Max Dowman wowed by Leeds sensation so good he's a 'joke'
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(Credit: Imago)
Jonathan Burnett
Wed 17 September 2025 16:13, UK
Daniel Farke could soon follow in Arsenal’s footsteps and give one of Leeds United’s brightest young talents a Premier League debut.
Leeds have only found the net once in their first four Premier League matches, and that sole strike from Lukas Nmecha to win their opening game against Everton came via a controversial penalty from 12 yards.
Nmecha, his fellow new signing Dominic Calvert-Lewin and last season’s top scorer Joel Piroe are yet to have any luck in front of goal in three games since, and Farke “armed with a water pistol in a gunfight”.
Calvert-Lewin’s performance against Fulham was heavily criticised as Leeds once again drew a blank, only for Gabriel Gudmundsson to head into his own net in stoppage time and continue the Whites’ woes.
Credit: Imago
Football Insider revealed on 12 September that Leeds will look to sign a new attacker in January after failing to secure any of their top targets over the summer, but a new striker may be much closer to home.
Harry Gray has already earned comparisons to Harry Kane after his performances for Farke’s first-team in pre-season, and the 16-year-old forward’s stock and development continues to rise at a frantic pace.
The youngest member of his family’s dynasty made his Championship debut late last season, and Gray‘s potency was on full display on Tuesday with a hat-trick against Scunthorpe in the National League Cup.
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Gray netted Leeds’ opener midway through the first half before adding two more strikes including a free-kick late in the second, and he posted on Instagram at full-time with the simple message of: “Hattrick”.
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Max Dowman, who made his Premier League debut at 15 in Arsenal’s 5-0 win over Leeds at the Emirates last month, commented to call his fellow young starlet a “joke”.
Dowman dazzled in his late cameo against Leeds on 23 August after coming off the bench with the Gunners on their way to a comfortable win, and even won the penalty which yielded their fifth goal.
Although the 15-year-old’s debut came with Arsenal cruising against the Whites, Dowman proved that the ‘if you’re good enough, you’re old enough rule’ is alive and well, and could also be applied to Gray.
Farke may be keen to keep Gray under wraps until he can pen professional terms upon turning 17 in October, but if Piroe, Nmecha and Calvert-Lewin can’t provide the goals Leeds need to stay up this season, Leeds have an alternative ready to go.