London - It’s hard to comprehend the amount of money spent by our teams in the window. It was bound to happen after the new TV rights deal and it can only be good for the Premier League.
Everyone wants to come here - it’s like a footballing utopia. We have the most exciting football, an appealing lifestyle and the most money.
There was a time when all the top players went to Italy and Spain, but not so much these days.
However, when you look at the bigger picture it’s clear that English clubs are being taken for a ride.
Foreign teams know how rich we are and know they can charge over the odds for mediocre players or guys we have never heard of. Who knows what contribution some of them will make in the Premier League?
One thing they will do is further limit game time for English players and I’m not really sure how this situation can be mitigated.
If the FA had a crystal ball when the Premier League was being formed, I think there would have been rules put in place dictating the number of English or homegrown players who have to start a game. But if they tried to enforce something like that now, the Premier League would fight it tooth and nail. The only thing we can do is keep developing young English players and push them through our academies.
I don’t think playing in the Under 23 or Under 21 leagues is hugely beneficial - it’s good for talented 17 or 18-year-olds to test themselves against more physical kids but you can’t recreate the importance of real matches when you play most of the games at the training ground.
It’s a much better option to send youngsters out on loan. They need to play in front of fans who care and feel like they’re a worthwhile part of a club - not just one of many youth players at a Premier League side.
When I went on loan from Arsenal to Brighton, aged 18, it reminded me that that level of football matters, which made me work harder. The guys I was playing with all had mortgages to pay and children to feed, so you feel like you owe it to them and the paying fans to do your best. I’m a big advocate of the loan system but there are certain aspects I don’t agree with. It’s great to give first-team football to players who are considered prospects for the future, but there were 173 players loaned out by Premier League clubs in this window. I suspect many of these players will never have a chance of playing for their parent clubs.
Also, Chelsea have loaned Juan Cuadrado to Juventus for three years! Surely this is an exploitation of the loan system and a sign that we pay too money much for players when top teams from the other big European leagues can’t afford to buy them from us.
Daily Mail