Youth academies are the backbone of a country\u2019s football set-up.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s always a sense of excitement when a home-grown talent works his way into the first team. Will he be a club icon? Will he go on to play for his country one day, memories of his first club still fresh in his mind? Or will we never see him again?<\/p>\n
Investing in a state-of-the-art youth academy always pays dividends and it\u2019s something the fans love to see.<\/p>\n
Some clubs have excellent youth systems but make poor use of their graduates. Chelsea, for example, have a slew of talented youngsters but regularly elect to spend huge fees on foreign players instead.<\/p>\n
However, just because their respective clubs don\u2019t give them a fair chance, this doesn\u2019t mean that the academy is to blame.<\/p>\n
This list will be focused on current players, rather than an academy\u2019s legacy.<\/p>\n
Arsenal<\/a> are no great shakes right now. A mid-table finish looks inevitable, but at least they can take solace in their stellar youngsters regularly stealing the show.<\/p>\n Bukayo Saka<\/a> and Emile Smith Rowe<\/a> have been two of the Gunners\u2019 best players this year, while others such as Luke Ayling, Eberechi Eze and Ainsley Maitland-Niles have also been impressive elsewhere in the Premier League.<\/p>\n This goes without mentioning their standout graduate over the past ten years \u2013 Serge Gnabry. Last season, he was an integral part of a treble-winning Bayern Munich<\/a> side and is generally considered one of the best wingers in the world.<\/p>\n Given their current situation, the higher-ups at the Emirates will no doubt kick themselves every day for letting him go. As will Tony Pulis, if he has a shred of self-awareness.<\/p>\n Southampton\u2019s<\/a> academy has received numerous plaudits in recent years. It\u2019s difficult to keep track of all their top-flight graduates, there\u2019s just so many.<\/p>\n Luke Shaw and James Ward-Prowse have both been excellent this season. Other notable alumni, such as Gareth Bale and Theo Walcott, have also displayed their talents this campaign (though one more than the other).<\/p>\n Unfortunately for the Saints, their youth products rarely stay at St. Mary\u2019s for long, with players such as Ward-Prowse and Jack Stephens being notable exceptions.<\/p>\n This is through no fault of the academy, however. It has consistently pushed its youngsters to be the best they can be, which often leads them to outgrow their parent club.<\/p>\n Is there a youth system in England more heralded than Manchester United\u2019s<\/a>? The number of legends that have passed through its ranks is staggering. If these rankings were based on the legacy of United\u2019s academy, they would easily be number one.<\/p>\n The class of \u201992 speaks for themselves, but they\u2019re not the subject of this article. United\u2019s current output is certainly stellar but only enough to land them third in this list.<\/p>\n This being said, Marcus Rashford<\/a>, Dean Henderson<\/a> and Paul Pogba<\/a> are all top-quality players who passed through the system. Unlike some other big clubs, Manchester United are often more than willing to give their youth products a chance in the first team.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \ud835\udc07\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc2c \ud835\udc2c\ud835\udc2d\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc20\ud835\udc1e, \ud835\udc21\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc2c \ud835\udc1c\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc2d\ud835\udc32 \ud83e\udd29<\/p>\n \ud83d\uddd3\ufe0f #OnThisDay<\/a> in 2016, @MarcusRashford<\/a> bagged his first Manchester derby goal \ud83d\udd34#MUFC<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/lqDJzX4eYO<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Manchester United (@ManUtd) March 20, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n4. Southampton<\/h3>\n
3. Manchester United<\/h3>\n
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