theirs. So it’s disappointing that we haven’t managed to lift a trophy.
During the current international break, England first lost to reigning world champions Spain 3-2, then bounced back to defeat both the Czech Republic and Croatia in the Nations League.
