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Chelsea’s 17 internationals contribute to Premier League’s leading spot

By George Perry

ALICANTE, SPAIN - NOVEMBER 12: Ander Herrera, David de Gea, Juan Mata, Diego Costa, Pedro, Cesc Fabregas and Santi Cazorla of Spain pose for a photo after an open Spain training session at the Estadio Jose Rico Perez on November 12, 2015 in Alicante, Spain. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
ALICANTE, SPAIN - NOVEMBER 12: Ander Herrera, David de Gea, Juan Mata, Diego Costa, Pedro, Cesc Fabregas and Santi Cazorla of Spain pose for a photo after an open Spain training session at the Estadio Jose Rico Perez on November 12, 2015 in Alicante, Spain. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images) /
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All but four players in Chelsea’s Premier League squad played for their national teams in 2017. The Blues, though, were only seventh among English teams for the number of international minutes played.

Marcos Alonso, Danny Drinkwater, David Luiz and Charly Musonda are the only players to appear for Chelsea in the Premier League this season but not receive a cap in 2017. Alonso and Musonda have not been capped at the senior level, which may change for Musonda in time for the 2018 World Cup but seems a faint hope for the long underrated Alonso.

Chelsea’s internationals combined for 81 appearances and 5,671 minutes, according to the latest post from the CIES Football Observatory. These 17 Blues represented 10 different countries, with Spain (four) and Belgium (three) fielding the most.

Despite so many Chelsea players serving on international duty this year, six Premier League clubs assembled more international minutes. Both Manchester clubs, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham and – surprisingly – West Bromwich Albion contributed more international minutes. Of those clubs, West Brom – always the model of workmanlike economy – made their mark with the fewest number of players: 13. At the other end, Manchester United had 21 players – the second-highest behind Juventus – and the second-highest number of international minutes behind Barcelona.

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The English system led all associations worldwide with 16 clubs among the top 100 for international minutes played. Five Premier League teams were in the top 10, with West Brom in 12th and Chelsea in 22nd. Two Championship clubs – Aston Villa and Fulham – were in the top 100.

This speaks to the quality, influence and desirability of the Premier League. The Premier League bills itself as the world’s most competitive football league. Such statements provoke its detractors into circular arguments comparing the quality within and between Europe’s domestic leagues. The Premier League’s drought in the Champions League since Chelsea’s 2012 win is a regular talking point.

But as the CIES Football Observatory’s data shows, the Premier League attracts and retains a high percentage of the world’s top footballers. National team coaches will scout players from the Premier League and may encourage their developing players to sign with a Premier League team to accelerate their career progress.

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The 2018 World Cup will be an interesting test of quality vs. quantity among the leagues and their international players. As the tournament goes on, will more Premier League players advance or will they be filtered out by the putative quality of players from La Liga and Serie A?

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