Sunderland Roy Keane has accused Arsenal and Chelsea of poaching top youngsters rather than developing their own talent.
Keane believes Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger’s reputation for turning rough diamonds into polished gems is undeserved because he brings in talented teenagers from other clubs at home and abroad rather than working with players from Arsenal’s own catchment area.
The former Manchester United star is convinced Chelsea do the same, while Sunderland struggle to lure young talent to the Stadium of Light because of their location.
“The word on the street is they (Arsenal) have a group of kids coming through that will be absolutely outstanding,” Keane said.
“But you go on about the kids coming through but a lot of them have been bought from other clubs, not through the academy at Arsenal. It’s the same with Chelsea.”
Wenger paid big money to sign Theo Walcott from Southampton as a 17-year-old and also splashed out on Cardiff’s teenage midfielder Aaron Ramsey this close-season, while Cesc Fabregas was lured from Barcelona’s youth system.
Chelsea have also poached a number of young players from other clubs’ academies, notably Leeds United duo Michael Woods and Tom Taiwo.
“We have tough battles up here in terms of signing young players and are restricted in terms of our location,” Keane added.
“You can only bring in kids from a certain radius and a lot of our radius is in the water. Any good fish out there?”
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