The squeeze on finances in La Liga means that clubs in Spain's top-flight are increasingly turning to their youth systems to produce first-team players.

Lamine Yamal (L) of FC Barcelona vies with Adria Pedrosa of Sevilla FC during a La Liga football match between FC Barcelona and Sevilla FC in Barcelona, Spain, Sept. 29, 2023. (Photo by Joan Gosa/Xinhua)

Spending on new signings in Spain fell again this summer, with the 20 teams in La Liga spending a total of 378 million euros (around 400 million U.S. dollars) on new players. That number seems even less considering that Real Madrid spent around 140 million on Jude Bellingham, Fran Garcia and Arda Guler.

Spending was down around 25 percent on a year ago, with Spanish clubs' spending just under half as much as in Germany or France and around one-seventh of the Premier League.

Strict financial fair play rules have also put a squeeze on wages, ruling out big-money arrivals and meaning that teams have had to look to their youth teams to strengthen their squads.

Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad lead the way in the number of players progressing from their youth systems. Athletic has 18 former youth players in their first-team squad, while Real Sociedad, Las Palmas and Valencia have 10 each.

Currently, only Rayo Vallecano and Almeria do not have any former youth team players in their squads.

Athletic's policy of signing only players born or raised in the Basque region means they are obliged to rely on local players, but in their 0-0 draw with Mallorca earlier this season, their entire starting 11 began their career in Athletic's youth system and they have habitually fielded sides with nine or 10 youth system products.

While Real Sociedad has players such as Takefusa Kubo, Brais Mendez and Mikel Merino in their key positions, others such as Ander Barrenextea, Mikel Oyarzabal, Martin Zubimendi and Igor Zubeldia also give testimony to their productive youth teams.

Perhaps the best recent example of a club using its youth system to compensate for tight purse-strings is Valencia. Club owner Peter Lim has reigned in spending year after year, with the result that last season the club was involved in a nail-biting struggle to avoid relegation.

It wasn't until the closing weeks of the season, when Ruben Baraja was appointed the coach, that the situation changed. Baraja turned to the youth, promoting players such as Diego Lopez, Fran Perez and Javi Guerra from the club's B-team, which was competing in the fourth-tier league.

The trio responded with the goals that kept Valencia in the elite and are now a key part of the club's future, along with 19-year-old defender Cristhian Mosquera, as Baraja's side has had a generally positive beginning to the campaign, with their at-times fickle supporters getting behind the local boys in the side.

But amidst the optimism that youth has brought to some clubs, there is also a need for caution. This summer saw Celta's rising star Gabri Veiga leave the club for Saudi Arabia just three months after his 21st birthday, and that could be a sign that big-spending leagues could move in to sign young talent by offering transfer fees and wages that are too good to turn down - and that would be bad news for La Liga and its future.

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