Arsenal wonderkid Max Dowman IS NOT among the nominees for the 2026 Kopa Trophy.
The Kopa Trophy, otherwise known as the Men’s Young Talent of the Year, is a prestigious individual prize from France Football handed annually to the best performing footballer in the world under the age of 21.
Barcelona sensation Lamine Yamal has taken home the prize in the last two years, while previous winners include Kylian Mbappe, Pedri, Gavi and England star Jude Bellingham.
Dowman may one day add his name to that illustrious list but not this year when the 2026 winner is revealed in October at the Ballon d’Or ceremony.
Despite Dowman’s Arsenal breakthrough last season, where he became the youngest scorer in Premier League history after netting against Everton, the 16-year-old has not been shortlisted for the award.
Instead, the 10 players on the Kopa Trophy 2026 shortlist are Bournemouth’s Eli Junior Kroupi, Aston Villa signing Johan Manzambi, Ayyoub Bouaddi - who joined Manchester City in the summer - new Real Madrid winger Yan Diomande, Kerim Alajbegovic, Lennart Karl, Ibrahim Maza, Warren Zaire-Emery, Yamal and his Barcelona team-mate Pau Cubarsi.
Arsenal, though, are up for the Men’s Club of the Year at the 2026 Ballon d’Or awards.
Mikel Arteta is up for Coach of the Year after overseeing the Gunners’ first Premier League title win for over two decades, while Declan Rice, William Saliba and Gabriel are up for the main individual award.
Dowman caught the eye for Arsenal once again on Tuesday night, marking his first start of the season with a brace in the 4-2 win over Ipswich in the Carabao Cup.
"He was unbelievable again; some of the actions and connections that he can give us on the pitch are just a joy to watch,” Arteta said afterwards.
"He was really efficient; he’s getting more and more active in action; he can sustain for longer periods, and we know the talent that we have.
“We're going to make sure that when we just throw him there, he's ready to handle that at every level, and it's not just that he can run past somebody.
“There's a lot more things that we need to look after him, but he will dictate that in terms of how he behaves every single day and how many reasons he gives to play because he's part of our squad, like anybody else, no different.
“The only thing that we have to manage is that he needs to constantly be aware that he needs to be prepared for what he needs to do.”
