The Brits Abroad Mystery: Why Homegrown Talent Finds Success Overseas

Whether its British players moving abroad in their teenage years or senior figures looking to experience success elsewhere, Britain’s homegrown talents seem to thrive overseas. It’s a trend that is becoming more and more common amongst our emerging superstars, with opportunities to flourish and prosper in Europe’s biggest leagues.

Jude Bellingham

When thinking about Brits who have excelled with moves abroad, it’s hard to look past Jude Bellingham. The current Real Madrid player burst onto the scene at just 16-years-old when he became the youngest ever player to debut for Birmingham City. He then became the youngest ever player to score for the Blues at just 16 years and 63 days. It was clear to see that the kid who was juggling playing professional football with his GCSE’s had the world at his feet. The only question was which team would secure the youngsters signature?

The answer was Borussia Dortmund, who signed the 17-year-old in July 2020 for a world record fee at the time of £25 million. Their ability to develop upcoming talents such as fellow English wonderkid Jadon Sancho (another English player who benefited from moving abroad) was a pivotal reason in the German outfit signing Bellingham. In his first game for Dortmund he continued to break records when he became the club’s youngest ever goal scorer. During his three-year stint with the club, he won the DFB-Pokal, Bundesliga Player of the Season, the Golden Boy and the Kopa Trophy.

In June 2023 the English midfielder was on the move again as Real Madrid announced the signing of Bellingham for £88 million, with the potential to rise to £114 million with add-ons. In his first season with Los Blancos he won the Champions League, La Liga and La Liga Player of the Season. The 21-year-old is the perfect example of how homegrown talent has thrived outside of England. His talent and maturity shown from such a young age has allowed Bellingham to succeed in whatever environment he has found himself in. There is no denying that if the Real Madrid star was to play in the Premier League later in his career, he would take like a duck to water.

🚨🚨| OFFICIAL: Jude Bellingham joins Real Madrid for €103m + add-ons. The add-ons can reach €30.9m. #rmalive 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 pic.twitter.com/jbfaTnTcqX

— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) June 7, 2023

Kieran Trippier

Moving now to the opposite side of the age spectrum with Kieran Trippier. The full-back started his career in the Manchester City youth system but was unable to complete the pathway into the first team. After loan spells at Barnsley he joined Championship side Burnley in 2011, where he was named in the Championship PFA Team of the Year in both the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons. Promotion to the Premier League followed a year later, with a transfer to Tottenham Hotspur in July 2015 rewarding Trippier with a chance to succeed in one of England's biggest clubs.

During his four year stay with Spurs, he only managed to achieve runners-up in the Champions League final in 2019. The England international struggled to perform consistently for the Lilywhites, which in turn prompted him to think about a move abroad to clear his head. At 28-years-old Trippier moved to Atletico Madrid for £20 million in July 2019. In his first game for the club, he recorded an assist and a clean sheet in a 1-0 win over Getafe. His expected assists (xA) per 90 minutes for the 2019/20 campaign was 0.33, which was the fourth highest amongst all La Liga players.

In his second season with the club, he played a crucial role in helping Atletico win the La Liga title despite being banned for 8 league games. The right-back was suspended for breaching betting rules, which saw him receive a 10-week worldwide football ban and fined £70,000. He started every game when he was in the matchday squad, as manager Diego Simeone valued the qualities that Trippier brought to his team.

Since his return to the Premier League with Newcastle United in January 2022, the 34-year-old has used his experience and footballing intelligence to become a key player for the Magpies. During the 2022/23 season, Trippier regularly captained the side and won Newcastle's Player of the Year award. He then became the first Magpies player to assist a goal in four consecutive Premier League games during the 2023/24 campaign. This season he helped Newcastle win their first domestic trophy in 70 years by providing the assist for Dan Burn’s opening goal in the final.

Kieran Trippier is another example of how homegrown talents in Britain have become better players away from the Premier League. In this instance a few years overseas has enabled the right-back to gain confidence and gather the experience of winning trophies. These qualities have been implemented into the current Newcastle side, facilitating the perfect conditions for him to help the club to return to winning ways.

Kieran Trippier is an Atlético Madrid player 🔴🔵

He joins the La Liga giants on a three-year contract after four seasons at Tottenham ➡🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/pcTNAQE2w1

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) July 17, 2019

Scott McTominay

The Scotland international moved from Manchester United to Napoli in August 2024 after 22 years with the Red Devils. The United graduate cost the Italian side £21 million, with add-ons taking the deal to over £25 million. That’s money well spent by the newly crowned Serie A winners, with the midfielder scoring 12 goals and providing 6 assists in 34 league appearances. So how has a player who struggled to regularly start for Manchester United become an instrumental figure within this Napoli side?

It comes down to the more advanced position he occupies under Antonio Conte compared to that at United and with Scotland. The Scotsman was primarily used as a defensive midfielder at his time with Man United, and even as a centre back with Scotland. However by having more license to roam into the opposition’s box in Conte’s system, McTominay has been able to thrive in his more natural position.

And the stats reflect that, as the Napoli midfielder has the second highest number of touches in the opposition box this season with 117. He also ranks second highest for the most shots by a midfielder player with 76, with 33 of those being on target. It shows how the 28-year-old's best position has always been as an attacking midfielder. He was even utilised as a striker in United’s academy at times due to his threat in front of goal.

Would he maintain this impressive form if he was to return to Manchester? The pace and intensity of the Premier League can’t be matched anywhere across Europe, perhaps allowing McTominay to thrive with more time on the ball than he’s used to. But there’s no doubting that he would suit a system where he would play as the attacking midfielder. He's proven that already in his first season with Napoli after winning the league's most valuable player award.

🔵🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 12 goals, 6 assists for Scott McTominay this season in Serie A.

Signing of the year by far in Italy. 🔝 pic.twitter.com/QjjyphISeq

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 23, 2025

Why are these players well regarded by us in the UK?

With every move on and off the pitch being watched and scrutinised by fans and the media, the pressure to consistently perform is immense. This reason alone could be enough to explain why Britain's homegrown talents don't always succeed on British shores, which invites lucrative moves abroad to some of Europe's biggest leagues. With less attention and eyes watching players from the British press and supporters when players move overseas, it produces the perfect conditions in which the development and potential of the player can grow.

This coupled with only seeing highlights of the players rather than judging their whole performance can sometimes lead to false perceptions of a player. Take Fikayo Tomori for example, a player who people rate very highly but has only started 22 out of 38 league games this season and is disliked by a majority of Milan fans. It seems that there is a narrative being forced by the English media around British players, in particularly English players, to succeed abroad when this isn't always the case.