Man Utd top list of most minutes played by academy players in Premier League along with Sporting Lisbon and Leeds

MANCHESTER UNITED produced more academy players than any other team for the 2018/19 Premier League season, it has been revealed.

Players out of the Old Trafford youth system played 18,080 minutes in the campaign, far outstretching their nearest rivals.

Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford were regulars for the club while the likes of Jonny Evans and Michael Keane featured elsewhere.

Their tally put them above Manchester City's academy (14,037 minutes), Southampton (12,836), Tottenham (12,815), Sporting Lisbon (12,071) and Leeds United (11,682).

The figures, compiled by TheSportsman.com, also show that the Red Devils had more academy products appear across the division than any other side.

With 15 players, United came in ahead of Southampton's heralded production line (12), as well as Spurs (11), City and Chelsea (both 10).

While the Saints' figures were boosted by Calum Chambers, Luke Shaw and Theo Walcott, City could boast the ever-present duo Ben Mee and Kasper Schmeichel.

Perhaps the surprise names near the top of the list were Sporting Lisbon and Leeds.

Wolves' Portuguese revolution included Joao Moutinho and Rui Patricio, joined in the Premier League by Sporting product Eric Dier, whilst Leeds' academy most notably turned out James Milner and Danny Rose.

A number of big clubs were lagging behind when it came to bringing through homegrown talent, Arsenal-bred players earning fewer minutes than those of Santos, Coventry and Rennes.

Likewise, Liverpool managed to provide only four products – three less than League One side Charlton Athletic.

Overall, English academies were top of the tree in 2018/19 with 279,321 minutes of action across the country's entire network.

Players from French, Spanish, Brazilian and German clubs followed behind to make up a combined 205,693 minutes on the pitch.

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