Analysis of youth development systems across Europe revealed – unsurprisingly - that most top talent (players valued over £12m) progressed through the nation’s main academies at some point. However, the final column in the table highlights that most of these players did not start in these academies from the youngest age groups. In fact, the trend is for a wide base of talent to be nurtured in local or partner clubs before they begin to move into a ‘best with best’ environment at the 12-16 stage. These findings suggest that, in the UK, academies either recruit too early or ‘grassroots’ doesn’t have the infrastructure and expertise to develop talent like these European nations? 🤔 @TheS_Resource #Coaching