Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood has suggested that no Premier League boss can match his commitment to giving young English players a chance of first-team football.
Villa have brought the majority of their summer signings in from overseas, although five homegrown players started their 1-0 victory over Bournemouth on the opening day of the season on Saturday.
Sherwood has admitted that while having a core of British players is important, they come at a premium in the transfer market.
"No one has given more opportunities to English players than me but I looked around and the English players were far too expensive," he told The Independent.
"The way the market was, these French boys we brought in were the value for money and had the level of experience playing competitive football in France."
Rudy Gestede, who joined Villa from Blackburn Rovers for £6m, netted the winning goal on his debut at Dean Court.
