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

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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. 

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. 

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.