Andros Townsend is a name often mentioned when debates erupt about youth development in football. Townsend is a winger who currently plies his trade at Crystal Palace. He is an England international, who, prior to his current stint at Palace, has represented 11 other clubs so far. He is 27.
Among those 11 other clubs, nine were loan moves. Nine. He began his career at Tottenham Hotspur, before those aforementioned nine loan moves, before finally establishing himself in the Spurs senior squad. He moved to Newcastle United, and after their relegation, moved to London.
The problem currently plaguing many clubs, especially the top teams in the Premier League, is an inability to clearly define a pathway for youngsters, from the youth team to the senior squad. Chelsea is a prime example of this. John Terry was perhaps the last Chelsea academy graduate to properly establish himself in the senior squad. Andreas Christensen has come the closest, playing well in a turbulent last season for Antonio Conte, and now finds himself relegated to the bench once more, with David Luiz and Antonio Rudiger preferred by Maurizio Sarri. A well known fact of Chelsea that has done the rounds quite often this season is that Chelsea have 40 players out on loan this season. '40'. This includes some really exciting talent including Tammy Abraham, Charly Musonda and Mason Mount, while two players, Michy Batshuayi and Tiemoue Bakayoko set the club back by a combined fee of £72 million. It is not conducive to a sustainable environment, when youngsters, despite excelling at youth level, find their route to the top blocked by big money signings. Ruben Loftus-Cheek is clearly a talented player, but currently finds his path to the Chelsea midfield blocked by Ross Barkley and Mateo Kovacic.
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| Foden is seen as the next big player for England |
While Chelsea have often come under the spotlight for their treatment of youngsters, clubs like Arsenal and Manchester City too, are finding it incredibly hard to ascertain a place in the senior squad for such youngsters. Manchester City are perhaps one of the best run clubs in world football, and they are clearly trying to find ways to attract youngsters to play for them, and integrate them, having spent £200 million to build an elite youth academy, but it is not easy. Jadon Sancho refused to sign a contract after not being satisfied with the playing time, and consequently left for Borussia Dortmund. Such has been his form for Der BVB, that now he is being touted as a £100 million player, having overtaken Christian Pulisic as Dortmund's big young wing talent. He is 18. City surely regret how things turned out now. Brahim Diaz, by the look of things, will be the next young player to leave the club, with rumours touting that a £14 million move to Real Madrid is imminent, in what is turning out to be a terrible Christmas period for Manchester City, having already fallen six points behind Liverpool in the title race. Perhaps the one bright light is that Phil Foden, the youngster they want to keep more than anybody else, has signed a new contract, with the young midfielder extending his contract till 2024. Aleix Garcia and Tosin Adarabioyo are also valued highly by the club, and it will be interesting to see how they keep hold of these players, specially Foden, with Pep Guardiola apparently still on the lookout for a midfielder to compete with Fernandinho. Julian Weigl, Tanguy Ndombele and Frenkie de Jong have all been linked, and surely it will take a monstrous bid to get them out of their clubs. So with such an investment in the offing, it will be take some expert management by Guardiola to keep Foden motivated, and not start looking for other options.
Tottenham Hotspur truly stand out. Mauricio Pochettino has done an amazing job at the helm, having developed academy players like Kyle Walker, Harry Kane and Danny Rose, while also giving the likes of Ryan Mason, Kyle Walker-Peters, and Harry Winks a chance to shine at the club. Even young players, brought in from different clubs, like Dele Alli, Eric Dier and Kieran Trippier, have all flourished under the Argentine. It was no surprise that there were 5 players in the England World Cup squad at Russia. Kyle Walker had moved to City a season prior. So six players, who were coached by Pochettino at Spurs at some point, had made it to the squad.An incredible return.
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| Fabregas began his career at Barca |
It is a juxtaposed image. Fans love nothing more than a youngster, from the academy, going to achieve big things with the club he supported since he was young. Franscesco Totti did that at Roma, Phillip Lahm at Bayern Munich, while in England,the likes of Steven Gerrard, and the Class of 92 bunch stand out. However, the Premier League is too valuable to be trying risky things these days. 17 clubs made a profit during the 2016-17 season, on record revenues of more than £4.5 billion, as per The Guardian. The Premier League is the hen that lays the golden eggs, and everybody wants a piece of that. And that is why youngsters like Sancho (to Borussia Dortmund), Reiss Nelson (on loan at Hoffenheim, from Arsenal), Keanan Bennetts (from Spurs to Borussia Monchengladbach), and Marcus McGuane (Arsenal to Barcelona), to name a few, have moved to pastures new. Teams abroad are more willing to give them chances, well aware that due to the current financial climate, these players could very well make them richer by some millions. There is a certain sense of irony in this, however. Teams abroad often lose their youngsters to English clubs, with the likes of Hector Bellerin, Gerard Pique, Cesc Fabregas and Adama Traore (all Barcelona), leaving for various English clubs, while Timothy Fosu Mensah and Tahith Chong (both from Netherlands) are currently under contract at Manchester United. Former Paris Saint Germain youth player Claudio Gomes now plays for Manchester City, as does Eric Garcia, formerly of Barcelona.
Bundesliga and Eredivisie are currently the hotbeds for young exciting talent who want to play on a consistent basis. Ajax have truly assembled a team of prodigious potential, with Matthijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong leading the team. Hakim Ziyech, David Neres, Donny van de Beek and Kasper Dolberg are some of the other players who have what it takes to go on and achieve heady heights in the world of football.
The world of football is inundated with young, exciting talent ready to prosper under the right coach and the right system. It is about finding the right club for that, and sometimes, it is about taking a step back to take two steps forward. And sometimes, it is about sheer luck. As football has often shown, it is not just about having talent.
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