Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger drops transfer hint

ARSENAL boss Arsene Wenger believes clubs will increasingly scout the lower leagues to sign players.

Arsene WengerReuters

Arsene Wenger is looking in the leagues for talent

The remarkable development of Jamie Vardy from non-league footballer to Premier League champion has led to suggestions of untapped talent down the football pyramid.

This summer Wenger signed Rob Holding from Bolton for £2million after just one season of competitive football.

And speaking in a book, Game Changers, Wenger feels players produced at top academies don't have the same hunger of those from lower leagues.

"What I think will happen is that you will have more and more players coming out of the lower leagues who have had to fight their way through,” Wenger said. 

"Compare that with a player who has been educated here, who has had Champions League for 17 years, who has not known anything else. It’s not a dream [for that player], it’s normal for him. 

"But if you play for a team in the lower leagues and watch Real Madrid or Barcelona on Wednesday nights you think: ‘I’d love to play in games like that.’

"I’ve said to our scouts to do the lower leagues because the good players are there now. 

"Don’t forget we have many foreign players in the Premier League, but good English players have to go down to develop."

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