Three Lions boss Sam Allardyce bemoans lack of English players in the Premier League

England manager Sam Allardyce has conceded he will have to select players who cannot get into their club's side. The newly-appointed boss has become the latest in an increasingly long line of Three Lions managers to have bemoaned the lack of Premier League players who are qualified o play for the England national squad.

Presently, 31% of those playing in English football's top flight are eligible to play for the national side. So Allardyce will be forced to choose players who are on the fringes of their club teams.

"I think you have to [pick players that aren't playing]," Allardyce said, according to The Sunday Times. "You have to have some. I talked to Roy [Hodgson, his predecessor] many times about the fact you are often picking some who are at the top of their club and some who are fringe players. That goes without saying now when you've only got 31%. Now I'm sat in this position it's disappointing."

Allardyce's first match in charge of England will be a friendly against Croatia at Wembley on 1 September. Looking forward to that game, the former Sunderland manager revealed he may select Manchester United defender Luke Shaw, who recently returned from a broken leg, and Andros Townsend, who plays for Championship club Newcastle United.

"You have Shaw coming back from injury at Manchester United, Andros Townsend who looked like an international world-beater a couple of years ago and has got himself back playing regular Premier League football. That's just two who may make a breakthrough," he shared.

Meanwhile, Allardyce was also critical of Uefa for banning the emergency loan system, which helped some of England's current players to develop their skills away from the spotlight of their parent club. "I bet most of the England players in the Euros were loaned out early in their careers, or they started in lower leagues. We have lost the emergency loan system, sadly," the new boss said.

Allardyce pointed out that the emergence of Manchester United youngster Marcus Rashford, one of England's most exciting prospects, occurred more by luck than good judgement. He said it is increasingly rare for players to arrive on the scene during their teenage years, as was the case with Rashford.

"Let's look at young Marcus Rashford's journey. It's fair to say that if [Anthony] Martial hadn't got injured we wouldn't have seen the young man playing for Manchester United quite as much and ultimately playing a couple of substitute appearances for England in the Euros," he said of the 18-year-old United starlet.

"What an exciting prospect he looks. But it was the injury crisis at Manchester United forcing those lads to be thrown in at the deep end. It's not easy to put those youngsters in as a Premier League manager because of the cost of failure.

"We are blocking the way for our youngsters to develop. We're looking at a player coming into the Premier League at 22, 23 now. If you didn't make it at 18 when I was coming through, you were gone."