The Morning View: Mark Warburton and Alan McInally predict problems for Greg Dyke's foreign player reform

Brentford manager Mark Warburton and Sky Sports’ football expert Alan McInally both believe Greg Dyke will face problems over his plans to reduce the number of non-EU players playing in England.

FA chairman Dyke hopes to boost the chances of young English players by halving the number of non-EU imports. So far this season 90 non-EU players have been used in the Premier League compared to 297 from Europe.

McInally, who played for Bayern Munich, told Sky Sports HQ's Morning View that he believes reducing the number of non-EU players may be detrimental to the overall quality of English football.

''I can understand what Greg is doing, It’s a very difficult thing to get everybody on board,” he said.

''That would be the biggest problem. If we do lose some of the wonderful non-EU players that play in this country, the likes of Spain, Italy and France will just take them, so all of a sudden that may hurt the Premier League itself – it’s a very difficult one.

''Even in terms of the description of an average non-EU player; who says they’re average? You may be Jose Mourinho and you bring in a Brazilian football player…is Greg Dyke going to say to Mourinho: ‘well he’s average'?''

Warburton, who has nurtured a number of young English players through the ranks at both Watford and Brentford, agrees that teams will still look for cheaper options overseas.  

''I think the point Greg made there is that he doesn’t want average overseas non-EU players coming in. You want the elite to maintain the quality of the league,” Warburton said.

''The problem you have is the average player from outside the EU may cost you a quarter of the price than being quoted for the English talent. As a manager or a sporting director, you look at what you can get for your budget and these English players are expensive.''

Warburton's Brentford squad, currently 10th in the Championship, has no players from outside the EU, but the Bees boss added that in the long-term that may have to change to maintain a high level of quality.

'''We look at our academy obviously and we get offered lots for our players. We’re still establishing ourselves so we may hit that problem 18 months down the line,” Warburton said.

“Right now it’s not a big issue for us but you’ve got to maintain the quality of your leagues and want the best players playing in your league - it’s a tough job and a tough balancing act."