Southampton's academy makes them well placed to deal with new work permit rules

The new regulations, approved by the Home Office, are due to come into effect from May 1, and will restrict the number of non-EU players at clubs around the country.

It is estimated that 33 per cent of the players who gained entry under the current system would not be granted a work permit under the impending framework.

The rules, which include tightening up the appeals process, would make it harder for Saints to sign players such as Victor Wanyama.

The Kenyan international was only able to complete a £12.5m move from Celtic in 2013 after the club won an appeal to bring him to St Mary’s.

However, Saints are better positioned than perhaps any other in the Premier League to cope, given the strength of their academy.

The idea behind the proposals is to boost English youngsters’ chances of success, which are already higher at Saints than anywhere else.

In this season’s Premier League campaign alone, the club have used eight English-born players who have come through their academy system.

They are James Ward-Prowse, Matt Targett, Harrison Reed, Ryan Seager, Jason McCarthy, Lloyd Isgrove, Jake Hesketh and Dominic Gape.

That is more than any other side in the division, with Manchester United, with six, the only ones that come close.

Academy star: James Ward-Prowse.

Five clubs have used none at all.

Saints also have the likes of Sam Gallagher and Sam McQueen, who appeared in the first team last season but who have not featured under Ronald Koeman yet.

A number of notable Saints academy graduates are also turning out for other clubs in England’s top flight, such as Arsenal trio Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Calum Chambers, as well as Manchester United’s Luke Shaw and Liverpool’s Adam Lallana.

As well as the new work permit rules, FA chairman Greg Dyke is also proposing that Premier League clubs increase the number of home-grown players in a 25-man squad from eight to 12.

He also wants the definition of ‘home-grown’ changed, so that players only qualify if they are registered for three years prior to turning 18, rather than 21.

Currently, English players form about 35 per cent of the players in the top-flight, with Dyke hoping that number will rise to about 40 per cent in the next five years.

The new work permit rules:

1. Players currently must have played at least 75 per cent of their country's senior competitive international matches over the past two years. That will change so the required number of caps is staggered according to the country's status. Players will have to have played at least 30 per cent of matches in the last two years if their country is in the top 10, at least 45 per cent if it is ranked between 11th and 20th, at least 60 per cent if between 21st and 30th and at least 75 per cent if between 31st and 50th.

2. Players currently must have played for a country ranked in FIFA’s top 70 when rankings are averaged over the two years prior to the date of application. That bar will be lowered to the top 50 countries under the new regulations.

3. All players are currently measured over the last two years. The new regulations will allow leeway for players aged 21 or under, who are assumed to be less established and therefore only need fulfil the criteria for the previous 12 months.

4. Under the current system, the appeals process is subjective and dictated by supporting evidence such as scout reports, videos and managers’ references. The panel decides if the player is of the “highest calibre” and invariably it approves, with 79 per cent of applications successful. The new appeals process will be less lenient and based on “predominantly objective measures”, such as agreed transfer value and wage, domestic club experience, European competition experience and international record.

5. The FA estimates that 33 per cent of the players who gained entry under the old system would not have been granted a work visa under the new rules. That means that over the last five years there would have been 42 fewer non-European players playing in the Premier and Football Leagues.