2025-26 Topps Chrome Premier League: Dowman, Estevao, & Hot Rookie Chase Cards

The release of the 2025-26 Topps Chrome Premier League is highlighted by an incredible auto checklist from Premier League legends, but don't sleep on the rookie class in this product. Especially with most of the rookies having on-card autos.

There are dozens of rookies to chase in the product, but we wanted to focus on the top chases. Two guys who started strong, but didn't make the list were Brighton's F Stefanos Tzimas and Fulham's M Josh King. Both are still targets in breaks, but won't cost nearly as much as they did when the 2025-26 Flagship dropped.

Honorable Mentions

A few names to know outside of the top 5, and we'll start with one that's off the board a bit in Aston Villa's Ben Broggio. He's a winger for Villa, but is currently on loan at Falkirk in the Scottish Premier League. He had a great age-18 season in the Premier League 2 and is looking to get back to that form on loan.

Another name to know is Chelsea's Shumaira Mheuka. He's an 18-year-old striker, but hasn't gotten a lot of senior minutes at Chelsea. Like Broggio, he's dominated the Premier League 2, scoring 12 goals and 2 assists in 11 games. He'll need to get some senior minutes, though.

Lastly, we have Reigan Heskey of Manchester City. Another player without senior minutes who has done quite well in Premier League 2. He has 4 goals and 2 assists in 8 games. He will be looking for more senior minutes next season.

5. Crystal Palace Winger Romain Esse

A potentially controversial pick, but Romain Esse has started to look better while out on loan at Coventry. Esse struggled with Crystal Palace early in the season after being one of the top chases in 2025-26 Topps Flagship. A loan move to Coventry in the Championship is just what he needed. He has 2 goals in 4 games for Coventry in just 250 minutes.

4. Manchester United Winger Shea Lacey

Shea Lacey wasn't a popular chase in 2025-26 Flagship, but after some strong performances for the senior team in the Premier League and in the Football League Trophy he's now one of the top chases in Topps Chrome. Lacey has 8 goals in the Premier League 2, but has really come on lately. He scored 1 goal and 1 assist in three games in for the Football League Trophy averaging 4 shots a game and taking all corners. He also has played 23 minutes in the Premier League over the last month, averaging 1.5 shots per game.

3. Liverpool Winger Rio Ngumoha

The top three of our list really separated themselves from the rest of the pack. While the rest of the top rookies are impressive in their own right, starting off with Rio Ngumoha, the top three are on a different level. Ngumoha came onto the scene hot in Liverpool's preseason, but a goal in his first Premier League appearance against Newcastle got the hype train going. He's seen more consistent minutes since the holidays, but still is not a mainstay in the first team. The hype is deserved, we just need more minutes to see it.

2. Chelsea Winger Estevao Willian

The only reason Estevao isn't number 1 on the list is because he's been around since the 2023-24 season with rookie cards in Panini Select. While this is his first premium rookie card in a Topps product, it is just a little tough to put him at No. 1. Despite having rookie cards for years, these Topps Chrome rookies, especially the on-card autos, will carry a premium.

1. Arsenal Midfielder Max Dowman

Arsenal phenom Max Dowman’s first ever rookie cards can be found in 2025-26 Topps Chrome Premier League.

See below for more important info. pic.twitter.com/bEShRi9Fb1
— Topps (@Topps) February 5, 2026

We need to address the monkey in the room first, but the handling of the Max Dowman inclusion into 2025-26 Topps Chrome is far from ideal. His base cards are only in the hobby SKU and are paper cards, not chrome. The autos, which are across at least hobby and breaker's delight, are still chrome. While Topps has clarified that you can 1-for-1 exchange the paper cards for a chrome version, it is not great.

As for Dowman, he's one of the highest-touted prospects to come out of Arsenal in a long time. The way his coaches you would think he has the ceiling of Lamine Yamal. While that probably isn't true, he has performed well at just 16. In Premier League 2 and UEFA Youth League, he has 6 goals in 4 games. He also made his Champions League debut this year as well. The hype is off the charts right now, but it should be noted he suffered an ankle injury late December that will keep him out for a few more weeks.