Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand can understand why chances for young English players are now so limited in the Premiership.

"The game is much more of a business, rather than a sport, as it was back in the day," Ferdinand said. "Nowadays the risk of playing a young player and the risk of being relegated through taking chances is so great.

"When I was at West Ham, Harry Redknapp was putting three or four kids in every year, just dipping them in and out of the team. Would he do that now at Portsmouth? I don't think he would. The risks are too great money-wise. If a club gets relegated, the manager's shoved on the line and the club is going to suffer financially, so the risks are a lot bigger and it's harder for the manager [to give kids a chance]."