English players starting Premier League games reaches record low

The number of English players starting Premier League games has reached record lows over the past two weekends.

Only 53 players - less than a quarter of all starters beginning games for top-flight clubs in Premier League game week 14 - were eligible to represent England, down from 55 last weekend.

Bournemouth were the Premier League club to name the most English players in their starting side, with seven.

But Chelsea and Newcastle did not name a single English player in their XIs.

Data from analysts Gracenote shows the previous record low was 58 in four different match rounds during the 2015-16 season.

England boss Gareth Southgate says it is "a big concern"

"There's a lot of investment in academies and young players and there needs to be opportunity and jobs for them," said Southgate, who added that last year the average number of English starters was 33%.

"It's a concern for the clubs as well, everyone is very mindful of the young age group," he said.

"What's clear for everybody is we don't want to see that number diminish further, we just need to work on how we get experience that gives first-team managers the confidence to pick them.

"Managers don't usually have long-term security and so it makes it more difficult to pick home-grown players."