Though the premium placed on young English players may put some Premier League clubs off, recent success stories such as Dele Alli, John Stones and Eric Dier show that good investments can certainly be made.
A number of exciting young English talents will be available for the Hammers come July, especially in the Championship, where many teenage talents have been given the opportunity to ply their trade in a physical league which is also improving on a technical level.
But for every Dele Alli there’s a John Bostock, for every Eric Dier there’s a Michael Johnson, and for every John Stones there’s a … John Stones? (he’s been a success for Everton financially, at least)
So the game of buying English and buying young isn’t quite without its risks, but the rewards can be extremely positive given the work rate English players often put in and their unprecedented sell-on value.
With that in mind, here are three young English talents Slaven Bilic should look to sign come July…
