Manchester United's worst start in Premier League history

Manchester United have produced as many footballers currently playing in Europe's top five leagues as Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham combined, according to new research.

Data from the CIES Football Observatory says that 36 players developed by United currently ply their trade in the 'big five' of Spain's La Liga, the English Premier League, German Bundesliga, Italian Serie A and French Ligue 1.

Tyler Blackett is one of several academy players to be handed their Manchester United this season under Louis van Gaal © Getty Images Enlarge

United's number is three times higher than Premier League rivals City, Chelsea and Spurs, who have each produced 12, and also higher than Arsenal's (22).

Barcelona are the only club to have produced more than United, with 43 different players currently playing in the five leagues having come through the club's La Masia academy. United are followed by Real Madrid (34), Lyon (33) and Paris Saint-Germain (27).

However, overall, the research found that, of the five leagues, only Serie A club squads contained a lower proportion of home-grown players (9.6%) than the Premier League (13.9%). Ligue 1 clubs (24.6%) lead the way with La Liga (20.4%) and the Bundesliga (16.4%) second and third.

The CIES research used UEFA's definition of 'home-grown' as a first-team player who has trained for at least three years with his club between the ages of 15 and 21. Players considered must have either featured in a league match this season or been an unused substitute, providing they played a senior game in each of the last two seasons.

It means that, this season, the Premier League has fielded a record low number of home-grown players, despite FA chairman Greg Dyke setting up a commission to look at the fall in numbers of English players appearing for Premier League clubs.

Despite spending over £150 million in the summer, United have still fielded 12 home-grown players this season, the fifth-highest number in the five leagues. Above them, Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao have 15 apiece due to their emphasis on nurturing and promoting Basque talent. Lyon also have 15, while Barcelona have 13.

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