When he unveiled his first England squad after the euphoria of the World Cup, Gareth Southgate did so with a warning.
If England are to build on the journey to a semi-final in Russia, they must create a bigger pool of talent, encourage competition and raise standards.
Southgate stressed the numbers had slumped lower than ever and there should be no complacency. Only 30 per cent of starters in the Premier League this season have been eligible for England.
Jadon Sancho is among the English youngsters who are doing well since moving abroad
Millions of pounds have been poured into academies to produce better technical footballers and England are world champions at Under 17 and Under 20 levels but still the route is no clearer.
Many of Southgate’s squad broke through at clubs in the Football League. The problem has led to a steady increase in ambitious young England footballers venturing abroad in search of alternative development pathways.
Some are coping better than others. Here, Sportsmail takes a closer look at the English foreign legion.
SPAIN
For players leaving England to speed their journey to top-flight, first-team football, 19-year-old Marcus McGuane at Barcelona and 21-year-old Patrick Roberts at Girona offer very different stories.
Roberts looks nicely set up for a season battling for a starting berth in a mid-table team in La Liga but McGuane, now down in the third tier, is proof that it can be a hard road wherever you go.
Marcus McGuane left Arsenal for Barcelona in January but is yet to find his feet in Spain
For midfielder McGuane, things have not taken their desired course since he moved from Arsenal in January, signing a three-year contract with a £21.9million buy-out clause. When he arrived, Barca B were in Spain’s second tier where there are always a sprinkling of big-name clubs and gates sometimes around the 15,000 mark.
They were relegated, however, and slipped into Spain’s third tier made up of four regional groups. On Saturday they played in front of 1,200 in their first home game.
They were beaten 1-0 by SD Ejea. He was an unused substitute, as he had been the previous week when Barca B lost their first away game of the season.
On Saturday, captain Ferran Sarsanedas played in McGuane’s favoured central midfield berth alongside Riqui Puig, the team’s star, who is tipped to be the next Andres Iniesta. Alex Collado, who played in the UEFA Youth League final win over Chelsea last season, also seems to be ahead of him in the pecking order.
McGuane has struggled to cement a starting berth at Barca B, who are now in the third tier
Barcelona clearly see McGuane as a long-term project and there is hope he will soon feature, especially as the team have fared so poorly without him. The club cannot afford to allow their B-team to languish at the bottom of the third division for too long.
Even when he does get back in the team, it will be at a level that is hardly conducive to the development of young talents. There have been articles in the Catalan press about Puig needing protection after being ‘kicked up in the air’ during the opening two matches.
Spain’s third tier is somewhere between England’s League One and Two and there will be no licence given to Barcelona’s young team and their pretty football.
Patrick Roberts has had more look as he becomes a prominent member of Girona's squad
The prospects are much brighter in the short term for Roberts, who joined Girona on loan from Manchester City in the summer. After three seasons at Celtic he is playing against some of the best in Europe.
The striker arrived too late to feature in Girona’s first two home games of the season but came on as a substitute against Villarreal and looked very much at home as Girona ran out 1-0 winners.
Last season Girona were close to European qualification so there will be competition for places but Roberts has impressed coach Eusebio Sacristan, a former Barcelona youth team coach with a reputation for developing young players.
GERMANY
When Jadon Sancho came off the bench against Greuther Furth, his Borussia Dortmund team were trailing 1-0 and facing the embarrassment of a German Cup exit against second-tier opposition.
Forty minutes later they were through to the next round. The 18-year-old Englishman had changed the complexion of the game and set up Marco Reus’s winner in the last minute of extra-time.
It wasn’t the first time Sancho had rescued his team from a sticky situation. His magnificent performance against Leverkusen in April ultimately secured Champions League qualification in a troubled season for Dortmund. Of the many English youngsters to have tried their luck in the Bundesliga, none have done as well as Sancho.
Sancho (left) has excelled since joining Dortmund although is yet to start a game this season
A year after leaving Manchester City, he is establishing himself as a superstar. ‘Jadon is a very good player, I saw that immediately,’ said new Dortmund coach Lucien Favre in pre-season. ‘I like it when players take risks with the ball.’
Without a top-class striker, Dortmund are banking on their talented wingers and attacking midfielders. A left winger by trade, Sancho was one of several Favre tried at centre forward in pre-season.
He is yet to start under Favre, who has indicated he has to work on areas of his game.
‘Sometimes the coach says I should let go of the ball sooner,’ said Sancho and, for all his promise, there is also proof the Bundesliga is not a panacea for the troubles academy graduates face in the Premier League.
‘In England, it’s harder for young players to make the breakthrough,’ said Keanan Bennetts, the 19-year-old midfielder, after his move from Tottenham to Borussia Monchengladbach this summer.
Keanan Bennetts moved from Tottenham to Borussia Monchegladbach to get his big chance
Others have found it hard to break in. Former Nottingham Forest winger Oliver Burke left RB Leipzig after one year, while Crystal Palace youth player Mandela Egbo has not made it out of the reserve team in three years since he moved to Gladbach.
Striker Kaylen Hinds endured a miserable first year at Wolfsburg and did not return from the UK for training this season, claiming to have lost his passport.
On Thursday, the club’s patience ran out and the former Arsenal player was sacked for ‘unauthorised absence of several weeks’.
Apart from the language, the tactical shift is arguably the biggest challenge for players moving to Germany. Winger Ademola Lookman was given a two-day tactical crash-course upon arrival in Leipzig on loan from Everton.
Lookman ultimately blossomed in six months at Leipzig, and his success will give hope to Reiss Nelson, the 18-year-old Arsenal forward who joined Hoffenheim on loan last week.
Reiss Nelson (centre) has joined Hoffenheim on a season-long loan as players look abroad
Mandela Egbo left Crystal Palace in 2015 to play for Borussia Monchengladbach II
HOLLAND
Dan Crowley’s first strike for Willem II was worth the wait. Collecting the ball on halfway, he drove forward, jinked past an opponent on to his right foot and curled a shot from 25 yards over the goalkeeper and in off the bar.
It proved to be the only goal of the game at Groningen and ensured Willem secured their first win in a promising start to their campaign under new boss Adrie Koster.
For Crowley, it was belated reward for his determination and bold career decisions since leaving Arsenal and a reminder of his exceptional technical quality.
Dan Crowley is starting to establish himself at Willem II in the Eredivisie after leaving Arsenal
Jake Clarke-Salter opted to join Vitesse on loan from Chelsea as many other Blues have
‘It’s a great feeling,’ said the 21-year-old midfielder. ‘The coaches have shown massive belief in me. That gives you confidence.’
Coventry-born Crowley, one of England’s most sought-after talents when he left Aston Villa at 16, moved to Holland in January 2017, joining Go Ahead Eagles on loan. He joined Willem II on a permanent basis at the end of the season but the team struggled, the coach was sacked and he found himself out of the side.
In January, Crowley agreed to take a wage cut to play on loan at SC Cambuur in the second tier of Dutch football, where he made an impact and helped them reach the play-offs.
Koster, a coach who has worked with the Ajax academy and Holland’s Under 21s, studied Crowley’s progress, summoned him back to Willem and installed him in a 4-3-3 system that suits his style.
Things have fallen into place and scouts are checking his progress.
Greg Leigh plays for NAC Breda in Holland after struggling to make it in higher English leagues
Max Clark left Hull City to join Vitesse on a permanent deal in search of his big break
Those heading from Premier League clubs to the Eredivisie are usually among the highest paid players in the league, which brings its own weight of expectation.
Players develop and injuries and managerial changes can disrupt progress. Patience will be tested.
Over the years, very few of Chelsea’s loan army have been a big success at Vitesse Arnhem, although Mason Mount, now on loan at Derby, was a notable exception last season.
England Under 21 international Jake Clarke-Salter opted for Vitesse on loan this year rather than a return to the Championship, where he suffered relegation with Sunderland last season.
Marcus Edwards (right) plays for Excelsior in Holland during a loan spell from Tottenham
England U20 centre-back Easah Suliman is on loan with FC Emmen from Aston Villa
Mukhtar Ali has also joined Eredivisie side Vitesse after deciding to leave Chelsea permanently
Portugal, France and Italy
Former Arsenal youth player Chris Willock made the move to the continent last summer, joining Benfica on a permanent deal.
Willock - who has a brother at both Arsenal and Man United - made 34 appearances for Benfica B last season and has established himself as a key part of England U20 squad.
In Italy, 20-year-old Stephy Mavidid joined Juventus this summer in a £1.5m deal from Arsenal.
The youngster spent last season on loan with Charlton in League One but is now playing for the Juventus U23 side.
Chris Willock left Arsenal for Benfica last summer and played for their B team last season
Stephen Mavididi joined Juventus for £1.5m in the summer and will for their U23 side
Similarly, Ronaldo Viera opted for a permanent move to Italy, leaving Leeds for Sampdoria in a deal worth £6m.
Liverpool forward Sheyi Ojo has joined French side Reims on loan for the season. The 21-year-old helped Fulham gain promotion to the Premier League last year but has decided to try his hand on the continent this time around.
He has spent previous spells on loan with Wolves and Wigan but is still looking for his big break.
Liveprool's 21-year-old forward Sheyi Ojo is on loan at Reims in Ligue 1 for the season
Ronaldo Viera also moved to Italy permanently after leaving Leeds for Sampdoria for £6m
https://hienalouca.com/2018/09/07/how-are-sancho-mcguane-and-the-rest-of-englands-kids-getting-on-abroad/
Main photo article When he unveiled his first England squad after the euphoria of the World Cup, Gareth Southgate did so with a warning.
If England are to build on the journey to a semi-final in Russia, they must create a bigger pool of talent, encourage competition and raise standards.
Southgate stressed the...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves Sport HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/09/06/19/4F94088200000578-6140209-image-m-39_1536258065500.jpg
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