Valencia CF amongst frontrunners in minutes for Under-21 talents

A commitment to youth is one of the values ​​of Valencia CF as a club, and has been more than evident in a 2020/21 first team squad full of graduates from the VCF Academy.

The impressive number of players brought through the youth ranks was recently noted in the CIES Football Observatory's 333rd report, using statistics gathered up to April 6th, 2021.

According to this data, Valencia CF are the LaLiga club with the second highest amount of minutes given to players under the age of 21, and 17th overall in Europe's 'Big 5' leagues (Spain, England , Italy, France and Germany).

In league action this season, Valencia CF players under the age of 21 -Yunus Musah, Kang In and, for part of the season, Hugo Guillamón- have been fielded in 11.3% of the possible minutes. Only FC Barcelona have a higher number, with 15%.

The data is especially significant considering that the figure for Valencia CF is double that of the club in fifth -Athletic Club, with 5.6%- and five times higher than Atletico Madrid. Teams such as Sevilla FC, Levante UD, Real Valladolid and Cádiz CF have not included any player under 21 in league competition.

The statistics also show that Valencia CF have the second lowest average age of players who have enjoyed minutes in games, at 25.2 years. Real Sociedad are in first place,with an average of 25.1.

The VCF Academy has been ranked as one of of the five best in Europe, according to data on the five largest leagues in the continent gathered over the last two years by CIES Football Observatory. The youth system is considered the fourth most prolific in terms of real contribution from its graduates.