I get why people say this, but money is the issue here.

May as well re title the thread 'Do you want to get relegated?'

No one in the Prem will ever promote young talent unless they either have to (as we did when AWB emerged,) or they are told to. The risk of relegation and financial loss is too great.

This leads to clubs like Chelsea stockpiling talent and loaning out huge numbers each year. Some then make it and some don't.

Rule changes are the only way to do this. Restrict the number of players a club can loan out at any one time and make it that every club has to field 2 under 23's on the pitch at all times.

But that will never happen

Does anyone know how the FIFA proposal last year has developed . I guess it was shelved due to corona but the proposal was to reduce the amount of loans any club could do restricted to 6 per club both in and out .

That would obviously impact the way clubs like Chelsea operate with 30 odd players out and I think 1 (Niguez) in . Something would obviously have to give there with a pool of talent returning to Stamford bridge without a team to play in
(A cheeky bid for CG anyone ?)

The proposal would also encourage sides to use more of their own junior ranks without the the availability or option of a loan . It make our academy status even more important than first thought .

Or does SP know something we dont ?

And we still need a striker

The fact we don't seem to have Championship clubs knocking on our door for players suggests our current crop are not quite at the right level yet. Scouts could easily watch U23 PL2 games and so the fact we're only sending players to L1 and L2 (or lower) perhaps tells us what we need to know.

Rak-Sakyi does seem the closest but he does drift in and out of games even at U23 level. Also, is he really better or even as good as Zaha, Olise or Ayew? Not yet he isn't in my view. I think he needs to get a loan to the Championship to try and strengthen and really test himself.

I'm really glad that the club have supported Mitchell when they could easily have replaced him. I and others have questioned in the past whether he really is PL standard, but fair play to the lad he's stepped up this season defensively (if perhaps not quite so much offensively). Can we really afford to do the same with another young player though without weakening? Vieira has already talked about naivety among the younger players, so I can't see anyone else getting a significant first-team role this season unless there is a glut of injuries/COVID cases. Given how most of our games seem to go down to the wire we don't even really have the luxury of throwing on a youngster for the last 10 minutes.

Wells Morrison is OK at 23s level but nowhere near knocking on the door,

In theory it should make a massive difference, and its the right kind of thing to stop the Chelsea's of the word loaning out 20 odd players.

But in practice the fact that it doesn't include home grown or home trained young players undermines it a little. Chelsea have over 20 players out on loan at the min, most would fall in that exclusion bracket.

So stops them hoarding older player, but doesn't stop them hovering up all the young talent.

Clearly PV does not think they have reached the required standard and that is supported by the fact that no championship side has approached us as yet for loans of these players. As it stands it would be silly until we are safe to sacrifice experience for younger unproven players. As some have said it is a long way from u23 level to PL standard. Our first priority has to be safety for which we need to pass 40 points before we can say that and then if PV thinks they are worth a run out so be it!