France coach Laurent Blanc has attacked English clubs for stifling young French talent.
It is a situation that concerns Blanc, who fears that players such as Chelsea's Gaël Kakuta - who at 19 is rated France's brightest prospect - are prevented from playing first-team football in England.
"At that age the most important thing is to improve, to play and to learn, rather than getting an attractive transfer to a club in the big four or the big five [of the Premier League]," Blanc said, speaking yesterday ahead of his side's friendly against England at Wembley tomorrow. "They'll train once or twice a week with the first team but will never play in the first team. What's the point of that?
"It halts progress. You need a career plan, what do you aspire to at 16 or 17 when you are in a French club? To play in the first team at Le Havre or to get a big transfer and not play? The player has to think about this with his entourage to make the right choice. If you think about the ideal progression, it's not the right choice. [But] we're not in control of the lad or his entourage."
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