5 English youngsters who struggled after leaving England

Chelsea's Callum Hudson-Odoi had been subject to several big-money bids from German juggernaut Bayern Munich in this January transfer window.

Eventually, the U17 World Cup winner stayed put in London much to the dismay of many pundits and football fans. There is an argument that young talented English players should seek opportunities abroad as there will be more playing time available than in the Premier League.

While there is some validity in that statement there are several young English players that have taken the plunge for the worst. The success of Jadon Sancho at Borussia Dortmund is the popular example pointed to, however, few ever speak about the players who have disappointed.

Let's have a look at five young English players who have struggled after leaving the comfort of England.

#5 Kaylen Hinds

Kaylen Hinds is still only 21 years old but left Arsenal for German club Wolfsburg on a three-year deal in 2017, the same season Jadon Sancho left Manchester City for Dortmund.

However, the pair had opposite experiences over the same time. Hinds actually cracked the Wolfsburg first team before Sancho and made his Bundesliga debut before the Dortmund winger, playing the full 90 minutes in the opening day of the season against, you guessed it, Dortmund.

Ever since his debut, the opportunities he thought he would find in the Bundesliga simply did not arrive. He made the bench a few times after but never made a single senior appearance for the club again.

He eventually went on loan to German second division team SpVgg Greuther Fürth where he only played one game. Prior to the start of this season, Hinds' contract was terminated by Wolfsburg after the player failed to report back to the club when required.

Hinds, a former U16, U17, U18 and U20 England youth international, was one of Arsenal academy's most exciting prospects signing professional terms with the London club way back in 2015.

#4 Michael Mancienne

Michael Mancienne plied his trade for Hamburg

A former academy star at Chelsea, Michael Mancienne was another player who tried to strut his stuff in Germany.

Limited to just four first-team appearances at Chelsea and after loan spells at QPR and Wolverhampton, he joined former Chelsea sporting director Frank Arnesen at Hamburg. Prior to his Germany move, Mancienne was already a Chelsea Young Player of the Year and even received an England senior team call up by Fabio Capello for a friendly against Germany.

The idea was that move to Germany would give him game time and make a case for more national team call-ups. However, the player who played at every youth team level for England never got any additional senior team calls.

He played three seasons in the Bundesliga and went rather unnoticed and returned to England in the Championship with Nottingham Forest. Currently, at 31years old, he plays in Major League Soccer for the New England Revolution.

#3 Chris Willock

Chris Willock shot to fame during his formative years

Chris Willock and his brothers received national attention for their abilities in the youth levels of English football. In 2017, he decided to take an alternative path, agreeing on signing a five-year contract for serial UEFA Champions League participants Benfica in Portugal.

Despite featuring heavily for Benfica's second team he has yet to crack the first team in almost two years. The player is now being linked to a return to England with Leeds United and Marcelo Bielsa closely monitoring him.

Willock's younger brother Joe, who decided to stay at Arsenal, has already made 14 senior team appearances for the London club even scoring his first senior goal in the Europa League.

Both brothers have been active members of the England national youth team set up. The oldest brother Matty is attached to Manchester United although he has never made a first-team appearance for the club. United has sent him on loan spells where he played several games in both the Dutch and Scottish top flight.

#2 Dale Jennings

Dale Jennings joined Bayern Munich after impressing Tranmere Rovers

Bayern Munich signed then 18-year-old Dale Jennings to a contract after he impressed scouts after some impressive performances for Tranmere Rovers. The former Liverpool youth team player was closely followed and many in the English media had high hopes for the teenager.

The player never broke into the Bayern Munich first team during his two years at the club and returned to England with Barnsley. He did play close to 40 games with Bayern's second team but did not quite have the ability to make it to the next level.

Injuries were also a problem as ligament tears to his knee meant that he could never really reach his full potential in Germany. As of 2018, the 26-year-old Jennings signed for non-league club Runcorn Town Football Club in an attempt to resurrect his footballing career after being out of football for an entire year due to family issues.

#1 Mandela Egbo

Mandela Egbo joined Borussia Monchengladbach at just 17 years of age

Mandela Egbo had his mind made up about leaving the Premier League from a young age and left Crystal Palace for Borussia Mönchengladbach at just 17 years of age. Now at 21, the right-back has only featured once for the German club, limited to at 10-minute substitute appearance almost a year ago.

Yet another England youth international like most players on the list, Egbo believed his opportunities were limited in the Premier League and decided to move abroad.

What is amazing is another English youngster, younger than Egbo currently occupies the right-back slot for Palace in the Premier League. Aaron Wan-Bissaka is a regular starter at Crystal Palace and his performances have been getting a lot of praise from around the league.

Wan-Bissaka's performances have been so promising that the Premier League fans are confident that his England senior team call up is near. Egbo must think his move to Germany did not go as he first planned.

Edited by Atharva Gosavi