Academies are the centre of much football debate.
Premier League clubs are often criticised (or, occasionally, praised) for their use of homegrown talents – football's governing bodies are frequently looking for ways to encourage teams to use their academy products.
Best Football Academy In England:
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Chelsea
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Southampton
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Liverpool
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Manchester United
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Manchester City
Many tournaments require teams to name a certain amount of academy graduates in their squads. Youth football isn’t all about producing for your own first team, however, particularly in the age of financial fairplay.
Developing talent that can be sold on is useful to teams, even if the players never get near your own first team. There are no surprise 888 predictions here - this article looks at the best academies in British football…
Chelsea
The most talked about academy in British football at the moment, Chelsea have had plenty of Youth Cup success over the last decade or so and have finally seen the benefit in the first team.
Roman Abramovich invested heavily in the academy – Chelsea have won the Youth Cup seven times since 2010 and finished runners up in 2013 and 2020. It's still early to judge how Todd Boehly's regime treats the academy.
John Terry remains the most well-known Chelsea graduate, and the Blues’ difficulty converting their academy stars into first team contributors since Terry has been well publicised.
With the help of a transfer ban, Chelsea had an influx of academy graduates under Frank Lampard. The Blues have handed out debuts at an impressive rate in recent years, but the majority have been sold on, with Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount, Marc Guehi and Fikayo Tomori being among the biggest names to depart.
Reece James, Levi Colwill and Conor Gallagher are the most notable success stories from Cobham in recent years, but the influence of Chelsea's academy can be seen across Europe.
Southampton
The revenue generated by Southampton’s academy sales has been extraordinary. It’s not some lucky football betting tips fluke, either - the Saints genuinely have one of the best football academies in England.
Southampton have a track record for producing some of the best young players in the country, and they continue to deliver on that promise.
Southampton stick to a style of play through the age groups and place an emphasis on classroom work as much as getting out to the practice fields.
The academy played a significant role in their rise from League One to the Premier League; the club places faith in its academy products.
Alan Shearer broke through at Southampton before leaving for Blackburn a few seasons later. Matt Le Tissier came through at the club and spent his entire career there.
Gareth Bale, who was the most expensive player in the world, was a Southampton graduate, as were Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Adam Lallana, Calum Chambers, Theo Walcott and Luke Shaw.
Liverpool
Liverpool have always prioritised homegrown talent. Sometimes it’s been to their detriment, but often it has reaped the greatest of rewards.
From Phil Thompson through to club legends Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher, many of Liverpool's most iconic players were homegrown talents.
Michael Owen and Steve McManaman – now frequently seen/heard on TNT Sports – both came through at Liverpool before heading to Real Madrid. Robbie Fowler, one of the Premier League’s greatest strikers, joined the club soon after leaving school.
Since the turn of the century, Raheem Sterling exploded onto the scene at Anfield before moving to Manchester City and then Chelsea. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Curtis Jones are fixtures in the first team for years to come.
Alexander-Arnold is a perennial contender to top the Premier League assist charts – check out the latest odds and 888 football prediction tips for the latest Liverpool best bets.
Manchester United
Manchester United’s place on this list is guaranteed thanks to the achievements of the Class of ’92 alone.
David Beckham, the Nevilles, Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes represent one of the greatest academy graduate classes in all of football, let alone Britain.
The group starred at one of football’s biggest stadiums for years, dominating the English game.
Since then, production has been hit-and-miss aside from Marcus Rashford. The Red Devils boast one of the best youth teams in England, yet there have been plenty of underwhelming academy graduates. There is hope Stockport native Kobbie Mainoo can buck that trend.
Having been signed from Atletico Madrid at 16 years old, Alejandro Garnacho is in a bit of a grey area when it comes to giving the academy credit.
Unsurprisingly, Manchester United are the most successful team in Youth Cup history with 11 titles. Notably, though, they have only made the final four times since 1995.
Manchester City
The academy has been part of the vision of Manchester City’s owners.
With such a high standard in the first team squad, it takes a special academy player to break into Pep Guardiola's core group. Phil Foden has been that man, with the England international starring as City won the treble in 2023.
Others have begun to earn Guardiola's trust, with Rico Lewis and Oscar Bobb making numerous appearances in 2023-24.
City have won the Youth Cup on three occasions, and have made the final five times since 2015.
Other high-profile City graduates include Shaun Wright-Phillips, Kasper Schmeichel, Kieran Trippier, Micah Richards, Jadon Sancho, Brahim Diaz and Denis Suarez.
*Credit for the main photo belongs to Alamy*
