Roberto Martinez: Sending young players abroad "dangerous" for development

Everton manager Roberto Martinez has rejected suggestions made by Football Association chief executive Martin Glenn that English players should move abroad.

Following the FA's announcement of its £260m investment in grassroots football, Glenn told journalists that English players who were struggling to find a regular place in Premier League sides should find a club overseas.

However, 42-year-old Martinez, who moved from Spanish side Balaguer to Wigan Athletic as a young midfielder in 1995, has told The Telegraph that the development of young English players should be closely monitored by Premier League clubs.

Martinez said: "The development of a young player should be closely monitored by his club and the moment they go abroad it becomes too distant. My own experience of sending players abroad is you lose touch and it's very dangerous because they need to adapt to a lifestyle and a different football culture.

"There are many elements in a move abroad that can put your development at risk. If you could send a player abroad for a month and then bring him back it would be fantastic for them, but you have to wait from window to window and that is too long. It's not healthy for their development.

"The other aspect is that while you can learn tactically and technically, you don't get the physicality that our league has and it is very dangerous to develop a player away from that. They can be lost to the English league without that physicality, 100%."

Everton have sent five players out on loan to English clubs so far this summer.