Southgate warns PL could drop to 15% English

Gareth Southgate fears that the percentage of English players at Premier League clubs could drop to an all time low over the next decade if action is not taken.

He advised that the big clubs who are dominating Europe at the moment such as Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea, ensure that they focus on bringing English youth players through their systems as well as signing international superstars.

In a light-hearted, throw-away comment, Southgate indicated that one of football's most competitive leagues could be overtaken by the "bloody Germans" if they become complacent.

His comments come after figures were released showing that just 30% of starting places were filled with English men, compared to 33.2% from the 2017-18 season.

"It isn’t correct to say we’re not developing good players. There’s tremendous work going on at our academies.

“The big concern for me is this graph continues to fall away and that we end up in 10 years’ time with an England manager who has got 15% of the league to choose from. Why would that not happen? It is a big danger for us."

Premier League sides are currently allowed up to 17 non-homegrown players in their 25 man squads but the FA are hoping to reduce this number to 13 in an attempt to promote English youth players rising through the ranks.

Gareth Southgate continued by saying that he "won't be in this job forever" and that he hopes that there will be a "good pool of English players ready to come on board".

Southgate and his England side are next in action for their Nations League clash against Netherlands on 6th June, for which the manager has chosen the likes of Harry Kane despite his ongoing recovery from an ankle injury.