Academy players' transitions from youth to senior can be terribly complicated. It could be compared to the cycles of our lives, where we go from teenagers to adults, and it is indeed a troublesome time.
Lots of factors can influence young players' football development. We can highlight the most important ones as being the club where the young player is getting promoted to, the relationship he will develop with the most experienced players in the squad, and even the manager's approach when it comes to youth talents.
Some Premier League clubs are more into their homegrown talents than players from other areas, but each club in the current season has at least one academy player in the squad.
In this article, we'll give you a big picture of the current situation of young players in the most competitive football league in the world.
The Best PL Clubs For Youth Players to Complete Their Transition To Senior Football
Some academy graduates often complain about the lack of chances in the current iteration of the Premier League. This is understandable, as the EPL is, right now, the richest and fanciest league in the world.
We also need to understand the club's side on it, though, as deep down it has nothing to do with being greedy. The competition is fierce in the league, and it's too risky to only rely on youth players, as good as they can be.
It happens because young players often don't have control over their emotions yet, which can lead them to play either arrogantly and despicably, or totally without confidence.
At the end of December, Liverpool dropped points at home to West Brom. Their academy player, Curtis Jones, is a good example of what young players must avoid at all costs during a Premier League match.
Jones had been feeling overconfident due to some good performances in the past, and that clearly affected the way he played. The number 17 made silly mistakes in this particular contest, conceded easy possessions, and made a crucial mistake, leading to the visitors' goal in the 1-1 draw at Anfield.
Since we brought a PL club to this discussion, we'd better answer the question on the best PL clubs for youth talents to get as much game time as possible.
Within the big-six, Chelsea and Man Utd are the clubs who have lined up more academy graduates and young players overall in the PL thus far. Frank Lampard and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer have relied heavily on their youth talents in order to make top-four campaigns in the PL.
We can highlight Man Utd's Mason Greenwood and Marcus Rashford and Chelsea's Tammy Abraham and Mason Mount as good examples of homegrown talents who are active in the league at the moment.
The worst big-six clubs at the moment for young players are Man City and Liverpool, as these are the clubs with fewer PL minutes conceded to graduate players thus far.
Gunners and Spurs are also good options for youth talents. Jose Mourinho is one of the managers who have promoted more academy talents to senior squads, and it is no different from his current PL club, Tottenham.
Clubs' Captains And Experienced Players In The Squad - Develop A Good Relationship And You Will Do Fine
While we don't have a general league culture of clubs' captains and experienced players supporting the younger generation, we have some good examples of that in the current season and throughout history.
While Jurgen Klopp doesn't seem to feel secure when relying on young players to line them up, the Reds have lots of young players in their overall squads. Whether they have graduated at Melwood or came from other clubs, the Reds are forming some great talent, such as Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Curtis Jones himself.
The club's captain, Jordan Henderson, and experienced players such as James Milner have always reportedly helped the youth talents to settle into the squad, be it by advising them in private or in other forms.
As previously mentioned, Chelsea's legend and current manager, Lampard, has also played a role in promoting academy players at the Stamford Bridge club to senior football debuts. Former players who played in the last decade can feel more touched by youth players' situations, as they've been there, as well. Thus, that explains a little of why both Lampard and Arteta have been supporting their homegrown talents instead of simply abandoning them.
The relationship between young players and veterans in the EPL is friendly overall. Youth talents will look at the most experienced players with admiration and respect, and although in a natural club environment they will hang out with other young players in the squad, they will look for learning as much as they can with the most experienced ones.
The PL flop rate amongst young players would be much lower if clubs got involved in this relationship, as not all veterans are fans of the idea of sharing experiences and advising younger players for multiple reasons.
However, even with all the obstacles, some youth talents thrive in the EPL and they all should look to this season as a very special and perhaps unique moment, as clubs are going through waves of injuries and such younger players are being handed more chances and game time.
© 2023 Sportsworldnews.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of sportsworldnews.com
