Whilst the Premier League may be the home of the world’s biggest stars, but many of the brightest talents to play in the league haven’t come through the ranks of the elite academies.
Instead, they’ve come through at clubs lower down the pyramid and are products of EFL academies, which are often overlooked, but are a crucial part of English football. The EFL has consistently produced young, promising talents, and is renowned for doing so in world football.
Multiple players, who currently play week in week out in the Premier League, have been a part of and graduated from an EFL academy. Behind every player is a story of persistence, learning their trade at clubs where the margins are tighter, the quality of opponents are rougher, and facilities are usually substandard. Now, these players are turning heads at the highest level, breaking into the Premier League, winning trophies, representing their country, and commanding multi-million-pound transfer fees.
In an era where football is increasingly international and youth development is industrialised, these EFL academy graduates are still a constant reminder that talent can emerge from anywhere, and that the EFL still matters in shaping the future of the English game.
Ollie Watkins – Exeter City
England international Ollie Watkins played for both Non-league side Weston-super-Mare and Exeter City. Watkins made 68 League Two appearances for the Grecians before joining Brentford, and then Aston Villa for a reported fee of just over £30 million in 2020.
Since then, the 29-year-old has made 200 appearances for Villa, scoring 87 goals and providing a further 42 assists in the process. He has also made 18 appearances for England and scored a crucial goal for his national team in a 2-1 Euro 2024 semi-final win over the Netherlands, to send England to the Euros final.
The striker has been linked with top-six side Arsenal on more than one occasion, and is one of the best players on this list of EFL academy graduates who are currently playing in the Premier League.
Adam Wharton – Blackburn Rovers
One of the more recent players who has taken the top-flight by storm is 21-year-old Adam Wharton, who joined Premier League side Crystal Palace from Championship side Blackburn Rovers just a year and a half ago.
Since moving to Selhurst Park for a reported fee of around £20 million, Wharton has not only made his debut for the England national team, but he has also become a mainstay in Palace’s midfield, making 43 appearances, 36 of which have come in the Premier League.
Although Wharton has disappeared from the headlines in recent times, he is still only 21, and with time on his side, he has the potential for a long and successful career within the game.
Eberechi Eze – Reading, Millwall and Queens Park Rangers
Another current star who plays for Crystal Palace, Eberechi Eze, was the club’s hero when he scored the only goal of the match in a 1-0 win against Manchester City in the FA Cup final, which resulted in Palace lifting their first major trophy in the club’s history.
Eze came through the ranks at three EFL clubs, Reading, Millwall, and then eventually Queens Park Rangers, before he moved to South London to join top-flight side Palace for a reported fee of around £17 million in 2020. First coming through at League One outfit Reading in 2014, he joined Championship side Millwall later that same year. Two years later, he moved to QPR, where he spent a season on loan at Wycombe Wanderers. He joined Palace in 2020 and has since made his England debut and over 150 appearances for the Eagles.
The 26-year-old has already cemented himself in Palace history, and with him in the prime of his career, there is only more to come from Eze.
Harry Maguire – Barnsley and Sheffield United
32-year-old centre-back Harry Maguire is a well-known face in English football history, but he came through the ranks at both Barnsley and Sheffield United before his Premier League days with Leicester City and Manchester United, respectively.
He moved from one Yorkshire club to the next in 2009, spending five years with Sheffield United after leaving Barnsley, before a seven-figure move to Hull City followed. Whilst at the MKM Stadium, he spent a year on loan at Wigan Athletic, before joining Leicester in 2017, and then United for a big-money fee in 2019, where has remained at the club since.
Maguire has made over 250 Premier League appearances and has more than 50 caps for the England national team, which makes him one of the best players in this list, despite coming under scrutiny in recent seasons.
John Stones – Barnsley
Another centre-back who came through at Barnsley before going on to bigger and better things is John Stones, who spent 12 years with the South Yorkshire club before moving to Merseyside to join Everton.
Three years and 95 appearances later for the Toffees, he joined Manchester City for a fee of around £50 million, which, at the time, was the second-highest transfer fee ever paid for a defender. However, it’s fair to say the 31-year-old has more than been worth the high price tag, after almost 10 years of service at the Etihad Stadium, playing over 250 times. Stones also has over 80 caps at international level for England, and has won 17 major trophies, including six Premier League titles and one Champions League.
Like his fellow English centre-back Maguire, Stones is one of the best players on this list of EFL academy graduates who currently play in the top-flight of English football.
James Maddison – Coventry City
Europa League winner James Maddison played for both his boyhood club, Coventry City and Norwich City, before making his step up to the Premier League. He spent 14 years with the Sky Blues, coming through the ranks before making his first team debut in League One.
He moved to Championship side Norwich for a seven-figure fee in 2016, and had two years at Carrow Road, before joining then Premier League side Leicester City, where he spent five further years. He made over 200 appearances for the Foxes before joining Tottenham Hotspur in 2023.
He has since won a European trophy, been capped for England, and become a regular starter for Spurs, making him one of the better players on this list.
Joe Gomez – Charlton Athletic
Versatile defender Joe Gomez came through the ranks at Charlton Athletic in the years 2007 to 2015, before joining Liverpool in 2015 for a reported fee of around £4 million. He made just 24 appearances for the Addicks, but has since made 241 for the current Premier League champions.
He has now been with the Reds for 10 years, winning nine major trophies, including two league titles and one Champions League, and has registered 15 caps for England.
Although Gomez hasn’t been the first name on the teamsheet in recent seasons, he has still had a successful career in Merseyside.
Archie Gray – Leeds United
The youngest player on this list, Archie Gray, moved from boyhood club Leeds United to Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of around £40 million last summer, after an impressive season in the Championship with Leeds.
He played just over 50 times for Leeds, and he has almost matched that in his first season at the North London club. In his first season with Spurs, the 19-year-old has won the Europa League and made 46 appearances in all competitions, 28 of which came in the Premier League.
With the midfielder still just a teenager, he has a huge future ahead of him in the game, and though he may not be one of the better players on this list, he has the potential to be.
Morgan Rogers – West Bromwich Albion
Now with Birmingham rivals Aston Villa, winger Morgan Rogers spent nine years in the academy at the Baggies before being snapped up by giants Man City in 2019. He has since had loan spells at the likes of Lincoln City, AFC Bournemouth and Blackpool, before he joined Middlesbrough permanently in 2023.
Just one transfer window later, he returned to the South, joining Villa for a reported £9 million fee, and has since enjoyed a highly successful spell, featuring regularly in both the Premier League and Champions League, making 70 appearances in claret and blue.
At just 22 years old, Rogers has put up some impressive numbers at Villa Park, providing 33 goal contributions, as well as picking up his first few England caps, and is another player whose future in the game could prove to be very bright.
Harvey Barnes – Leicester City
Newcastle United winger Harvey Barnes came through at Leicester City, spending 16 years at the King Power, before moving up north to join the Magpies. He made nearly 200 appearances for the Foxes, whilst also playing in both League One and the Championship with three different loan clubs, MK Dons, Barnsley and West Bromwich Albion.
Newcastle United paid a substantial £40 million fee following Leicester’s relegation in 2023, and has since played 63 times in black and white, scoring 14 goals and contributing a further eight assists.
At 27, the Burnley-born winger has made just one National team appearance, and compared to some other players on this list, this is a pitiful amount. Although Barnes is a good quality winger, it’s fair to say he isn’t one of the best names on this list.
