The percentage of players in Premier League squads that are club-trained is at an all-time low, according to a study which also shows overseas players accounting for 59.9% of footballers in England’s top tier, the second highest in Europe.
Research carried out by the CIES Football Observatory found 11.7% of players in the Premier League had graduated from their current club’s academy – a drop of 2.1% from 2014 – while throughout Europe it was a similar story with the figure dropping to 19.7%.
The report, which bases its definition of club-trained players on that of Uefa’s; those that have spent at least three seasons between the ages of 15-21 at their current club, shows only Cyprus’s top division has a higher percentage of overseas players.
Tottenham Hotspur, lauded for giving players such as Harry Kane and Ryan Mason extended runs in the first team, have the largest percentage of club-trained players in their squad (32%) with Arsenal second and Manchester United third. Chelsea have a percentage of overseas players in their squad of 83.3%.
The study also shows which clubs have produced the most players in the 31 top divisions analysed with Partizan Belgrade topping the pile with 78 with Ajax second (75).
