A few months before he retired, Eric Cantona joined Gary Neville and David Beckham for a drink. "We were in awe of him," remembers Neville, who sat with his England team-mate and soaked up any wisdom Cantona cared to impart.

Cantona was not known to waste his words and he did not have to say much to inspire the two young players, who were eager to learn. "Over a beer, Eric told us we were going be Kings of Europe. It was a big claim, but Becks and I left the pub feeling invigorated – and not just because of the beer."

The role Cantona played in developing Manchester United's young players can be overstated, but the example he set to youth players coming through the ranks helped to create a culture of perfectionism at the club. Neville and Beckham lifted the Champions League trophy two years later.

Neville and his contemporaries overcame the fiercest of challenges on their way to the top. They had to replace a legendary group of players, the great championship-winning team of 1994. Club legends such as Paul Ince, Mark Hughes and Andrei Kanchelskis were moved on to make way for the likes of Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes. Beckham ended up with Cantona's No7 shirt and went on to win league championships in four countries; Neville replaced Paul Parker for United and England.

Neville grew up among the best young players to emerge in England in the past few decades, but his role as a coach for the national team has given him a new perspective on how talent should be nurtured: "I always felt the cream would rise to the top. I've always believed that, if you are good enough, you will get the opportunities. We were always told that as kids. But I'm not quite so sure any more. I'm not sure that, if a player is good enough, they will actually have a chance of getting through because if everyone wants instant success then they haven't got time to develop."

The figures do not look pretty for England. Only 189 English players featured in the Premier League last season, with only 29 of them playing in the Champions League.

When Neville represented his country in the mid-1990s, England managers could choose their strikers from Alan Shearer, Teddy Sheringham, Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler, Andy Cole, Les Ferdinand, Ian Wright and Matt Le Tissier. Fowler knocked in 30 goals a season for Liverpool but couldn't hold down a place in the national team; Danny Welbeck scored one league goal for Manchester United last season but leads the line regularly for England.

With English players under-represented in the Premier League, and with many of those performing only bit-part roles, some fans would like the Premier League to introduce a quote system to encourage more local talent. Would you be willing to risk your club's success to produce more homegrown players for the national team?

Should Premier League clubs be forced to promote young English players?