WHICH PREM CLUBS ARE GIVING YOUTH A CHANCE?
IF England are to be serious challengers for the 2022 World Cup, the best young players need experience of playing in the Premier League.
Bookmaker bwin has analysed all of the teenage debutants from the last 10 years in the Premier League to discover which clubs are making the most of their youth academies.
Arsenal are the best club for promoting youth and they tend to stick around - the 21 players have racked up 934 appearances, averaging 44 appearances each and 73 per cent of their total career appearances have been at the club (success stories include Aaron Ramsey, Kieran Gibbs and Alex OxladeChamberlain)
Manchester United are the second-best club for producing young talent, but the majority of appearances are for rivals – 20 debutants have gone on to make 1,184 appearances in Europe’s top leagues, but only 48 per cent have been for the club, averaging 28 appearances each (Rafael, Paul Pogba and Danny Welbeck are among the success stories)
Tottenham are least likely to promote youth, but those that do get a chance make the most appearances – only 10 teenagers have been given Premier League debuts, but they have made 701 appearances, averaging 70 appearances each (success stories include Harry Kane, Gareth Bale and Kyle Walker)
Chelsea are worst for promoting youth in the team – 17 teenagers have made a total of 106 appearances, averaging only six appearances each before making 90 per cent of total career appearances at other clubs (Ruben Loftus- Cheek, above, is the most successful graduate, with Lukaku being among their biggest losses)
Manchester City’s teenage debutants average only nine appearances for the club – 17 teenage debutants have made a total of just 149 appearances, with the most successful being Kelechi Iheanacho (46 appearances) and Gabriel Jesus already in third despite only being signed in January (16)
Liverpool have given most debuts to teenagers and are top poachers of young talent – 24 debutants have made 350 appearances. They signed 10 youngsters from other clubs, including Jordan Henderson and Mamadou Sakho