Which British players are currently playing abroad?

BRAVERY:Jadon Sancho took the plunge and moved abroad for game time.

Germany has become the go-to place for young English talent if they're struggling for game time at home. The cultural commitment towards giving youth a chance means that for academy players from big English teams, the amount of minutes available makes Germany a very attractive proposition. There also seems to be a desire to get away from the excessive levels of expectation that is heaped upon young players as soon as they have one good performance.

The big names

The headline example of an English player heading to Germany is, of course, Jadon Sancho . In the space of three years, he went from a relative unknown at Manchester City who cost £8 million to the £120 million rated winger that he is today. The 2020 summer transfer window is shaping up to be centred around whether he will join Manchester United or not.

Sancho has had a staggeringly impressive 2019/20 season for Dortmund. He’s registered 40 goals and assists in 44 appearances across all competitions and has become a key man in one of world football’s most blistering front lines.

Jadon Sancho's rapid development should be an inspiration to all young players

training team - football4football

The next English youngster to join Borussia Dortmund is arriving with a bit more of a fanfare than Sancho did. Ex-Birmingham City player Jude Bellingham was pursued very closely by Manchester United, but ultimately he felt Dortmund was a better place to further his development, and signed in July for a fee that could rise to £30 million. This is a huge step up for a 17-year-old, but Dortmund are very adept at finding young talent and they clearly feel he’s worth the investment.

His choice of club is quite significant, as United are renowned for their faith in youth. This is something that has increased even more under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Manchester United have had at least one academy graduate in the matchday squad for over 4000 games in a row, and seven graduates were in the squad for United’s Manchester Derby win in December 2019. For Bellingham to choose Dortmund must mean he has a serious belief in the system.

Beyond the yellow wall

Away from Dortmund, there are plenty of other young English players in Germany. It’s believed that Sancho also played a role in Clinton Mola’s decision to leave Chelsea for Stuttgart. The midfielder never made a senior appearance for Chelsea, but has played eight times for Stuttgart since joining at the beginning of 2020. In the first half of the 2019/20 season, Mola played every minute for the Chelsea reserve team in their EFL Trophy and UEFA Youth League campaigns in the first half of the season.

Clinton Mola Career Stats

23 England appearances across four age groups.

Four goals in the Premier League 2 for Chelsea.

Eight UEFA Youth League appearances.

A player who made a big impression on the Premier League as a 16-year-old is Reece Oxford. He made eight appearances for West Ham United as a centre-back and defensive midfielder and was quickly tipped for greatness by the English press. He was soon out on loan at Reading, and then had two mixed loan spells with Borussia Monchengladbach. Following a successful loan spell at FC Augsburg, the move was made permanent in August 2019.

Oxford was quoted as saying: “I can focus on football here”. This suggests that playing abroad can almost act as a form of escapism for some young players who perhaps had a lot of pressure put on them at a young age. At 21-years-old, Oxford could still become a very good footballer.

Other Brits Abroad

Chuba Akpom (PAOK, Greece. Signed in 2018 from Arsenal)

Ronaldo Viera (Sampdoria, Italy. Signed in 2018 from Leeds)

Keanan Bennetts (Borussia Monchengladbach, Germany. Signed in 2018 from Tottenham Hotspur)

Another high profile youngster who left for Germany is Ademola Lookman. The 22-year-old ex-Everton player made 36 appearances for the Toffees after joining from Charlton Athletic for an initial £7.5 million.

Under Sam Allardyce, the winger was almost sent on loan to Derby County. Instead, he chose to go to RB Leipzig for a loan spell there. This proved to be the right decision as he scored five times in 11 appearances. He also scored the winner against Borussia Monchengladbach on his debut.

The move was made permanent in Summer 2019, but unfortunately Lookman has struggled to impress since. The departure of Timo Werner may free up more game time next season, but it’s looking increasingly likely that he may be on the move again soon.

A new trend?

We’re more than used to seeing Portuguese talent leaving LigaNOS for England, but not the other way round.

The first to make this move was Marcus Edwards, a product of Tottenham Hotspur’s youth academy. He now plays for Vitoria de Guimaraes, and has registered 16 goals and assists in 26 games. The attacking midfielder is still only 21 and looks to be gaining extremely valuable experience and confidence in Northern Portugal. Transfer reports in July suggested Tottenham are considering bringing Edwards back to the club, but it’ll certainly cost them in today’s market.

A more high profile acquisition for the Portuguese League is ex-Manchester United player Angel Gomes. The diminutive forward was part of a widely reported contract stand-off with United, that ended with him leaving as a free agent. Gomes was swiftly snapped up by French side Lille, and immediately sent on loan to Boavista.

It will be fascinating to see if Gomes can make a similar or even greater impact on the league than Marcus Edwards has, and perhaps make United regret letting him go. Gomes turns 20 at the end of August 2020, so time is certainly on his side.

The twilight years

It’s not just the youngsters who seem to think leaving the Premier League can be a good thing. It’s becoming more normal for older players to seek a change later in their careers.

This is true in the case of Ashley Young. Despite being 35-years-old, he’s found a new lease of life in Serie A with Inter Milan. Playing as a wing back in Antonio Conte’s 3-5-2 system, he’s bagged eight goals and assists in 18 league appearances.

Many believed that his time at a high level was finished when he left Manchester United under a dark cloud, but he’s shown that playing away from the watchful eye of the British media can rejuvenate a career.

What we think

Ashley Young's performances at Inter are testament to his immense physicality.

Another example of this is Chris Smalling. His loan spell with AS Roma this season has been very successful, and he cemented himself as their best centre back. This is in stark contrast to his last few seasons at Manchester United where he was often scapegoated and struggled to hold down a place in an already quite poor defence. Smalling is now back at Manchester United but talks between the two clubs for a permanent deal are ongoing.

It surprised many football fans when Kieran Trippier left England for Atletico Madrid. He’d become one of the heroes of England’s 2018 World Cup squad, but poor form for Tottenham the following season saw him fall out the side.

Whilst he’s not necessarily had the same success as Young or Smalling after leaving England, he has established himself as a regular player in a very tough defensive side.

Final Note

Do you think you'd be brave enough to move abroad to play football?