Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea have all produced some tremendous talents down the years.
Hector Bellerin, Harry Kane and Tammy Abraham are among the full internationals who have emerged from the ranks of the three London clubs in the past few seasons.
But on another measure, none of the above sides are the capital’s leading producer of top-level talent.
That honour is also not held by West Ham United or Crystal Palace either, London’s other Premier League sides.
According to a study by the CIES Football Observatory, Charlton Athletic lead the way when it comes to producing top tier footballers.
The analysis looked at where players playing in one of Europe’s top five leagues plied their trade before joining a club at that level.
Ajax were found to be the best stepping stone, having sold 22 players to outfits in the Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A, La Liga or Ligue 1.
Benfica (21) and Red Bull Salzburg (20) ranked second and third respectively, followed by Real Madrid Castilla and Sporting CP on 17 apiece.
Charlton’s figure of six may look modest in comparison, but the aforementioned clubs - with the exception of Real Madrid Castilla, who have their own obvious advantage - are all giants in their own countries.
That is certainly not the case for Charlton, who are two points adrift of safety in the Championship relegation zone.
Yet despite that the south London side have managed to sell half a dozen players directly into one of Europe’s top five leagues.
Liverpool centre-back Joe Gomez, Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa, Newcastle midfielder Jonjo Shelvey, and Burnley duo Nick Pope and Johann Berg Gudmundsson all left Charlton for Premier League sides.
The Addicks also sold Ademola Lookman to Everton in 2017, before the winger crossed into another big-five division with RB Leipzig last year.
Of course, clubs such as Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea were not eligible for inclusion given that they are members of a top-five league.
However, Charlton’s ranking is testament to the excellent developmental work they have carried out in recent years.
It is made all the more impressive given that the club has to compete with no fewer than five Category 1 academies in London (Arsenal, Chelsea, Fulham, Tottenham and West Ham).
Palace and Millwall, who have Category 2 academies, also rival the Addicks in the search for young players.
Charlton have now earned a reputation for their fantastic youth work, which will only aid their attempts to persuade London’s future starlets to choose The Valley over Stamford Bridge, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and the Emirates.
