The Football Association chairman, Greg Dyke, has vowed to push through tough rules governing the number of homegrown players in the top flight to encourage the development of more prospects such as Harry Kane.But the proposals, designed to tackle a “grim picture” for young English players, are likely to put him on a collision course with top Premier League clubs who believe their investments in academy systems will bear fruit without the need for tougher quotas.Dyke has proposed the minimum number of homegrown players in a top-flight 25-man first-team squad be increased from eight to 12. Under the plans, which require Premier League approval, the changes would be phased in over four years from 2016-17.
At the same time the FA chairman said the qualification rules should be changed so young players have to be on the books of an English club for three years before their 18th birthday to qualify as homegrown rather than before they reach 21, as is the case now.
Because young players are technically not allowed to sign for overseas clubs until they are 18, unless moving for family reasons, the hope is that it would ensure the vast majority of homegrown players are British and stop cases such as that of Cesc Fàbregas being classed as homegrown.
Dyke warned that if nothing is done the trickle of English talent at top Premier League clubs will dry up altogether and said the process would be exacerbated by the new £5.1bn domestic TV deal. “It’s working well as a league and it is a great league to watch,” he said. “But my fear for the future of English football is the Premier League ends up being owned by foreigners, managed by foreigners and played by foreigners. And, I think, certainly in terms of the playing, we can make a difference.”
Dyke also said new visa rules agreed last week with the Home Office will help. He claimed 42 non-EU players would have been prevented from getting work permits over the past five years.
Under stricter rules to be introduced from next season, non-EU signings such as Bryan Oviedo, Mame Biram Diouf, Ryo Miyaichi and Brek Shea would have been unlikely to meet the tougher criteria. Players costing less than around £10m must meet criteria designed to prove they are of genuine international quality.
Dyke argued it would help free up squad places for young talent while leaving clubs able to signgenuine top-class talent from around the world.
In a move partly designed to show his chairman’s commission process had not been a waste of time and money, Dyke underlined the urgent need to try to increase the flow of young players into first-team squads. He said there was a particular issue at the upper end of the Premier League, where only 22% of those who started matches for Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United this season were qualified to play for England. That compared with 28% last season. This season only 23 English players appeared in the Champions League group stage compared with 78 Spanish players, 55 Germans and 51 Brazilians.
On coming into the job in 2013, Dyke made the issue a priority, warning that England faced drifting into footballing obscurity if nothing were done. He simultaneously set a target of winning the 2022 World Cup.
He contends huge investment in the academy system through the Premier League’s Elite Player Performance Plan has improved the quality of young players but that the blockage between 18 and 21 means they are not gaining enough first-team experience.
Dyke said that in trying to sell the regulations to Premier League clubs, who will have to vote for them with a two-thirds majority, he would point to the example of Kane. The 21-year-old striker is likely to make his debut for England in Friday’s Euro 2016 home qualifier against Lithuania or the friendly in Italy four days later following a breakthrough season with Tottenham after loan spells at four clubs.
Dyke said: “Suddenly an English kid who was out on loan, who was touch-and-go to get a game in the first team, is suddenly the top scorer in English football. It’s great news. How many more Harry Kanes are there out there who just can’t get a game?”
Dyke conceded there was no point “trying to flog a dead horse” over the introduction of Premier League B-teams into the Football League, another of the proposals that emanated from his original commission report.
He is delighted the Football League is considering an alternative plan to allow top-flight B-teams to take part in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy, a proposal that has proved controversial with many lower-league fans.
Greg Dyke, the Football Association chairman, is determined to try to help the cases of young English players at Premier League clubs. Photograph: Russell Cheyne/Reuters
Owen Gibson / Guardian
