West Ham chief David Gold believes is is difficult for teenagers to break into the first team without going out on loan first.
The Hammers co-owner used Tottenham striker Harry Kane as a prime example after the 23-year-old struck 29 goals in the Premier League this season.
Prior to breaking into the senior side, Kane went out on loan to clubs such as Leicester, Millwall and Leyton Orient as the trio were either playing in the Championship or League One at that time.
Gold stated that teenagers in the Premier League have only played 6000 minutes of football this season as he believes it is “hard” for them to make an impact higher up the ladder.
While interacting with a West Ham fan on Twitter, Gold agreed that even the best of players need to go through the loan system first.
“Players 20-year-old or older played nearly 900,000 minutes in the Premier League this season,” Gold wrote on his personal Twitter account. “Teenagers played 6000 minutes. It’s hard for a teenager.”
“Kane didn’t go from being a teenager [straight] into the Spurs firs team over established players,” a West Ham supporter stated. “He did the loans first for over 50 games.”
Gold responded: “Exactly. It’s rare for a teenager to go from the academy to the first team in the Premier League without first going through the loan system.”
Players 20years old and over played nearly 900,000 mins in the PL this season. Teenagers played 6000 mins. Its hard for a teenager. dg
— David Gold (@davidgold) May 22, 2017
Kane didn't go from being a teenager to into the Spurs first team,over established players, he did the loans first for over 50 games!
— Turner's No.7 (@whu647580) May 22, 2017
Exactly. It's rare for a teenager to go from the academy to the first team in the PL without first going through the loan system. dg https://t.co/Mwjd7Xbmi9
— David Gold (@davidgold) May 22, 2017
During his career in the lower divisions, Kane played 18 League One games, scoring five goals added with his nine strikes in 35 Championship matches.
He has since gone on to establish himself as a key first-team player at White Hart Lane, scoring 99 goals in 165 matches for the club.
This includes winning back-to-back Golden Boot awards after finishing off the Premier League season with a hat-trick against Hull.
Over the course of the campaign, Kane struck five hat-tricks, four of which came in the league, including finding the back of the net on four occasions against Leicester.
Hammers boss Slaven Bilic gave teenager centre-back Declan Rice his debut on the last day of the season when he came on as a late substitute during the win against Burnley.