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