Which European Leagues and Clubs Put Most Faith in Young Players?

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Trusting and developing youth players could be seen by many football fans as one of the most virtuous, pride-evoking and exciting aspects of the sport in the modern era. In an age of sportswashing, petrodollars and multi-club ownership, seeing young players progress through academies and into first-team squads brings an almost forgotten sense of tradition to the beautiful game.

Differences Across Europe

Analysis of Europe's top 10 leagues (the big five plus the top tiers in Netherlands, Portugal, Belgium, Turkey and Czech Republic) reveals significant differences in approaches to young talent.

Turkish Süper Lig occupies the lowest position with an average of only 5.6% of minutes played by players under 22 during the 17 analyzed seasons. The lowest recorded proportion in a single season was 2.7%. This isn't surprising, as the Turkish league has long been attractive to experienced players at the end of their careers.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, the Dutch Eredivisie dominates with an average of 23% of minutes for players under 22 since the 2008-09 season. In some seasons, this proportion exceeded 25%, with a peak of 28.3% in the 2019-20 season.

Belgian Pro League shows a similar trend with an average above 20% in recent years and consistently high trust in young talents.

Comparison of Top Five Leagues

Among the five most prestigious European leagues, French Ligue 1 leads with an average of 14.8% of minutes for players under 22. In the last two seasons, it reached 17.3% and 17.4%.

German Bundesliga has an average of 13%, but shows a declining trend since the 2017-18 season. The 2024-25 season with 9.6% was the lowest in the past 17 years.

Premier League has the lowest average (8.1%) from the monitored period, but in the last two seasons reached its highest values of 11.3% and 10%.

Serie A shows a stable average of 8.4% without major fluctuations, while La Liga with an average of 9.2% has been increasing in recent years after a decline in 2021-22.

Clubs with Highest Trust in Youth

When analyzing average age of starting lineups, Dutch clubs dominate the lists of young teams. AZ Alkmaar has the lowest average age of starting lineup (23 years, 256 days) among teams that have played continuously in top competitions since 2011-12.

Strasbourg in the 2024-25 season achieved a record low average age of 21 years and 106 days, almost a year less than the second-lowest record. The club is connected to Chelsea through shared owner BlueCo.

Valencia relies on young players due to financial problems. In the 2023-24 season, they had an average starting lineup age of 23 years and 274 days, the lowest value for a Spanish team since 2011-12.

Barcelona won La Liga 2024-25 with an average starting lineup age of 24 years and 248 days, becoming the record youngest team to win the Spanish league.

Paris Saint-Germain was the youngest team to win any of the top five European leagues since 2011-12, with an average age of 23 years and 179 days when winning the Ligue 1 title in 2024-25.

Trends and Strategies

Bigger clubs are increasingly orienting towards squads built around young cores. PSG and Barcelona are examples of successful implementation of this strategy. In contrast, Turkish giants like Fenerbahce (average age 28 years and 128 days since 2011-12) remain loyal to experienced players.

Attitudes and priorities vary significantly across Europe. Some teams see youth as necessary for progress, while others perceive it as an obstacle. However, it's increasingly evident that larger clubs are leaning towards young team cores with proven success.

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Thank you to Stats Perform for providing the data and photographs.

More information:24live.com