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Former England national team coach Graham Taylor is convinced that the commercial success of the Premier League is undermining the prospects of the national team's future.
The latest research shows that the number of minutes played by young English footballers (under 21 years old) in the Premier League has reached an all-time low. This is considered one of the reasons for poor country's results on the international stage: the youth national team withdrew from the European Championship after the group stage on Saturday, and the national team has not passed any prestigious tournament quarter-final barrier since 1996.
"Looking at commercial indicators, the Premier League is an extremely successful project, but at the cost of English players," said Taylor, who led the national team from 1990 to 1993. "I think we couldn't have expected anything else. Huge financial investments flow into football, so the best clubs have the opportunity to look for the best players in the world, not in their own country. For example, if Manuel Pellegrini becomes the coach of Man City, I will be particularly surprised if he acquires at least one English player."
Statistics show that less than a third of all Premier League players are eligible to represent the England national team, while the equivalent ratio in Germany's Bundesliga is 50%.
