The former England international Jermaine Jenas, who represented the nation at seven age levels, believes that the World Cup winning under-20s team can become the bedrock of the senior side if they seek chances to play club football abroad.

England’s qualification for the 2018 World Cup with an unconvincing win over Slovenia will re-open the debate about the Premier League limiting Gareth Southgate’s options, by failing to deliver adequate first team football to the nation’s best young talents.

But Jenas, who has examined the England set up for a short BBC2 documentary film, said that the continental club game can provide better preparation for a future World Cup tournament than the Premier League.

‘Tournament football is a different type of football and environment,’ Jenas told Sportsmail. ‘Do we get that type of football playing the Premier League way? History tells us not.’

Four members of the England under-20 team which beat Venezuela in June’s final in South Korea are currently playing in continental European leagues.

Arsenal’s Chris Willcock turned down the chance to stay at Arsenal by signing a five-year deal with Benfica. Jadon Sancho, aged 17, swapped Manchester City for Dortmund. City’s Isaac Buckley-Ricketts is on loan at FC Twente and West Ham’s Reece Oxford is on loan at Borussia Monchengladbach.

‘Our league is sensational. It’s an exciting league,’ Jenas said. ‘But it’s propped up by foreign players. We are spending on foreign players - even some who you would put in the ‘mediocre’ category.

'We should look at whether there is something we can put in place to protect English academy players and facilitate them getting the [first team football] that those average foreign players [are getting].

'But while we can’t get them into Premier League teams at the moment, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Germany do present opportunities. Maybe we don’t necessarily look at Championship clubs for them.’

The average number of English starters in Premier League line-ups is 32.2 per cent. England’s coaches seem to agree that overseas clubs do present an opportunity for young talents - a contrast with the national rugby union set-up, where players plying their trade beyond these shores are not automatically out of contention for Eddie Jones’ team.

But the chance to feature weekly at the top level is not a problem for those under consideration for that side.

Jenas - who represented England 21 times, with his last competitive game being the sensational 4-1 win at Croatia in September 2008 – signed for Bobby Robson’ s Newcastle United, rather than Manchester United, in 2002 because Robson could promise him regular football in a way that Sir Alex Ferguson could not.

United were ready to pay Nottingham Forest £3m for him and ‘the message came down that it would be an honour to play for Manchester United,’ Jenas said. But it was clear that he would be moving to Old Trafford on a ‘trial basis.’ England chances flowed.

Jenas said that the England set-up has changed beyond compare from his playing days, when arriving at the international camp was an intimidating prospect.

The 34-year-old spent a day at St George’s Park for his Premier League Show film and found under-16s players encountering the likes of Harry Kane and Liverpool’s Joe Gomez in communal areas.

Ten years ago, the experience for newly called-up players was ‘arriving at a random hotel, Sopwell House, to find yourself suddenly standing in front of legendary names you didn’t know,’ Jenas said. ‘I’d watched [Michael] Owen and [David] Beckham at the 1998 World Cup and suddenly you’re amongst them. There was nothing to ease you into it.’

Jermaine Jenas examined the England set-up for the BBC2’s Premier League Show.