‘Where are they?’ - West Ham & Chelsea development questioned

West Ham 2025-26 Premier League relegation

West Ham were once known as the “Academy of Football”, but former Hammers boss Harry Redknapp has told GOAL why “something has to be done” about the lack of exciting youngsters breaking through at top Premier League clubs. Chelsea and Liverpool are considered to form part of that problem, with Arsenal wonderkid Max Dowman proving to be a break from the norm at present.

Academy of Football: Graduates from West Ham's youth system

There are players of considerable promise within youth systems across England and Great Britain, with said talent being presented with pathways that lead to first-team football. Are enough of those reaching the end of that journey at the very highest level?

Having previously produced World Cup winners Bobby Moore, Martin Peters and Geoff Hurst - with Trevor Brooking and Tony Cottee following their lead - Redknapp was in charge at West Ham as the likes of Joe Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Jermain Defoe and Michael Carrick burst onto the scene.

Mark Noble and Declan Rice have come through since then, but the production line has certainly slowed. The same can be said of those competing for major honours at home and abroad, with only the odd prodigy making the grade.

Max Dowman Arsenal 2025-26

Why aren't more players breaking through at top Premier League clubs?

West Ham will be taking a step backwards in 2026-27, after suffering relegation into the Championship, and that may help to present more opportunities for their stars of tomorrow. Quizzed on whether that will be the case, Redknapp - speaking in association with BuzzBallz - told GOAL: “There's not one kid from the academy in the first team of West Ham. There's not one kid at Tottenham out of the academy in their team. Where have the kids all gone?

“They spend fortunes on academies, they've got all the facilities, the kids they go on coaches now to the leagues of rubbish. Back in the day you had the South East Counties League in London - Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea, West Ham, all the London clubs, U18s. Now they go and play, they get on a coach, they stay overnight in a hotel, they travel all over the country. They're treated like superstars, but where are the superstars coming out of all this money that's being wasted on the academies?

“I don't see any players - one here, one there, one great one here. Max Dowman is probably going to be the best player in the country in a couple of years, other than that where are they?

“Where are they at West Ham? Where are they at Tottenham? Where are they at Liverpool? I don't see many at the moment. There's no kids coming through. Something has got to be done.”

Has modern football become too manufactured?

Part of the problem, in the eyes of Redknapp and those of a similar mindset, is that modern football is considered to have become too “manufactured”. Box-ticking exercises at grass roots level upwards are making it increasingly difficult for mercurial entertainers such as Paul Gascoigne, Ronaldinho and Diego Maradona to be produced.

Redknapp added when asked if that is the case: “Absolutely, I think now suddenly everybody thought they were Pep Guardiola - the goalkeeper rolls it out to a centre-half, he gives it to the other centre-half, back to the goalie, out to the centre-half, over to the right-back, back to the centre.

“Suddenly, the goalie is having more touches with his feet than any other player on the pitch! Central defenders are having too many touches - half of them can't play really and end up fannying about with a ball, losing it and it ends up in the back of the net. I find it strange.

“Get it up to a big centre-forward who can hold the ball up and when you get it wide, get it in the box for people who can head it, attack it and score goals. Nowadays, it doesn't happen very often, we keep pass, pass, pass for the sake of it.”

Harry Redknapp BuzzBallz

Fun factor can be returned to the English game

Elements of fun and showmanship may have been lost down the years, but that is not to say that they are gone forever. It is up to clubs, coaches and supporters to bring those qualities back - with there enough potential in academy ranks, as the likes of Dowman and Rio Ngumoha catch the eye, to suggest that the landscape in English football can shift again.

BuzzBallz is on a mission to bring some fun back to football fandom this summer - encouraging fans to get involved and embrace the lighter side of the game. To mark the 21,866 days since England last won a major international trophy, cult-favourite ready-to-drink brand BuzzBallz is giving away 21,866 products to fans who share creative, funny and unexpected photos or videos via social media showing where their BuzzBallz have turned up during the tournament.