Former England midfielder Ray Wilkins has suggested that the country's younger players do not have the drive to succeed at the top level.
Questions were raised last week as to whether the number of foreign players in the Premier League was hampering the development of the national team.
"In this country at the moment, English boys coming through are extremely talented technically," he told The Game. "But do they have the drive to becoming top footballers? I don't know.
"The British players think they have made it too early, most definitely, but the foreign player doesn't."
Wilkins earned 84 caps for England between 1976 and 1986.