As of January 1, when the Brexit transition period ends, it will no longer be possible for English
clubs to sign overseas players under the age of 18. This is widely regarded as a bad thing.
But for whom?
While excellent at identifying and recruiting young talent,
Premier League clubs haven’t exactly excelled when it has come to helping that potential flourish.
There is a reason why, when the Premier League, EFL, FA and Home Office finally
came to an agreement over new entry requirements for overseas players
in this post-Brexit world, Cesc Fabregas was referenced in every media report.
Fabregas made his Arsenal debut barely a month after arriving from Barcelona at 16.
At 17 he was a regular starter and by the time he returned to Barcelona at 24,
few doubted the decision he’d made to leave.
Fabregas is an outlier, though, and among the dozens upon dozens of boys
who have signed for Premier League clubs before their 18th birthday,
the number of success stories is disconcertingly small.
“Of the many players who have left Holland at an early age, I would say only Tim Krul, Nathan
Ake and Patrick van Aanholt,” says Art Langeler, the Dutch FA’s director of football development.
“Most of the time, the boys who go over to England aren’t getting any real chances.
I always think it’s better to develop in Holland,
make 100 appearances in the Dutch league and then move to a bigger league after that.”
Like Virgil van Dijk, who was still at Groningen at the age of 21. Or his Liverpool
team-mate Georginio Wijnaldum, who remained in the Eredivisie into his mid-twenties. Or the foursome
of Matthijs de Ligt, Frankie de Jong, Donny van de Beek and Hakim Ziyech, who helped Ajax reach the
Champions League semi-final. Or Stefan de Vrij, now at Internazionale, or even Memphis Depay,
who struggled after joining Manchester United at 21, but has since thrived at Lyon.
So many highly-rated youngsters have left Dutch academies to chase the dream in the
Premier League over the past couple of decades. From Ajax to Manchester United alone, there has
been Gyliano van Velzen, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Millen Baars and Tahith Chong. Fosu-Mensah,
22, made an early breakthrough but is only now returning to the first-team.
Chong made a handful of appearances early in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s tenure but is now on
loan at Werder Bremen. Van Velzen, 26, was released after three years at Old Trafford
and, after spending last season at Crawley Town and Aldershot, is now back in the Dutch second
tier with Telstar. Baars, 20, was released after two years and is now in AZ Alkmaar’s second team.
“Moving to England at 16 is a good opportunity to get experience of living
and playing in another country and to earn lot of money,” Langeler says.
“It works as a kind of life insurance because you’re made for life, even if you break your leg.”
“But if you ask me as a youth developer,” he continues,
“I would say it is a bit of a strange step to go there at such a young age.”
If you stay in the Dutch league, then the club is so focused on your development.
I think that’s the way to do it, though I can fully understand why some players
and their families want to move to England at the first chance.”
It is not just a Dutch grievance. If anything, youngsters from Holland have
found it easier than most to adapt to life in England. For every Fabregas, there are
dozens more highly-rated Spanish youngsters who have moved to England at the age of 16,
only to stagnate in those late-teenage years that were so crucial.
Barcelona lost Fabregas and Gerard Pique in the same summer of 2004 due to loopholes in
their contracts. They ended up re-signing both — Fabregas at 24 having thrived at Arsenal, Pique
at 21 having concluded that heading home was the best move both professionally and on a personal
level — and they have tried to do likewise with Hector Bellerin. They have even tried to re-sign
Eric Garcia, 19, barely three years after he left them for Manchester City, even though,
like Pique at Manchester United, he has found it hard to establish himself at first-team level.
There is sadness when La Masia graduates go elsewhere and struggle.
Fran Merida has had a good career in La Liga but Jon Toral and Julio Pleguezuelo
are now at Birmingham City and FC Twente respectively, which were not
the hoped-for destinations for when they were at Barcelona or when they left for Arsenal.
Dani Pacheco joined Liverpool from Barcelona amid great fanfare in 2009. He went on to star at the
European Under-19 Championship finals a year later but, despite some fans clamouring for his
involvement, he barely got a look-in at Anfield and is now without a club at the age of just 29.
Gai Assulin left Barcelona for Manchester City but didn’t come close to the first team
and is now, also at 29, playing in Romania for Politehnica Iasi.
Twenty-two Spanish players have appeared in the Premier League this season. But only three have
done so via the “Fabregas route”, after joining clubs before their 18th birthday.
Twenty-six French players have appeared in the Premier League this season.
The only one to do so via that route - the “Anelka route” this time - is Paul Pogba,
who left Le Havre for Manchester United at 16, moved on to Juventus at 19, having barely kicked
a ball at Old Trafford, and then returned in a world-record transfer four years later.
Yes, there are exceptions. There is also a counter argument. In an article written
by Raphael Honigstein, former Chelsea youngster Sebastian Kneissl is quoted,
describing how the new legislation is “taking away options for young players to develop
in one of the most important football nations in the world”.
There’s merit to that argument, because young players will always
benefit from the facilities that the largest English clubs can offer,
and – clearly – protecting British players from competition until they turn 18
has obvious benefits too. As will the additional provision that, from 2021-22,
Premier League clubs will only be allowed to sign 6 overseas u21 players per season.
But those are different issues and, in this instance and for a foreign player, there isn’t
much evidence to suggest that joining a Premier League club at 16 is good for a career. It is good
for a bank balance, certainly, and most certainly for an agent’s too, but the overseas players who
survive and thrive in the Premier League are very rarely those who come over at a young age.