It’s a general rule of thumb in football that the best English players play in the best English division, the Premier League.
Even the Championship is full of great homegrown talent, but what about the world outside of the UK? Where and who are the best English players currently at foreign clubs?
We’ve put together a list of ten players, all of whom are currently playing for clubs outside of England. We’ve ranked them not just on their current form, but on their historical performances and their potential, and with the number of young players on this list, the future of English football is looking very bright indeed.
Top 10 English Players Currently at Foreign Clubs
10: Chris Smalling
Before you turn your noses up at this one, just hear us out.
In terms of experience, Chris Smalling is certainly one of the best English players currently at foreign clubs. The 33-year-old former Manchester United and Fulham centre-back is still in great form, playing in Serie A for A. S. Roma.
He first joined the Italian club on loan in 2019 before making the move permanent the following year. Since then, he’s appeared for La Lupa 88 times, scoring nine goals and becoming Jose Mourinho’s rock at the back.
Read More: Chris Smalling Criticises Manchester United Over Roma Move
Smalling has won silverware too, helping his team win the first ever Europa Conference League in 2022, beating Feyenoord in the final where Smalling won the Man of the Match award for his efforts.
There you go – never judge a book by its cover.
9: Stephy Mavididi
Born in Derby, Stephy Mavididi was loaned out to Charlton Athletic and Preston North End by parent club Arsenal before joining Juventus in 2018.
He currently plies his trade as a striker for Ligue 1 club Montpelier, where he’s bagged 17 goals in 71 appearances.
A clinical finisher, Mavididi has scored some incredible goals and has a great habit of being right in front of the goal when the ball comes to him. Strangely, there doesn’t seem to be any middle ground.
Former Arsenal youth Stephy Mavididi continues to have a breakout season in Ligue 1.
Here's his goal, his 8th in Ligue 1 this season, from the weekend – a brilliant solo effort against Bordeaux. pic.twitter.com/CDUvoJwDnr
— Robin Bairner (@RBairner) March 23, 2021
Although eligible for the Congo national team, Mavididi has stated that his dream is to play for England one day.
8: Noni Madueke
Despite playing youth football for Crystal Palace and Tottenham, Noni Madueke got his senior debut playing for Jong PSV in the Netherlands.
If you can believe it, Jong PSV is the reserve side for PSV Eindhoven, and the Dutch giants brought Madueke up to the senior team as soon as he became available.
The left-footed player serves the club as a winger and attacking midfielder, excelling at dribbling and crossing thanks to his fantastic pace and on-the-ball control.
He is somewhat injury prone, which isn’t brilliant, but he is also just 20 years old. He still has bags of potential and, should he fulfil it, Madueke can become not just one of the best English players currently at foreign clubs, but one of the best English players full stop.
7: Etienne Green
In perhaps the best case of nominative determinism in football ever, 22-year-old goalkeeper Etienne Green plays for second-tier French club… Saint Etienne.
Couldn’t make it up, could you?
The son of an English father and French mother, Green moved to France at the age of four and has played football there exclusively. He represented the nation at youth level, but swapped to England in 2021.
Green is easily the best English keeper not playing in the country. He saved a penalty in his first appearance for Saint Etienne and has gone from strength to strength ever since.
Now if he moves to England and plays for Forest Green, then that would be perfect.
6: Callum Hudson-Odoi
Though technically still a Chelsea player, winger Callum Hudson-Odoi is currently on loan in Germany at Bayer Leverkusen.
Premier League viewers should be well acquainted with this man’s work, as he’s scored and assisted a fair number of goals for the Blues. He has yet to replicate the success he found in the years 2019-21, but he still holds a lot of potential at just 22 years old.
Having already started three times for the England senior team and with 12 goals at various junior levels, Hudson-Odoi has a solid foundation to build on as an England international.
5: Reece Oxford
West Ham United fans will know centre-back Reece Oxford as the youngest player ever to debut for the club when he did so in 2015.
A prodigy, Oxford was named by many publications in the mid-2010s as one to watch. Whilst he hasn’t quite lived up to those lofty standards, he still plays very well in the Bundesliga for FC Augsburg.
He is a tall and powerful player with a good eye for a pass and has drawn many comparisons to a young Rio Ferdinand, which is never a bad thing.
Many feel that Oxford is finally living up to this potential – a very welcome sight.
4: Marcus Edwards
At just 5’ 6” tall, London-born Marcus Edwards is the perfect pocket rocket for Portuguese club Sporting CP.
The former Tottenham winger signed with Sporting in 2022 and has already scored eight times in just 25 appearances. What’s more impressive is his skill and flair on the ball, leaving defenders in his wake as he wriggles his way into the box.
Edwards came back to haunt his former team when he scored against them in the Champions League back in October, so perhaps Spurs will be looking to recall the diminutive dynamo back at a later date.
3: Tammy Abraham
Another Roma player, Tammy Abraham also impressed at Chelsea during his time there.
With 21 goals for the Blues and 25 whilst on loan at Aston Villa, Abraham was a steal when Jose Mourinho picked him up for £34 million back in the summer of 2021 and he has earned back every single one of those pennies.
He’s averaged roughly a goal every other game whilst in Italy, becoming the first English player ever to score more than ten goals in a single Serie A season.
Never mind one for the future, Tammy Abraham is a superstar right here, right now.
2: Fikayo Tomori
Chelsea sure love to let English prospects travel abroad, don’t they?
Fikayo Tomori joined AC Milan in 2021 after a successful loan spell from Stamford Bridge. He’s blown the socks off of everyone since then with his pace, tackling, and positive match attitude.
The centre-back debuted for the England senior team during the qualifying for Euro 2020 and has made a couple more appearances since then. He was in serious contention for the World Cup in Qatar but narrowly missed out to more experienced men.
Give it another four years though.
1: Jude Bellingham
Topping our list of the 10 best English players currently at foreign clubs is, of course, Jude Bellingham.
The only player on this list to be included in England’s Qatar 2022 squad, Bellingham proved his worth to Gareth Southgate immediately by bagging the Three Lions’ first goal of the tournament against Iran.
At just 19 years old, the current Borussia Dortmund player has already achieved so much in his career. He commands the midfield every time he plays and has been influential in setting up dozens of goals for both club and country.
Seemingly the full package already, it’s scary how good Jude Bellingham could be in just a few more years’ time.
