Liverpool and Newcastle are the only English clubs who like having local players... that's wrong, they all need to retain an identity, claims John Barnes

English clubs should not sacrifice their identity and pursue success at the expense of blooding young local talent, former Liverpool and Newcastle forward John Barnes has warned.

Despite the introduction of homegrown player quotas back in 2010, figures released in January revealed that the Premier League had a higher-proportion of foreign players than any other division in Europe.

Last season nearly seven of every 10 Premier League players was from overseas (69.2 per cent), while the Championship had a higher proportion of foreign players (50.8 per cent) than all-but five leagues on the Continent.

John Barnes says English clubs should not always prioritise success over blooding local talent

John Barnes says English clubs should not always prioritise success over blooding local talent

Figures released in January showed only 30 per cent of Premier League players were British

Figures released in January showed only 30 per cent of Premier League players were British

Jamaal Lascelles (right) was one of seven British players in Newcastle's squad vs West Ham

Jamaal Lascelles (right) was one of seven British players in Newcastle's squad vs West Ham

Barnes, who won 79 caps for England during his playing career, believes both supporters and clubs in England are guilty of underestimating the importance of producing local talent.


BARNES ON THE RACE FOR THE TOP FOUR 

'I think it's going to be much more competitive and much harder to be in the top four. Not just for Liverpool but for all the other teams. But that's not a reflection of us going backwards. 

'The most important thing for me is how close we are to the top because if you ask me, is success finishing fourth and 25 points off the top or finishing 5th and 10 points off the top? 

'Fifth and 10 points off the top for me is better than 4th and 25 points off the top. Yes 4th is qualifying for the Champions League so you can say that's important. 

'But to show you the team you are, you have to be as close to winning as possible. And being 10 points off the top is better than 25 off the top, regardless of where you finish.' 

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'If you win the league with no young players coming through, are the fans going to be unhappy? Probably not,' Barnes, ambassador at Bonus Code Bets, told Sportsmail

'I have a bit of an issue with that because I think you have to retain some kind of identity which means you should have some local players in the team. Because in other countries they do. In Spain Barcelona need Catalan players, Real Madrid need Spanish players, Bayern Munich need German players. 

'In England we really are not bothered about whether we have any English players in the team as long as we win... I think Liverpool and Newcastle are the two clubs who like to have local players playing... success is the most important thing and for me that's an added bonus.' 

Both of Barnes' former clubs had seven British players in their matchday squads for their respective wins over Arsenal and West Ham this weekend.

Among the Liverpool substitutes at Anfield on Sunday was Trent Alexander-Arnold who joined the club aged six and, despite recent injury problems, has risen through the ranks to become a genuine alternative to Nathaniel Clyne at right back. 

Trent Alexander-Arnold, who joined Liverpool aged six, has impressed for the Reds this season

Trent Alexander-Arnold, who joined Liverpool aged six, has impressed for the Reds this season

Barnes believes Jurgen Klopp is the perfect manager to help the young defender develop

Barnes believes Jurgen Klopp is the perfect manager to help the young defender develop

Barnes has been impressed with the young defender's progress and believes Jurgen Klopp is the perfect manager to help the 18-year-old progress.

And though the former Liverpool winger is encouraged by Alexander-Arnold's development at Anfield, Barnes has warned supporters against judging him too quickly during the early years of his career.

'What we have to do is handle him carefully. He's a good player, he still has a lot of learning to do but he's had a decent start,' Barnes said.

'We're took quick to judge young players positively and negatively. There are times when they don't do particularly well and then we write them off and when they do well in one game, we all of a sudden put pressure on their shoulders,' he added. 

'Klopp will know he's a good player but he'll know he has a lot of work to do.  So he won't over praise him which may go to his head and he won't come down too hard on him if he doesn't do too well. So I think that, as he showed at Dortmund, he likes young players and he knows how to handle them and he'll do a good job with him.' 

Jurgen Klopp's backline came under the spotlight again after their 3-3 draw with Watford

Jurgen Klopp's backline came under the spotlight again after their 3-3 draw with Watford

But Liverpool have won their last two league matches without conceding a single goal

But Liverpool have won their last two league matches without conceding a single goal

Klopp's side sit second in the table following their 4-0 win over Arsenal over Sunday. But they came in for criticism following their opening day draw at Watford, when a failure to deal with a late corner cost them two points

The draw saw Klopp face further calls to strengthen his squad as concerns over their defensive solidity resurfaced. But he has kept faith with his current crop and the Reds have since kept two clean sheets in the league. And Barnes, speaking ahead of Sunday's victory, believes their problems have been overplayed.

'I don't think they need to go out and spend massive money on anyone,' he said. 

'It's a bit of a monkey on Liverpool's back at the moment because they're making more of it than they're really is. In the last three or four months of last season, we weren't conceding from set pieces, (Simon) Mignolet all of a sudden was being talked about being back to his best and it's not a problem,' he said. 

'Obviously you need to address it if it happens every single week and it hasn't happened every single week in the last four (or) five weeks but it happened last week so I'm not going to have a knee-jerk reaction and say "oh, here we go again, we're back to the problems of conceding from set pieces"'.