Not so long ago, you probably needed only one hand to count the number of British players plying their trade outside of UK borders and in a major league in mainland Europe.
These days, thanks to the success of Jadon Sancho, Jude Bellingham and more, those who might otherwise have been content to wait for their opportunities in the Premier League are taking matters into their own hands in pursuit of guaranteed first-team football away from a division where big-money signings often block the pathway to homegrown talent.
Take Everton, for instance.
Mohamed-Ali Cho blossomed into one of the finest young talents in Ligue 1 when he left The Toffees for Angers, earning comparisons with Kylian Mbappe before securing a big-money move to Real Sociedad.
Isaac Price has not grabbed quite so many headlines in Belgium as Cho did in France. But, after swapping Everton’s Under-21 side for Standard Liege’s first-team in June 2023, the Yorkshire-born midfielder has already racked up 30 appearances over in Belgium.
Even during a difficult season on and off the pitch for Everton, it’s hard to imagine Price mustering even half that number at Goodison Park.
Isaac Price may have made the right move leaving Everton
“Isaac took a route perhaps thinking; ‘I’m not going to get the chance to play in the Premier League for Everton. But I’m going to go abroad and build my profile,’” smiles Michael O’Neill, who has handed Price every one of his nine appearances for the senior Northern Ireland national team (Belfast Telegraph).
“(Price may be thinking) ‘maybe when I’m 22 or 23 and have played two to three seasons in Belgium at a good level and I’ve got 30 international caps’… maybe then if he wants to come back (to England), he could do that.”
Price, The Athletic say, was offered the chance to sign a new contract at Everton but opted to fast-track his development in Belgium.
O’Neill, meanwhile, sees no reason to suggest that all roads lead back to England for Price, pointing out that Jude Bellingham – arguably the finest footballer on planet earth right now – has not once stepped foot on the Premier League stage.
‘Remember Jude Bellingham’
“It would be brilliant for our young players to decide, ‘I’m going to Germany at 16 or I’m going to France or Belgium’,” the former Stoke City boss adds.
“You’ve got to remember that Jude Bellingham hasn’t played in the Premier League. He took a different route and he’s developed into arguably the best player in the world, or certainly one of the best players in the world in his position.
“So I think there’s a lot of things that young players have to consider now.”
Price could earn his tenth cap for the Northern Ireland when O’Neill’s side face Romania in a friendly on Friday.
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