Jermain Defoe claims former teammate was even better than Max Dowman at 15

Former England striker Jermain Defoe stated on The Warm-Up that his former West Ham teammate Joe Cole was even better at age 15 than Arsenal teenager Max Dowman. Defoe noted that while players like Dowman and Tottenham winger Mikey Moore are standout academy talents, Cole possessed unmatched ability on the ball at 14 and 15 years old.

Dowman recently scored a brace against Ipswich in the Carabao Cup and made a Premier League appearance under Mikel Arteta against Brighton. The article notes that Cole generated comparable early hype, drawing a £10 million inquiry from Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson at age 15 before later captaining West Ham and joining Chelsea.