Notable English football players who aren't in the Premier League

We start with perhaps the greatest goal scorer England has ever produced. After years of building his legend at Spurs, Kane left for one of the few clubs bigger in the world in Bayern Munich. Famously, Kane has never won a major trophy in his career…and as soon as he joined Bayern, its decade-long run atop the Bundesliga ended. Kane wasn’t at fault, though, potting a whopping 36 goals. Then, he and England finished second in Euro once again. Will this be the year Kane finally hoists a trophy?

Kane is a legend of English football, but Bellingham is, for our money, the best English player in the world right now. He just happens to not play in England, and never really has. After making his name at Borussia Dortmund, the do-it-all midfielder was snapped up by Real Madrid, where he was arguably the best player on a Champions League-winning side. Oh, and now Kylian Mbappe is his teammate.

After Kane and Bellingham, there is a drop off, but there remains plenty of English talent not in the Premier League. By no means is Tomori hiding under a rock. For the last three seasons the centre back has been a staple in the lineup for AC Milan. He’s only made a handful of appearances for England, but one of the biggest Italian clubs clearly recognizes his talent.

English fans likely remember Abraham, as he had a strong season with Chelsea not all that long ago. After being loaned to Aston Villa — then in the Championship —a and scoring 25 goals, the Blues brought the classic number nine back into the fold. In the 2019-20 season he scored 15 goals in the Premier League, but Chelsea seemed to sour on Abraham fast, and he ended up moving on to Roma. He popped in his first season in Italy, but struggled in his second and tore his ACL at the end of the campaign. That led Abraham to play in only eight games in the 2023-24 season, but he’s ready to go for Roma this year.

COVID-19 and injury hampered Bynoe-Gittens at first upon moving from Manchester City’s youth academy to Borussia Dortmund’s. However, the winger will start the 2024-25 season having just turned 20, so there’s plenty of runway left ahead of him. Last season, Bynoe-Gitten made 25 appearances in the Bundesliga, and seven in the Champions League. If Dortmund believes in a young player, it tends to bode well.

Edwards never panned out at Tottenham Hotspur, but he found his footing at a lower level of football. The attacking midfielder went to Portugal, but he’s no slouch in the top Portuguese league. Edwards is about to start his fourth season at Sporting CP, one of the leading lights of Portuguese football. Still only 25, while it would be an esoteric accomplishment, Edwards is primed to go down as the best English player in the history of the Primeira Liga.

Seeing this name may give you that, “Oh yeah!” feeling. Loftus-Cheek picked up over 100 Premier League caps with Chelsea, and he played 10 games for England. However, it’s been half a decade since he wore an England kit, and he’s playing in mainland Europe now. Loftus-Cheek moved to AC Milan prior to last season, was put back into his preferred attacking midfielder role, and soared as a result.

Dier is pulling a Harry Kane. He played 274 Premier League games for Tottenham Hotspur. Last year, though, he was loaned out to Bayern Munich, where he was reunited with his old teammate. Apparently being reunited felt so good, because Dier signed on with Munich on a permanent move. There’s a lot of competition for playing time at a club like Bayern, but Dier will certainly see the pitch plenty.

Akpom never found a role with Arsenal, getting loaned out over and over. The forward proved to be a bit of a late bloomer. He spent seasons in the Greek league, and then played for Middlesbrough in the Championship, though he tore that level up as a goal scorer. Ajax gave him a shot after that, and he scored 11 goals in 26 league games for the Dutch giants. He’s sticking around for the 2024-25 campaign.

Do recall we did say notable English players not playing in the Premier League. That doesn’t mean the lower levels of English football were excluded. With Leicester and Southampton getting promoted, some of the best English players in the second level of English football are no longer there. Clarke now stands, in our mind, as the top English player in the Championship. The 23-year-old winger played for Sunderland, and he scored 15 goals last season. Eventually, a move to the Premier League should be in the offing.

Gomes is one of the most versatile midfielders you will find. Where will you find him, though? In France! Gomes has spent the last three seasons as a regular in the lineup for Lille, one of the best non-PSG clubs in Ligue 1. While he doesn’t score many goals, Gomes does basically everything else you could want from a midfielder.

Centre backs tend to have longer careers than most other positions, and Smalling is still going strong at 34. Sure, he hasn’t played for England for over half a decade, but after a decade at Manchester United, the reliable defender made the move to Italy. Man U loaned Smalling’s services to Roma for the 2019-20 season, and it went so well he’s been there ever since.

Obviously, when discussing Greenwood, it’s hard to avoid mentioning that after a promising start to his time at Manchester United, his career was derailed by some very serious criminal allegations. It is also important to mention all charges against him were dropped in February of 2023, but it was perhaps wisely decided Greenwood should move on. Greenwood played on loan at Getafe during the 2023-24 season, and he’s in line to suit up for Marseille during the 2024-25 campaign.

Henderson needs no introduction to English football fans. The midfielder spent over a decade at Liverpool, serving as captain for some of that time, and he has earned 81 caps for England. Henderson is one of the defining English players of his generation. Now, you might be thinking, “Oh yeah, didn’t he take that Saudi money?” Indeed, Henderson did the “active retirement” thing in the Saudi Pro League to start the 2023-24 season, but it didn’t take. Hendo made the move to Ajax, where he is suiting up this year.

Let’s end with a famed English name who has moved beyond his playing days. Neville, of course, played over 300 games for both Manchester United and Everton. Like many players, he’s gone into management since retiring. While some successful English players have traded on their names to get managing gigs they weren’t really qualified for (*cough*Steve Gerrard and Frank Lampard*cough*), Neville has been working his way up the ranks. After coaching England’s women’s team for a few years, Neville has moved over to the States, where he currently manages MLS side the Portland Timbers.