Saint-Etienne top the Ligue 1 Uber Eats chart for fielding homegrown players this season with no fewer than 16 youth academy talents wearing their iconic green shirt in 2020/21.
According to a study by the CIES Football Observatory in Switzerland, the record ten-time French champions' coach, Claude Puel, had given 36.5% of his squad's playing time to players from the club's youth academy up to the end of January.
They range from 17-year-old midfielder Lucas Gourna to 35-year-old goalkeeper Jessy Moulin, who has been at the club since the age of 11.
Les Verts come ahead of arch-rivals Lyon (28.7%), Nîmes (24.1%) and Rennes (19.9%) as the Ligue 1 sides putting most faith in youth this term. The French average for using players who have spent at least three years at the club between the ages of 15 and 21 is 12.4%.
Europe-wide, only Spanish trio Athletic Bilbao (50.1%), Real Sociedad (48%) and Celta Vigo (47.1%) have given more playing time to homegrown players than Saint-Etienne in 2020/21.
All the players used by Puel: Charles Abi, Stefan Bajic, Bilal Benkhedim, Mahdi Camara, Wesley Fofana, Baptiste Gabard, Lucas Gourna, Aïmen Moueffek, Jessy Moulin, Arnaud Nordin, Maxence Rivera, Abdoulaye Sidibé, Rayan Souici, Saïdou Sow, Tyrone Tormin, Marvin Tshibuabua.
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