Study: Has the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo impacted the growth of Man Utd's youth?
Youth academies have been the key to success for a number of Premier League teams for years now. Take Manchester United’s Class of ‘92 for example; a team which was competing for the FA Youth Cup in 1992 and went on to become a key part of the first (and, so far, only) English team in history to win the continental treble in 1999.
Manchester United is a club that prides itself on promoting youth. In December 2019 the club celebrated 4000 consecutive games where a youth academy product featured - a streak that has since not been broken. The likes of Marcus Rashford, Scott McTominay and Mason Greenwood have been key players in the last few seasons and have cemented themselves as regular starters. But has that changed this season?
The return of Cristiano Ronaldo to Manchester United took over the world in the summer and it’s a signing that is proving to be worth every penny they’re paying the Portuguese international. Cristiano has netted 10 goals in 16 games for the Red Devils, but many are still labeling him as a problem for the club, with concerns about how his persistent presence impacts the growth and development of young players on the verge of breaking through.
This is of course not an issue exclusive to the 13-time Premier League champions and as a result BettingOdds.com has now put together some stats to see how each club is doing when it comes to playing their youth academy graduates.
Our results show that across the 2020/21 season Manchester United averaged 282 minutes per game in the Premier League for academy graduates. However, this campaign they’re only averaging only 194 minutes. The summer signings of Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho have of course meant that the similarly positioned Greenwood is now struggling for that guaranteed starter spot he had last season. If a talent such as Greenwood isn’t looking like getting many minutes with Ronaldo in the side, then the likes of Anthony Elanga and Shola Shoretire are even further back in the list.
Below you will find a list of each team's academy graduates that have represented them in the Premier League this season.
| Player | Team/Academy | Minutes played | Games played | MPG |
| Emile Smith Rowe | Arsenal | 982 | 13 | 75.5 |
| Bukayo Saka | Arsenal | 900 | 13 | 69.2 |
| Ainsley Maitland-Niles | Arsenal | 264 | 8 | 33.0 |
| Folarin Balogun | Arsenal | 70 | 2 | 35.0 |
| Reiss Nelson | Arsenal | 19 | 1 | 19.0 |
| Jacob Ramsey | Aston Villa | 667 | 12 | 55.6 |
| Carney Chukwuemeka | Aston Villa | 86 | 2 | 43.0 |
| Cameron Archer | Aston Villa | 24 | 3 | 8.0 |
| Keinan Davis | Aston Villa | 11 | 1 | 11.0 |
| Jaden Philogene-Bidace | Aston Villa | 4 | 1 | 4.0 |
| Lewis Dunk | Brighton | 1260 | 14 | 90.0 |
| Robert Sanchez | Brighton | 1169 | 13 | 89.9 |
| Dwight McNeil | Burnley | 1156 | 13 | 88.9 |
| Jay Rodriguez | Burnley | 252 | 10 | 25.2 |
| Reece James | Chelsea | 638 | 10 | 63.8 |
| Trevoh Chalobah | Chelsea | 693 | 9 | 77.0 |
| Mason Mount | Chelsea | 616 | 11 | 56.0 |
| Callum Hudson-Odoi | Chelsea | 558 | 7 | 79.7 |
| Ruben Loftus-Cheek | Chelsea | 449 | 9 | 49.9 |
| Andreas Christensen | Chelsea | 810 | 9 | 90.0 |
| Wilfried Zaha | Crystal Palace | 1085 | 13 | 83.5 |
| Tyrick Mitchell | Crystal Palace | 1260 | 14 | 90.0 |
| Jesurun Rak-Sakyi | Crystala Palace | 14 | 1 | 14.0 |
| Lewis Dobbin | Everton | 2 | 2 | 1.0 |
| Tyler Onyango | Everton | 1 | 1 | 1.0 |
| Tom Davies | Everton | 154 | 5 | 30.8 |
| Anthony Gordon | Everton | 489 | 11 | 44.5 |
| Jonjoe Kenny | Everton | 10 | 1 | 10.0 |
| Kalvin Phillips | Leeds | 946 | 11 | 86.0 |
| Jamie Shackleton | Leeds | 533 | 9 | 59.2 |
| Charlie Cresswell | Leeds | 92 | 2 | 46.0 |
| Stuart McKinstry | Leeds | 3 | 1 | 3.0 |
| Harvey Barnes | Leicester | 872 | 12 | 72.7 |
| Hamza Choudhury | Leicester | 60 | 1 | 60.0 |
| Luke Thomas | Leicester | 540 | 6 | 90.0 |
| Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall | Leicester | 79 | 5 | 15.8 |
| Trent Alexander-Arnold | Liverpool | 1054 | 12 | 87.8 |
| Curtis Jones | Liverpool | 322 | 5 | 64.4 |
| Harvey Elliott | Liverpool | 250 | 4 | 62.5 |
| Caoimhin Kelleher | Liverpool | 90 | 1 | 90.0 |
| Neco Williams | Liverpool | 7 | 1 | 7.0 |
| Tyler Morton | Liverpool | 6 | 1 | 6.0 |
| Phil Foden | Man City | 613 | 8 | 76.6 |
| Cole Palmer | Man City | 109 | 3 | 36.3 |
| Paul Pogba | Man Utd | 634 | 9 | 70.4 |
| Marcus Rashford | Man Utd | 252 | 6 | 42.0 |
| Jesse Lingard | Man Utd | 77 | 7 | 11.0 |
| Mason Greenwood | Man Utd | 801 | 10 | 80.1 |
| Scott McTominay | Man Utd | 761 | 11 | 69.2 |
| Sean Longstaff | Newcastle | 727 | 11 | 66.1 |
| Freddie Woodman | Newcastle | 360 | 4 | 90.0 |
| Max Aarons | Norwich | 1260 | 14 | 90.0 |
| Todd Cantwell | Norwich | 360 | 6 | 60.0 |
| Adam Idah | Norwich | 75 | 9 | 8.3 |
| Andrew Omobamidele | Norwich | 291 | 4 | 72.8 |
| Nathan Tella | Southampton | 194 | 5 | 38.8 |
| Theo Walcott | Southampton | 283 | 6 | 47.2 |
| Harry Kane | Spurs | 918 | 11 | 83.5 |
| Japhet Tanganga | Spurs | 435 | 6 | 72.5 |
| Harry Winks | Spurs | 151 | 3 | 50.3 |
| Mark Noble | West Ham | 3 | 1 | 3.0 |
| Declan Rice | West Ham | 1170 | 13 | 90.0 |
| Ben Johnson | West Ham | 541 | 7 | 77.3 |
Teams using their academy players the most in the Premier League this season
- Chelsea: 2714 minutes (208 minutes per game)
- Manchester United: 2525 minutes (194 minutes per game)
- Crystal Palace: 2359 minutes (168 minutes per game)
- Arsenal: 2235 minutes (171 minutes per game)
- Brighton: 2069 minutes (159 minutes per game)
The big six academy minutes last season compared to this season
Arsenal
20/21: 184 minutes per game
21/22: 171 minutes per game
Chelsea
20/21: 209 minutes per game
21/22: 208 minutes per game
Liverpool
20/21: 177 minutes per game
21/22: 126 minutes per game
Man City
20/21: 11 minutes per game
21/22: 55 minutes per game
Man Utd
20/21: 282 minutes per game
21/22: 194 minutes per game
Spurs
20/21: 116 minutes per game
21/22: 115 minutes per game
Each Premier League team’s most used youth product this season
Arsenal: Emile Smith Rowe 982 minutes
Aston Villa: Jacob Ramsey 667 minutes
Brighton: Lewis Dunk 1260 minutes
Burnley: Dwight McNeil 1156 minutes
Chelsea: Andreas Christensen 810 minutes
Crystal Palace: Tyrick Mitchell 1260 minutes
Everton: Anthony Gordon 489 minutes
Leeds: Kalvin Phillips 946 minutes
Leicester: Harvey Barnes 872 minutes
Liverpool: Trent Alexander-Arnold 1054 minutes
Manchester City: Phil Foden 613 minutes
Manchester United: Mason Greenwood 801 minutes
Newcastle: Sean Longstaff 727 minutes
Norwich: Max Aarons 1260 minutes
Southampton: Theo Walcott 283 minutes
Tottenham: Harry Kane 919 minutes
West Ham: Declan Rice 1260 minutes
