Exile is the new way forward for our young stars
JADON SANCHO and Reiss Nelson – two of English football’s brightest talents.
Starved of first-team action here. Now making a name for themselves in Germany. And what are the results so far? Sancho, 18, has impressed so much for Borussia Dortmund that he has been picked for Gareth Southgate’s latest Three Lions squad.
And this week Arsenal starlet Nelson, also 18, grabbed a slice of Champions League action with Hoffenheim, coming on against Lyon for the last half-hour, having netted five times for his adoptive club.
What do you think would have been the chances of Sancho and Nelson playing for Man City and the Gunners respectively this season?
In one sense, for the former it is a redundant question as his move to the Bundesliga club is permanent.
However, looking at the game time being enjoyed by Phil Foden at the Etihad – a player who was considered to be above Sancho in the pecking order at City before he shipped out – then it might not be a bad move.
Foden is highly-regarded by City boss Pep Guardiola. So much so that he has been training with the club’s first-team since he had barely left school.
You can hardly blame the teenager if he was looking at the impact made by one-time stable-mate Sancho and thinking to himself: “That could be me.”
You progress in life – in whatever profession you choose – by learning on the job. We have another word for it: Experience.
And footballers are no different. You cannot replicate a first-team match in the reserves. There is no real edge to the competition.
It is why a whole host of youngsters – those at Premier League clubs who find their paths blocked – have needed to look outside. Traditionally, they have been concerned with filtering down the ladder. To the Championship and League One. However, judging by the progress of Sancho and Nelson, there is a new avenue. On the Continent. Strange isn’t it how the mantra ‘if you are good enough, you’re old enough’ is regurgitated by English football without anyone really having the courage of their convictions and blooding a few of these teenagers.
So far this season, just six appearances by 18-year-olds have been made in the top flight of our football. That’s a pitiful return.
Managers in the Championship are becoming equally unwilling to take a chance on a promising teen. They have their own honeypot to chase, you see.
Unless they are counting the pennies, they are under pressure to chase the cash in the big-money league. They can’t wait around for players to improve.
And any agents reading this might like to ponder on the following few sentences as to why it will benefit the player, English football – and potentially them, too – if they start their first-team education early.
Raheem Sterling was given a chance at Liverpool six years ago. He signed a contract with Manchester City that’s earning him £300,000 a week.
Other lads are missing out on that first-team education. They need to get some – and have boots will travel needs to be the motto.
If their parent clubs cannot provide it – and no one lower down is going to take a gamble – then they need to consider signing up for overseas duty.
After all, Sancho and Nelson aren’t complaining, are they?