Premier League chief executive, Richard Scudamore, admitted that the Premier League is “lagging behind” German football when it comes to developing young players.
He said "they [English football] must learn lessons from the Bundesliga when it comes to improving the national team."
Scudamore, in an interview with German newspaper Bild, said: “Germany has done a great deal for the development of young players since 2001 and we’re still lagging behind."
“The quote from Germany coach Joachim Low that winning the World Cup title was only made possible by the reform of German football and hard work is something we in England have got to remember.”
German football embarked on a massive shake-up after the disappointment of Euro 2000 in which they finished bottom of the group with just one point and they now pride themselves on closer links between the leagues and the German FA along with state of the art facilities for youth and first team to work with.
Players such as Philipp Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger were among those who were well within the complete transformation and the World Cup success shows they are now top of the world.
But big German stars like Mesut Ozil have come to England and Scudamore says the “financial potential” of the Premier League attracts big names here, stopping academies from bringing in young talent
Scudamore added: “We’ve simply got more clubs who have greater financial potential to compete with the biggest European teams when it comes to buying the best talent. Our clubs are highly attractive for these players."
“I don’t think it would be right to mention any names, but all I can say is that there are some wonderful players in the Bundesliga who would also shine here.”
Premier League can only boast only 13.9% of players was homegrown in early games and the evidence shows that academies are hoarding players. The Premier League is fourth out of the “big five” leagues when it comes to bringing homegrown players through the ranks, behind France’s Ligue 1 (24.6%) La Liga (22.4%) and Germany’s Bundesliga (16.4%). Serie A in Italy fielded a lower proportion, only 9.6%.