Fulham are likely to have only two Englishmen in their starting line-up against Dinamo Zagreb in the UEFA Cup second round at Loftus Road tonight, but the club claim their culture is changing.
Defender Rufus Brevett and midfielder Lee Clark are set to play alongside a Dutchman, an Argentine and a Dane as well as players from France, Wales, the Republic of Ireland and Portugal.
A Cameroon international, a Moroccan and a Japanese could also be involved as manager Jean Tigana rests some of his regulars with a 3-0 first-leg lead and Sunday's Premiership game at Birmingham in mind.
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| Fulham Chief executive Bruce Langham |
The number of foreign players at Premiership clubs has been rising for several years and the Frenchman's club are not alone in taking advantage of the talent available in other countries.
But Fulham, who included players from 14 different countries on the team sheet for their Worthington Cup win against Bury last week, are confident their number of good homegrown players is increasing.
Fulham Chief executive Bruce Langham said today: "We have brought in a lot of foreign players in the last three years, but we believe the future is in developing our own through the academy.
"Our manager Jean Tigana believes in developing British talent and he has an excellent record of improving young players.
"We have players coming through and in a couple of years at least half the Fulham team should be English players.
"But that does not mean we do not value the contribution of the foreign players we have brought in. They have got us to the Premier League and kept us there.
"Jean's team plays good, passing football and he has brought to the club the kind of player who fits into that."
Brevett, midfielder Sean Davis and defender Zat Knight have been the only English regulars for Fulham this season when they have been fit, although the other home nations are also represented within the squad.
Davis and Knight, who have both played for the England Under-21s, have come through the club's youth development system - and Langham is sure there will be more like them.
He said: "We have a very good academy and community system which we have built up over the last few years, but we still have work to do in attracting more of the best young players and bringing them through."