Man Utd use more homegrown stars than any club in Europe with almost HALF players local as Chelsea join them in top 10
MANCHESTER UNITED boast more homegrown players in their squad than any other team in Europe's top five leagues.
A whopping 40.7 per cent of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's first-team are made up of stars raised through the Old Trafford academy.
Since the Norwegian took over from Jose Mourinho, more and more game time has been afforded to youngsters with the transfer policy also decidedly more local than during previous regimes.
Joining familiar names Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard in the senior squad this year have been James Garner, Brandon Williams, Axel Tuanzebe and Mason Greenwood.
Scott McTominay and Timothy Fosu-Mensah also count as homegrown talents, even though they represent Scotland and the Netherlands respectively, thanks to their education in the United system.
Some of Europe's most esteemed academies follow closely behind the Red Devils in being well represented by homegrown players.
Athletic Club can count 37.5 per cent of their dressing room as raised through the club.
Famously, the Bilbao team only sign players native to or trained in the Basque Country.
While many players come through the club academy, plenty still arrive via other teams such as Romanian international Cristian Ganea who grew up in the autonomous region of northern Spain and was spotted by Mallorca.
LaLiga rivals Celta Vigo complete the top three with 33.3 per cent before the German trio of Mainz, Hertha Berlin and Koln complete those with over 30 per cent.
Chelsea sit seventh having reaped the rewards of Frank Lampard's youth revolution.
A Fifa transfer ban at Stamford Bridge encouraged the coach to harness his club's staggering array of young talent, leading to successful debut campaigns from Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount, Reece James and Fikayo Tomori.
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The Blues can count 29.6 per cent of their first-team as homegrown - after years of letting their youth prospects waste away on loan.
In 12th are Arsenal with 25.9 per cent, ahead of Southampton whose 23.8 per cent would doubtless be higher were it not for their homegrown talent being bought up by the likes of the Gunners.
No other Premier League sides are in the top 20 for Europe, with Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid all present after filling over 20 per cent of their squads with academy stars.