Brits Abroad: How all 38 British players in Europe’s major leagues have fared in 2024-25
Academy graduates from Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham and Leeds United are among the British players plying their trade abroad in Europe’s major leagues in 2024-25.
It’s becoming increasingly commonplace for developing young talent, but also experienced, well-established players, to test themselves overseas. We put this piece together every season and each year the list gets longer.
We’ve taken a closer look at all 38 British players who have racked up minutes in Serie A, Ligue 1, La Liga and the Bundesliga this season and judged how they’ve got on.
Jude Bellingham
Bellingham’s debut season at Real Madrid couldn’t have gone much better.
He scored two injury-time match-winners against Barcelona and a ton more clutch goals, ending the campaign with La Liga and Champions League winners’ medals – for which he became the first Englishman to end up on the Ballon d’Or podium since Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard in 2005.
Year two hasn’t been quite so spectacular.
He’s often cut a frustrated figure in Carlo Ancelotti’s often dysfunctional side, made to do the running of both Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe.
The arrival of the club’s latest Galactico has blocked his opportunities as a makeshift centre-forward, where he so often thrived last season.
Still, there’s a chance that Bellingham ends 2024-25 with a domestic double. Watch this space.
Conor Gallagher
The image of Gallagher’s debut season in the Spanish capital was undoubtedly Diego Simeone wildly celebrating his last-ditch defending in a narrow victory over Athletic Bilbao.
You always knew that the Argentinian would love the Chelsea academy graduate’s tenacity and dedication.
He’s had his moments – levelling the tie against Real Madrid in the Champions League another, of course – but Gallagher’s year looks set to end in disappointment.
It was only a few weeks ago that Atleti were going strong on three fronts, but they’ve fallen away hard in the La Liga title race while being bombed out of the Champions League and Copa del Rey by Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Gallagher has often been a victim of Simeone’s rotation, starting about half of Atleti’s La Liga outings.
While he appears to have embraced a new challenge and a new environment, we wouldn’t be surprised to see him follow Kieran Trippier’s lead and return to the Premier League in a year or two.
Max Aarons
The forgotten third Englishman in the Spanish top flight this season, Aarons joined Valencia on loan in January after struggling for opportunities under Andoni Iraola at Bournemouth.
Carlos Corberan has done a sensational job to turn Valencia’s fortunes around, but Aarons has barely had a part to play.
He’s only made three appearances in all competitions – two of them thrashings against Barcelona (7-1 and 5-0), but the other a famous 2-1 victory away to Real Madrid.
Talk about throwing him in at the deep end. Limited opportunities mean we can’t see this move being made permanent. Might a return to the Championship beckon?
Oli McBurnie
The former Sheffield United made a better start to life in La Liga than Kylian Mbappe, notching two assists in his first three appearances for Las Palmas.
But he was never going to outshine Mbappe for long, and his goal contributions dried up from there – it was only earlier this month that he finally opened his goalscoring account in the Spanish top flight, notching in back-to-back games against Real Sociedad and Getafe.
McBurnie seems to be loving life in Gran Canaria and has recently shown off his impressively flawless Spanish.
But things could be going better on the pitch, with Las Palmas finding themselves in the relegation zone ahead of the run-in.
Scott McKenna
McBurnie isn’t the only pasty Scotland international looking like a fish out of water in the Canary Islands.
The 28-year-old centre-back has been a near ever-present for Las Palmas, notching more starts and minutes than McBurnie, and was recently exceptional in a vital 1-0 victory over Atletico Madrid.
A key player in their hopes of survival.
Harry Kane
The England captain’s trophy drought will finally be over soon.
Kane has done alright for himself with 24 goals in 28 Bundesliga appearances this season, and may yet retain his European Golden Shoe.
More importantly, Bayern have resumed normal service and are on the brink of sealing yet another Bundesliga title.
They’re eight points clear of reigning champions Bayer Leverkusen with just four games left to play.
QUIZ: Can you name all 26 Brits to have appeared in the Bundesliga since 2000?
Jamie Gittens
It’s been a desperately disappointing 2024-25 campaign for Borussia Dortmund, who sit seventh in the Bundesliga and look likely to miss out on Champions League qualification.
But even in the midst of a poor season, Gittens (he’s dropped the Bynoe) has caught the eye as a serious talent.
The 20-year-old has taken a major step forward in his development and looks set to follow in the footsteps of Jadon Sancho and Bellingham in being sold for a major profit.
There have been widespread reports that he wants to leave Dortmund in the summer, but sporting director Lars Ricken claims they’re wide of the mark. Watch this space.
Eric Dier
The defender’s belting header against Inter unfortunately counted for nothing in Bayern’s Champions League exit, but it served as a reminder he remains a useful squad player on his day.
The 31-year-old doesn’t get into the best XI of the Bundesliga’s champions-elect, but he’s appreciated by his manager all the same.
“Eric is a player with a lot of experience who knows what to do in these moments,” says Vincent Kompany.
“Players like Eric have character and always prioritise the team.”
Carney Chukwuemeka
One of roughly ten thousand talented youngsters snapped up by Chelsea in recent years, Chukwuemeka inevitably struggled for opportunities at Stamford Bridge and joined Borussia Dortmund on loan in January in search of minutes.
The 21-year-old midfielder has only made one Bundesliga start to date, and scored one goal, but he recently helped inspire Dortmund to a brilliant comeback victory over Borussia Monchengladbach – prompting claims from Fabrizio Romano that the club will look to keep him beyond the summer.
The Athletic claim he has a €50million (£43m) release clause in his contract, while German outlet Kicker claim they could sign him for €35million (£30m).
Oladapo Afolayan
A lesser-known name, Afolayan left Bolton Wanderers to sign for FC St. Pauli in January 2023.
The forward achieved promotion in his first full season and has played his part in them looking home and dry from the threat of relegation in 2024-25.
Afolayan has notched three goals and one assist in 29 Bundesliga appearances (15 starts) this season.
Oliver Burke
Something of a forgotten man, it’s now safe to say that Burke hasn’t quite fulfilled his potential after being talked up as a star of the future.
That move from Nottingham Forest to RB Leipzig never worked out and it’s been a strange, back-and-forth journeyman career ever since.
After failing to catch fire in loans away to Millwall and Birmingham City, Burke returned to parent club Werder Bremen last summer and has fulfilled a role as a squad player this season.
Burke actually has three goals in his last three Bundesliga appearances – all victories – but he’s expected to depart at the end of the season, with Union Berlin mooted as a likely destination.
Scott Banks
Former Scotland youth international Banks was picked up by St. Pauli, having featured for the club on loan from Crystal Palace in their promotion from the 2. Bundesliga.
But the attacking midfielder has played a peripheral role at best, with 11 substitute appearances amounting to just 92 Bundesliga minutes this season.
Fin Stevens
A third Brit in St. Pauli’s squad, Wales international Stevens has struggled for opportunities since signing from Brentford last summer.
His Bundesliga experience so far amounts to a solitary injury-time cameo to see out a 3-0 victory over Union Berlin.
Charlie Cresswell
Talked up as the future of Leeds United’s defence, Cresswell never broke through with regular appearances for his boyhood club and left to join Ligue 1 side Toulouse last summer.
The England Under-21 international has enjoyed a promising debut season in the French top flight and his £4million transfer now appears a bargain.
Toulouse had looked capable of challenging for a European place, although their form has dropped off a cliff in recent weeks.
But amid that downturn, Cresswell has demonstrated his threat at set pieces with three goals in his last 10 Ligue 1 outings.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles
Maitland-Niles recently reminded the wider footballing world of his existence in Lyon’s madcap Europa League elimination at the hands of Manchester United – but he’s quietly doing well for himself out in France.
“Angel Gomes has shown it’s possible to get England recognition whilst playing in Ligue 1,” French football writer Matt Spiro tweeted back in December.
“Ainsley Maitland-Niles should now be in the conversation. Playing the best football of his career with Lyon, and a key man in Pierre Sage’s team.”
After taking time to settle in France, the Hale End graduate has kicked on impressively and he remains an entrusted starter after Sage was replaced by Paulo Fonseca in the dugout.
Chuba Akpom
Something of a late bloomer, Akpom suddenly bursting into life with a Championship Golden Boot earned him a move to Eredivisie giants Ajax in 2023.
The striker struggled in the Dutch capital and in January was sent out on loan to Ligue 1 side Lille.
He’s scored two goals in 10 Ligue 1 appearances to date, the majority of which have been from the bench. Making the move permanent appears unlikely.
Angel Gomes
Almost a revelation in his few England caps to date, Gomes looked as though he had the potential to nail down his spot alongside Declan Rice at the base of the Three Lions’ midfield.
But while the past 12 months have seen him burst onto the international stage, he’s seemingly stagnated in his fourth and (presumably) final season with Lille. Minutes have been few and far between since Christmas.
The 24-year-old is into the final few months of his contract at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy and Lille appear to be looking to a future without him.
It’s said that he’s rejected an offer from West Ham, while Roma have been linked. You imagine there’ll be no shortage of suitors.
Jonathan Rowe
Last summer, Marseille beat Leeds United to the signature of highly-rated young Norwich City winger Rowe.
Remaining in the Championship might have served him better, in hindsight.
He’s contributed to Roberto De Zerbi’s Marseille (three goals and two assists in Ligue 1), but only four of his 24 Ligue 1 appearances this season have been as a starter.
“It’s been difficult for me personally, the whole season has been difficult,” Rowe told reporters earlier this month.
“The change coming from Norwich, where I was a key player in the team and then coming here was a big challenge with the expectation to perform.
“I have embraced, and it’s been difficult. I have been left out of the starting eleven a lot of times, and it has obviously affected me a bit, I think everyone could see that. I carried on going, though, and that’s the main thing.
A return to England looks likely.
Jordan James
Rennes snapped up the wonderkid from Birmingham City last summer.
Still only 20 years of age, the Wales international remains on track in terms of development.
“Going to France has really built me up in a character way, personally and on the pitch,” James told BBC Sport.
“I feel I can influence games a lot more now. I’m still young, but I don’t feel like that young kid anymore.”
Sorba Thomas
It’s not all that often you get a League One loanee playing in one of Europe’s major leagues, but Huddersfield Town’s Welsh winger Thomas is spending the 2024-25 out on loan at Ligue 1 Nantes.
He’s notched one goal and two assists in the French top flight this season, and remains a firm part of Craig Bellamy’s plans after setting up two goals in a 3-1 victory over Kazakhstan in the last international break.
Fikayo Tomori
This season, you can draw parallels between Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan, who have been nowhere near it in Serie A and made a change in the dugout.
Tomori recently spent a run of six successive league games as an unused substitute (Milan lost four of them) after reportedly blocking moves to Tottenham and Juventus in January.
But he’s recently returned to the fold and was outstanding as Milan scuppered Inter’s treble hopes with a stunning 3-0 victory in the Coppa Italia semis.
The latest reports from the Italian media suggest that the defender will be sold in the summer as the Rossoneri look to fund a “defensive rebuild”, leaving English clubs on high alert.
Tammy Abraham
Deemed surplus to requirements at Roma after his slow and steady return from a long-term injury lay-off, Abraham has spent the 2024-25 campaign out on loan at Milan.
He’s notched 10 goals and seven assists in all competitions this season, frequently turned to as a super-sub.
Another one-time England international with a decision to make in the summer, you’d think.
Tino Anjorin
Chelsea academy graduate Anjorin finally left his parent club last summer after a series of so-so loans away, signing for Serie A outfit Empoli.
Roberto D’Aversa’s side enjoyed a solid start to the season as something of a surprise package, but their form has nosedived since December with four draws, no wins and 12 defeats from their last 16 Serie A outings.
Anjorin has notched just three assists but opened his goalscoring account for the relegation battlers in last weekend’s vital 2-2 draw with Venezia.
Lloyd Kelly
Eddie Howe reunited with Kelly last summer, but the defender struggled for gametime after joining Newcastle United on a free transfer from Bournemouth.
Kelly then joined Juventus at the end of the winter window, and there’s reportedly a £20million obligation to buy in the summer. Decent business for the Magpies, that.
Results have been mixed so far; the Bristolian has featured in a 4-0 defeat to Atalanta and a 3-0 defeat to Fiorentina. Juventus’ place in next season’s Champions League is far from assured.
Keinan Davis
The Aston Villa academy graduate played a bit-part role in his debut season at Udinese, but was an unlikely hero in the end, keeping them in Serie A with a 76th-minute winner at Frosinone.
The forward hasn’t really kicked on since that moment, unfortunately. He’s made just six starts in Serie A this season and notched just two goals and one assist.
READ: 5 forgotten Aston Villa academy graduates who became cult heroes elsewhere
Ruben Loftus-Cheek
Tomori and Abraham have been in and out of the starting XI at the San Siro this season, and it’s a similar story for this ex-Chelsea star.
The majority of his appearances this season have been from the bench, while his gametime in recent weeks has been severely limited after requiring emergency surgery for acute appendicitis.
Loftus-Cheek did return to the fold as a late substitute to help see out the 3-0 victory over Inter, though.
Kyle Walker
Having suddenly fallen down the pecking order amid Manchester City’s explosive struggles before Christmas, Walker decided it was time to try something new after eight trophy-laden years at the Etihad.
He’s expected to stay with AC Milan after his loan comes to an end, but there have been frustrations since his arrival.
Last month he went viral on social media for telling Joao Felix he’s not Messi.
“It wasn’t me saying to Joao ‘you’re not Messi, pass the ball’. It was saying ‘let’s make sure we have a process’. He agreed with me and said we need to have more passes and a bit more control,” Walker explained on his podcast.
“I didn’t just say it to Joao. I didn’t know there was a camera there. But I still wouldn’t have changed anything I did say.”
Brooke Norton-Cuffy
While Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly have enjoyed breakthrough campaigns at Arsenal this season, fellow Hale Ender Norton-Cuffy has trodden his path elsewhere.
The 21-year-old right-back joined Genoa after gaining experience on loan at Millwall last season.
But he’s had to bide his time for opportunities, having made just three starts in the Italian top flight.
Gunners legend Patrick Vieira was appointed in November, but he doesn’t appear to trust him any more than predecessor Alberto Gilardino.
Samuel Iling-Junior
Aston Villa signed the talented England Under-21 international from Juventus last summer, immediately sending him back to Italy out on loan to Bologna.
Iling-Junior struggled for Serie A gametime, though, and was recalled by his parent club mid-season.
He’s since played more in the latter half of the campaign at Michael Carrick’s playoff-chasing Middlesbrough.
Daniel Oyegoke
Another relative unknown, Oyegoke hasn’t had the most glamorous career path since his days in the youth ranks at Arsenal and Brentford.
He’s represented MK Dons, Bradford City and Hearts in his senior career, the Barnet-born right-back joined Hellas Verona last summer.
Oyegoke has made just five brief substitute appearances in Serie A this season, with Verona sitting comfortably in midtable.
Omari Forson
Talked up as one to watch after being given his debut by Erik ten Hag at Manchester United last season, Forson ended up leaving Old Trafford after his contract expired.
The decision to let him leave appears to have been vindicated.
The 20-year-old forward hasn’t made a single league start for Monza, who sit at the foot of the Serie A table and are all but confirmed to be relegated.
Ben Godfrey
Atalanta made the curious decision to sign Godfrey from Everton in a £10million deal last summer.
More curious still was handing the defender a solitary 22-minute cameo in Serie A.
It seems that Gian Piero Gasperini just didn’t fancy him, and he was loaned out to Ipswich Town – where he hasn’t fared much better – for the latter half of the season.
Gasperini is expected to depart Atalanta at the end of the season. Perhaps that could see Godfrey return to the fold at his parent club next term.
Dele Alli
Dele’s long-awaited Serie A debut lasted nine minutes before he was shown a straight red card.
He hasn’t appeared since, but we’re still rooting for him to turn his fortunes around.
READ: Kyle Walker’s reaction to Dele Alli’s red card has slightly redeemed our opinion of him
Scott McTominay
McSauce is arguably the biggest success story on this entire list. An absolute bargain at just £25million.
He’s scored nine league goals in his debut season for Antonio Conte’s title-chasing Napoli (which is more than any player at Manchester United this season, as it happens).
Only Marcus Thuram and Ademola Lookman have higher average WhoScored ratings in Serie A, and he might just be a contender for Player of the Season if Napoli win the Scudetto.
The midfielder is loving the warmer climes, too.
“Oh my goodness, the tomatoes. Bellissimo,” he told The Athletic in April 2025.
“I never ate them at home, they are just red water. Here, they actually taste like tomatoes. Now I eat them as a snack. I eat all the vegetables, all of the fruits. It is all so fresh. It’s incredible.”
Billy Gilmour
While McTominay is one of Conte’s most trusted lieutenants, fellow Scotland international Gilmour has been a bit more peripheral.
Still, he has had a role to play with 11 starts in Serie A and a further 10 appearances from the bench.
He impressed from the off in a recent 3-0 victory over Empoli, having taken his chance following an injury suffered by Conte’s first-choice pick Frank Anguissa.
Che Adams
The striker left Southampton after achieving promotion last season and it doesn’t look as though he’ll have any regrets.
Adams has scored 10 goals in all competitions for Torino, equalling the tally the legendary Denis Law notched for the club back in 1961-62.
Liam Henderson
Who saw this mass Scottish migration to Italy coming?
Henderson was something of a trend-setter, having originally joined Bari back in 2018 after departing Celtic. He’s since represented Hellas Verona, Lecce and Palermo and is now into his second stint with Empoli and is the first Scot to reach the milestone of 100 Serie A games.
The midfielder, who hasn’t been capped at senior level by Scotland, has featured considerably more prominently for the strugglers than Anjorin.
His contract is up in the summer and it’ll be interesting to see whether he stays in Italy or moves on elsewhere.
Lewis Ferguson
The Scotland international missed the first few months of the campaign after taking time to recover from an anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered last April.
Ferguson made his return in November, but it’s been a frustratingly stop-start campaign as he vies to get rhythm back.
Muscular and hamstring injuries have denied Bologna’s captain a proper run of games, though he has clocked up 13 Serie A appearances in intermittent bursts.
He could yet end the season by lifting the Coppa Italia, though. Bologna face AC Milan in the final.
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