This article is part of Football League World's 'The Verdict' series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Scunthorpe may be languishing in 22nd place in League Two, but that has not stopped Arsenal identifying teenage midfielder Joey Dawson as a potential target, according to the print edition of The Sun on Sunday (October 13, Page 63).

Dawson, 16, became the youngest first-team player in Scunthorpe's history earlier this season, and comes with a pedigree as son of former Iron left-back Andy and nephew of ex-Spurs defender Michael Dawson.

So what do you make of this transfer link?

We discuss........

Ben Lang

"This is quite a surprising one. Dawson is thought to be an exciting player for Scunthorpe, but he has not even proven himself in the first team yet.

"He firstly needs to break into the Scunthorpe first team and then get a run of games in the side, in order to develop his game at a lower level before he makes a big move.

"It doesn't seem there is much competition for his signature at this stage, so Arsenal can surely afford to wait on his development before pressing ahead with the signing.

"The fact he is in the Scunthorpe first-team set-up at this stage means he surely has a bright future in the game, but it is important that he doesn't rush into anything."

Alfie Burns

“There’s a lot of potential in Dawson, which Arsenal obviously see.

“However, as is always the case with these potential signings, you’ve got to weigh up how much Dawson is going to play.

“To me, he might be 16, but he could potentially go the way of a lot of other players at the Emirates.

“Moving too early can destroy a player’s potential, and that’s the big thing Dawson has to consider.”

Chris Thorpe

"I'm not surprised that Arsenal are showing an interest in Dawson.

"He is one of the best up and coming talents in the EFL, which naturally will lead to interest from clubs higher up the pyramid.

"This would certainly be a signing for the future, and Arsenal would no doubt loan him out to gain more experience.

"It's still early days for Dawson, so it will be interesting to see if he can maintain his positive start."

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