Nathaniel Clyne: Crystal Palace youth commitment always inspiring | OneFootball

Nathaniel Clyne says Crystal Palace has been transformed during his time away from the club.

The south Londoner joined the club aged 14, progressing as one of the brightest sparks in a hugely talented generation to go on and make 137 appearances before joining Southampton and Liverpool.

The right-back has added another 25 games to that total since re-joining in October 2020, and in-between spells he's seen the club go from the brink of collapse to Premier League stability.

He's also seen the surroundings he, Victor Moses, Sean Scannell and others developed in completely transformed; and a new generation of talented south Londoners emerging as a result.

“With Palace being in south London and the facilities we have, hopefully we can get all the best players from south London and not let them go off to other academies," he tells the Crystal Palace v Arsenal programme.

“Showing we are bringing through players to the first-team will definitely have the youngsters in their mind that: 'Okay, look, Palace are bringing through Academy players to the first-team, so if I go there I can get a chance.' That's a big thing.

“When I was watching players that were similar to my age, they were getting in: John Bostock, Sean Scannell, Victor Moses. When you see players you've played with make it through to the first-team, that's the biggest eye-opener you can get.

“They were once with you, but now they're there. If they can be there, I can be there. That's the way you see it."