There are young players leaving the Premier League (in the hope of returning to it)

At the age of twenty, Charlie Cresswell had a simple problem: he wasn’t playing. He had come through the ranks at Leeds, the team he’d supported as a child, but his move from the academy to the first team had stalled. In the summer of 2024, he crossed the Channel and signed for Toulouse. Two years later, Rennes brought him to Brittany in a deal worth around 28 million euros. On Thursday evening, he started against Juventus in the Europa League match that ended 2–2.

The defender, born in Preston in 2002, is the son of Richard Cresswell, a former Leeds striker. In Yorkshire, he made 14 first-team appearances. A loan spell at Millwall in the 2022–23 Championship season gave him valuable experience, but in the following season, under Daniel Farke, he played just 137 minutes: to develop, he needed to move elsewhere. Toulouse signed him for around €4.5 million and gave him a place in the first team. Over two seasons, Cresswell made 60 Ligue 1 appearances, scoring six goals. In the meantime, he won the Under-21 European Championship with England in 2025, having been part of the winning squad in 2023. Now, Rennes are offering him a platform on the international stage, whilst for Toulouse it is a business venture: buy, play, develop and sell.

However, Cresswell is not an isolated case. Angel Gomes left Manchester United in 2020, aged 20, to join Lille. Following a loan spell at Boavista in Portugal, he became a key figure in the French side’s midfield, making over 100 appearances by 2024.

Jadon Sancho left Manchester City for Borussia Dortmund in 2017, aged seventeen. The Bundesliga offered him playing time, responsibility and a European showcase. In 2021, Manchester United signed him for around 85 million euros. Jamie Gittens followed a similar path: from City’s academy to Dortmund in 2020, before moving to Chelsea in 2025, having made 107 competitive appearances, scoring 17 goals and providing 14 assists for the Germans.

Italy also offers some notable examples. Fikayo Tomori, who came through the ranks at Chelsea, joined Milan in January 2021 after losing his place in the starting line-up in London. Six months later, the Rossoneri signed him on a permanent basis, and in 2022 he played a key role in winning the Scudetto.

Spain represents a different destination. Jude Bellingham, who left Birmingham for Dortmund at the age of seventeen, joined Real Madrid in 2023, having become one of the most sought-after midfielders in Europe. He was not a player who had been rejected by the Premier League, but one who had chosen an alternative path.

The Premier League’s financial clout allows it to sign players who are ready to perform, demanding immediate results from managers. France and Germany, on the other hand, have realised that giving young players playing time can be an investment. Italy and Spain offer further career opportunities, albeit with different models.

Charlie, however, does not see Rennes as merely a stepping stone on the way home; he wants to play, win and make it into the senior national team. His career thus reverses the traditional path: an Englishman who grew up in the richest league has found in France the playing opportunities he was missing. And now Europe. A personal choice that also highlights the limitations of English football today. Cresswell, in fact, did not leave England to earn more money, but to become a footballer. A paradox for the Premier League, which is capable of buying almost anything, but not always capable of recognising the value of what it has at home.