Top 20 revealed 

Burnley ahead of Barcelona - Which top five league clubs hand most minutes to u21 stars?

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Strasbourg have comfortably handed more minutes to U21 players than any other club in the top five leagues this season. After narrowly missing out on European football during the 2021-22 campaign, Strasbourg flirted with relegation last season but they’ve improved and they currently sit 12th in Ligue 1. 

Which clubs hand most minutes to U21 players in top five leagues?

20. Bologna – 6 players – 5,574 minutes

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19. Alavés – 8 players – 5,604 minutes

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18. Frosinone – 9 players – 5,668 minutes

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17. Bournemouth – 5 players – 5,680 minutes

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16. Manchester United – 9 players – 5,705 minutes

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15. Borussia Mönchengladbach – 8 players – 5,723 minutes

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14. Hellas Verona – 8 players – 5,783 minutes

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13. Freiburg – 5 players – 5,826 minutes

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12. Rennes – 14 players – 6,102 minutes

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11. Lyon – 13 players – 6,182 minutes

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10. Girona – 8 players – 6,210 minutes

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9. Le Havre – 10 players – 6,428 minutes

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8. Lille – 12 players – 6,474 minutes

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7. Chelsea – 14 players – 7,078 minutes

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6. Lorient – 15 players – 7,227 minutes

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5. Barcelona – 12 players – 7,476 minutes

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4. Brighton – 11 players – 7,928 minutes

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3. Burnley – 7 players – 8,233 minutes

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2. Valencia – 10 players – 9,181 minutes

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1. Strasbourg – 15 players – 12,127 minutes

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Clubs in the French top-flight have handed more minutes to U21 players than any other top five league with 165 players accumulating 85,447 minutes between them. The English Premier League ranks second with 127 players receiving 69,815 minutes combined with the Bundesliga ranking last for minutes to U21 players with 91 players racking up 53,297 between them. Unsurprisingly, four French clubs and three English teams feature in the top ten for minutes handed to U21 players and we’ve examined the top 20 clubs in this category.

The top 20 clubs handing the most minutes to U21 players in top five leagues 

Strasbourg have handed 15 U21 players a combined total of 12,127 league minutes this season, which is almost 3,000 ahead of second ranked Valencia. Upon his appointment as manager in the summer, Arsenal legend Partick Vieira spoke about the importance of blooding youngsters into his team and he’s delivered on that promise. The owners of Chelsea – Clearlake Capital – bought a majority stake in Strasbourg as they target a multi-club model and 19-year-old loanees Ângelo and Andrey Santos have featured regularly. 

Top 30 U21 players with most minutes in top five leagues

30 Javi Guerra – Valencia – 1,946 minutes in 28 games

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29 Maximilian Beier – Hoffenheim – 1,965 minutes in 27 games

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28 Jude Bellingham – Real Madrid – 1,966 minutes in 23 games

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27 Lamine Camara – Metz – 1,978 minutes in 26 games

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26 Rafa Marín – Alaves – 1,990 minutes in 27 games

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25 Riccardo Calafiori – Bologna – 2,003 minutes in 26 games

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24 Diego López – Valencia – 2,006 minutes in 28 games

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23 Alejandro Garnacho – Manchester United – 2,010 minutes in 29 games

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22 Cole Palmer – Chelsea – 2,017 minutes in 27 games

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21 Matteo Ruggeri – Atalanta – 2,069 minutes in 27 games

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20 Eric Martel – FC Köln – 2,082 minutes in 25 games

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19 Teden Mengi – Luton Town – 2,093 minutes in 25 games

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18 Giorgio Scalvini – Atalanta – 2,140 minutes in 27 games

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17 Anthony Elanga – Nottingham Forest – 2,146 minutes in 31 games

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16 Arouna Sangante – Le Havre – 2,240 minutes in 25 games

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15 Xavi Simons – RB Leipzig – 2,255 minutes in 27 games

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14 Murillo – Nottingham Forest – 2.270 minutes in 26 games

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13 Florian Wirtz – Bayer Leverkusen – 2,283 minutes in 28 games

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12 Leny Yoro – Lille – 2,308 minutes in 27 games

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11 Destiny Udogie – Tottenham – 2,343 minutes in 27 games

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10 Cristhian Mosquera – Valencia – 2,353 minutes in 28 games

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9 Sávio – Girona – 2,377 minutes in 29 games

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8 Bradley Locko – Brest – 2,511 minutes in 28 games

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4 Guillaume Restes – FC Toulouse – 2,520 minutes in 28 games

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4 Jarrad Branthwaite – Everton – 2,520 minutes in 28 games

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4 Noah Atubolu – Freiburg – 2,520 minutes in 28 games

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4 James Trafford – Burnley – 2,520 minutes in 28 games

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3 Matías Soulé – Frosinone – 2,530 minutes in 29 games

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2 Filip Jørgensen – Villarreal – 2,610 minutes in 29 games

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1 Ilya Zabarnyi – Bournemouth – 2,790 minutes in 31 games

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Premier League sides Burnley and Brighton rank third and fourth respectively, one place ahead of fifth placed Barcelona. While Brighton featuring so high won’t be much of a surprise given their recruitment policy of signing young players before developing them and selling for a profit, Burnley’s focus on youth goes under the radar. The clarets have endured a disappointing return to the English top-flight with Vincent Kompany refusing to abandon his attacking principles and belief in youth. Goalkeeper James Trafford leads the way for Burnley with the England U21 international receiving the joint-fourth most minutes (2,520) of any U21 player in the top five leagues.

Barcelona’s emphasis on youth under Xavi is well documented. Pedri and Lamine Yamal are integral players while Pau Cubarsí has emerged as an incredible talent and Vitor Roque joined for €40 million in January. The three other Ligue One sides in the top ten after Strasbourg are Lorient, Lille and Le Havre, while Chelsea are the third highest English side with Cole Palmer receiving their most minutes from an U21 player (2,017). Manchester United have endured a dismal season but Erik ten Hag has shown faith in younger players like Kobbie Mainoo, Alejandro Garnacho and Willy Kambwala with nine U21 players accumulating 5,705 minutes, ranking them 16th.


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