Few clubs have no foreign players

Sheffield United are the only club in the top two divisions with a purely British and Irish squad.  Indeed, they do have two players from Ireland, both from the south.  Following Brexit, the Republic of Ireland will be in the EU and the UK won’t, so even if the common travel area is maintained, it is difficult to see why it should not be counted as a foreign country.

Sheffield United are the only club in the top two divisions with a purely British and Irish squad.  Indeed, they do have two players from Ireland, both from the south.  Following Brexit, the Republic of Ireland will be in the EU and the UK won’t, so even if the common travel area is maintained, it is difficult to see why it should not be counted as a foreign country.

In the Premier League, Arsenal have the most foreign players (28) followed by Chelsea, 27; Manchester City, 22; Watford, 22; Liverpool, 21 and Manchester United 19 (also the number for West Ham and Stoke). The two clubs with the fewest foreign players (five) are Burnley and West Bromwich Albion.  

They are located in less fashionable areas of the country.  One could say that of Stoke, but it is not far from the luxury pads of Cheshire.  For what it matters, I think that the countryside around Burnley would be an attractive place to live, but perhaps not from the perspective of a footballer from overseas.

The top five in the Championship are headed by three London and south-east clubs: Brentford, 15; Fulham, 15; Reading, 15.  Wolves are next with 14 and Leeds, a lively regional capital, has 13.  Millwall, in one of the least fashionable parts of London (although up market areas are nearby) has just three and Burton Albion two.

Clubs in the lower two divisions have far fewer players with the list in League One headed by Blackpool and Charlton (six each).  Crawley, next to Gatwick Airport, top the list in League Two (seven).  Exeter City, Lincoln City and Stevenage have none.