Huddersfield boss David Wagner retains faith in English youth system despite proposal to shut academy
- Huddersfield manager David Wagner is defiant on subject of homegrown talent
- Terriers are considering shutting down their academy due to shortage of quality
- Wagner feels England outstrips European leagues regarding academy products
- German acknowledges finding them a place in the Premier League is difficult
David Wagner is certain England is producing top-quality young players – but acknowledges not enough are coming through at Huddersfield.
As revealed by Sportsmail, the Premier League newcomers are considering shutting down their academy because not enough young players are making the first team.
Midfielder Philip Billing, a Denmark Under-21 international signed from Esbjerg as a 16-year-old, is the only academy graduate in Wagner's side.
David Wagner knows it is hard to find space for academy products in the Huddersfield team
Philip Billing is the only graduate in Huddersfield's first team and he joined as a 16-year-old
The club's best young talent has been brought in from outside, with midfielder Kasey Palmer beginning a second season on loan from Chelsea, from whom they also borrowed midfielder Izzy Brown before he joined Brighton.
Wagner, who managed Borussia Dortmund's reserve team before moving to Yorkshire, thinks England's top young players are better than their counterparts in his native Germany, but acknowledges that finding them a place in the Premier League is difficult.
He said: 'I have worked a long time in Germany, some of it full-time in academies and with top young players. From what I have seen in England so far, there is unbelievable talent and potential in players who are 19, 20 and 21.
'We had that with Kasey Palmer and Izzy Brown, and Ben Chilwell when he was here on loan from Leicester. They have unbelievable quality which I rarely find in Germany at this age.
Huddersfield are reviewing their youth set-up and are contemplating shutting their academy
Wagner has brought in players from abroad in a bid to preserve the club's top flight status
'Unfortunately, they are not our academy players. They are academy players from other clubs. But I don't think England has a problem.'
Wagner acknowledged that Huddersfield are struggling to produce their own young players.
He said: 'Of course it's a problem for a club of our size to produce Premier League players.
'It's a problem for a lot of academies to produce Premier League players. It's a problem for us for sure as well. But the solution is to solve this problem, and that is something the club and the chairman have to decide.'
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