Former Watford academy product Marvin Sordell says young home grown players are not going to get the opportunities he received during his time at Vicarage Road.

A recent study by the CIES Football Observatory has highlighted the Hornets have given the least amount of game time to English players in the Premier League.

Only nine per cent of Watford’s minutes this season have gone to homegrown players, whereas Bournemouth are top of the list with 81 per cent.

Troy Deeney is the sole English player to start a league match, with Ben Watson’s substitute appearance at Southampton the only other contribution.

Sordell was handed the chance to shine for Watford when he broke into the side in 2009 but the 25-year-old recognises the club has undergone a dramatic transformation.

The Coventry City striker said: “It’s a lot more difficult [young players to break through at the club] but when you’re in the Premier League and there’s so much money on the line then it’s difficult to just put a youngster in and for them to get the amount of minutes I was getting when I was 18 or 19 years old.

“There’s a lot on the line and the club don’t have to do it. At the time the club didn’t really have a choice and we had to play because they were bringing players in on a free with the odd fee here and there.

“Other than that it was young players that came from the academy. They’re probably not going to get the same opportunities I had when I was their age because the circumstances have changed. But obviously it’s changed for the better for the club.”

Sordell left Watford for Bolton four years ago. The England Under-21 striker, who was part of the Team GB squad in 2012, appeared to have a promising career in front of him but he has struggled to replicate his Hornets form at Charlton and Burnley.

After being released by Colchester last summer, Sordell featured in a Sky Sports documentary, Out of Contract, to be aired on Sunday.

He has since joined League One side Coventry but his story underlines the difficulty facing many footballers.

Sordell said: “I don’t have any regrets really because you can’t really have regrets in life. They’re things you learn from and take negatives and positives out of each situation.

“But more so because you never know when you may get another opportunity to play in the Premier League.

“There’s been a lot said about me being forced to leave but the way the club was at the time Watford were a selling club. Players who were valuable had to be moved on and everyone understood how it was at the time.

“It’s obviously a very different club now but these things happen and I can’t ever have any regrets about that because if I didn’t leave things might not have changed and might have been the same even now, and Watford wouldn’t be the club it is today.”

Sordell still has an affinity for Watford and is delighted to see the way the club has progressed.

He said: “I’m just happy for the club really and the fans that are getting to enjoy Watford being as successful as they are now. When I arrive back home and drive past the stadium I just think it’s incredible where the club came from.

“At one point we had three stands and now the stadium is absolutely fantastic. I bet it’s amazing being a Watford fan right now.”