English youngsters can benefit from playing abroad

Young Chelsea midfielder Josh McEachran has decided to further his football education by moving to Eredivisie side Vitesse Arnhem on a season-long loan

The current malaise of the England team has been blamed on various factors.

Critics say that there are too many foreign players blocking the route to the first team at a number of the Premier League’s top clubs.

While others claim that England are just not producing enough quality young players to be successful at the top level.

Chance

Former-England international Frank Lampard believes that young players need to be given the opportunity to play. He told Sky Sports: “I made my West Ham debut at 17 and was a regular a year later,”

“If I was the same age now I wouldn’t be anywhere near the Chelsea or Manchester City sides. Like the other kids I’d have had to go out on loan.”

Lampard has a fair point, as a lot of the countries young players have to go out on loan to gain valuable first team experience. Another factor that may help English youngsters develop is playing their football on the continent.

Example

Young Chelsea midfielder Josh McEachran is going down that route, as he joined Dutch Vitesse Arnhem on a season-long loan deal. The 21-year-old has been touted as a future star for a long time.

He is one of the few English youngsters to graduate from Chelsea’s youth ranks and make it into the first team, albeit with limited first team appearances.

McEachran has had loan spells at Swansea, Middlesbrough, Watford and Wigan, but does not seem to be fulfilling his potential. Maybe a spell in a different country with different coaching methods may help the youngster’s development.

Rare

It has been very rare in recent years for English players to move outside their comfort zone of the Premier League. Some would argue that this is because they consider it one of the best leagues in the world, but some would also say all that glitters is not necessarily gold.

The likes of David Beckham, Jonathan Woodgate and Michael Owen all chanced their hand in La Liga with Real Madrid. Only Beckham left any lasting impression in the Spanish capital and that may have had more to do with his celebrity status.

Former-England full-back Ashley Cole moved to Serie A Roma this summer and apparently took a major wage cut to make the move. He did so he could experience a new culture and new way of life.

He could have still earned a big pay packet in the Premier League, but instead decided to experience something new, which is refreshing in days when a pay packet seems to be the be all and end all to most modern day footballers.

Success Stories

Germany and Spain’s international teams have achieved success in recent years with mostly home-based squads. However, that is a result of hard work and a football philosophy which has brought success.

The coaches in the likes of Spain and Germany are light years ahead of their English counterparts and that is proven by the amount of English bosses, or lack of English bosses more to the point in the Premier League.

If young English players spent time at foreign clubs and learnt from different coaching methods then maybe they would improve and develop into better players. Instead they end up being sent out on-loan to Championship clubs or even inferior Premier League clubs.

It is all well and good gaining experience, but it is no good those players going out on loan and learning from poor coaches, who probably do not have the expertise to develop their talents.

Development

Emerging young English talents are often overhyped and not given the time to develop or the right coaching.

At a number of Premier League clubs English youngsters are never given their chance and a lot of talented young footballers end up on the scrap heap or playing in the lower leagues because their talent has not been handled in the correct manner.

Clubs in Germany, Spain and Italy may not be perfect at handling young players, but maybe if young English players spent time abroad they would be better players for it and at the moment the England national team needs all the help it can get.

Would Young English players benefit from playing abroad?