Stats: Academy players in first team at all-time low in big spending Premier League
A research by the CIES Football Observatory indicates the percentage of club-trained players in Premier League squads "has reached a new low," according to the BBC. The study found 11.7% of top-flight players graduated from their club's academy, down from last year’s 13.8%.
Club-trained players are those who have been trained by their club for at least three years between the age of 15 and 21, irrespective of their nationality, according to UEFA.
The rapid growth of television revenue and sponsorships, following the exponential growth in the viewership of the Premier League over the years, has drastically changed the approach of the clubs featuring in the first division of football in England.
The richest clubs have been able to stockpile the best of professionals from around the world for decades, but the increased revenue in recent times has ensured that the small clubs are not too far behind in the case of the Premier League.
Buying in-form players for a quick remedy has severely affected the growth of home-grown players. The abundance of players bought from other leagues and clubs, for a swift outcome, has made it difficult for young players from youth systems to break into the first team.
Premier League overall features 59.9% of overseas players. A figure, only second to Cyprus' first league in Europe. The percentage of overseas players in other top leagues are – Serie A (56.5%), Bundesliga (45.9), La Liga (39.9%), and France (30.5%)
List of top ten clubs featuring Club-trained players in Premier League
| Rank | Club | Club-Trained Players |
| 1 | Tottenham | 32% |
| 2 | Arsenal |
24% |
| 3 | Manchester United | 20% |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 18.5% |
| 5 | Everton | 17.9% |
| 6 | West Ham | 16.7% |
| 7 | Southampton | 14.8% |
| 8 | Newcastle Utd | 14.3% |
| 9 | Watford | 13.8% |
| 10 | Chelsea | 12.5% |
Tottenham, boasting players like Harry Kane, Andros Townsend and Ryan Mason are currently the most effective club at integrating academy graduates into the top flight squad at 32%. Arsenal at 24% and Manchester United with 20% make up the top three in the list.
Despite Jose Mourinho’s claims that Chelsea currently has the best youth system, the Blues barely make it to the top ten with only 12.5% club-trained players in their first team squad whereas the overseas players account for 83.3% of the squad.
Swansea City and Bournemouth are the only EPL clubs that have no club-trained players, according to the study.
Highlights of other findings from the CIES report taken from Europe's 31 top leagues:
- Belarusian club, FC Gomel have the highest percentage of club-trained players in their squad at 91.7%.
- Slovenian club, Zavrc have the highest percentage of overseas players in their first team at 88%. Roma (85.2%) and Chelsea (83.3%) take up the second and third spot.
- Wolfsburg have the tallest team in Europe, averaging at 6ft 2in. Stoke City have the tallest squad in the Premier League.
- Serie A side Chievo have the most aged squad with average player age above 30. Stoke City are EPL’s most aged squad where average player age is 28.7 years old.
- At an average of 2.42 years, Premier League players have stayed with their respective clubs for the longest time. The longest average stay is at Everton which is 4.14 years.