Gianluca Vialli, the Italian who was the first manager to pick an entirely foreign XI when he was Chelsea boss, claims England need to produce more gifted players.
Vialli said club managers are blind to players' nationalities - and the English talent is far more expensive.
He told 'Meltdown', the PFA's report on the nationality of Premier League players and the future of English football: "England needs to produce more gifted players.
"I'm not talking about superstars, I'm talking about the next level down. I get the sense that England today have, perhaps, 10 or 15 superstars and then 20 or so very good players.
"In the past, the ratio was different, perhaps five superstars and 50 or so very good players. That is what needs to be worked on."
Vialli claims England winger Shaun Wright-Phillips would have only cost a quarter of his £21million fee had he not been English.
He added: "English clubs have been under more pressure to produce immediate results and have often looked abroad to do this.
"If you're looking for proven players - rather than relying on youngsters - overseas footballers offer far more both in terms of choice and in terms of price-to-quality ratio.
"The sheer price of English players is the main turnoff. Shaun Wright-Philips is worth £21million because he's English. If he were, say, Portuguese, he'd cost a quarter of that.
"The scarcity of English talent, coupled with the belief that they are less of a risk in terms of adaptability, is what drives their price through the roof.
"Until costs come down, clubs won't field more English players.
"So how do you bring the cost down? Well, the law of supply and demand tells us that increasing supply is the best way to do so."
Vialli also believes the big difference between England and Italy is at youth level.
He said: "Italian youngsters receive a much more "professional" footballing education from a young age.
"They tend to be more technically proficient and they receive far more tactical training, making them more adaptable to different systems and situations.
"A lot of this has to do with the fact that we have a big head start. Howard Wilkinson's Charter only introduced the Academy system a decade ago. In Italy, we've had academies since the 1960s."
He told 'Meltdown', the PFA's report on the nationality of Premier League players and the future of English football: "England needs to produce more gifted players.
"I'm not talking about superstars, I'm talking about the next level down. I get the sense that England today have, perhaps, 10 or 15 superstars and then 20 or so very good players.
"In the past, the ratio was different, perhaps five superstars and 50 or so very good players. That is what needs to be worked on."
Vialli claims England winger Shaun Wright-Phillips would have only cost a quarter of his £21million fee had he not been English.
He added: "English clubs have been under more pressure to produce immediate results and have often looked abroad to do this.
"If you're looking for proven players - rather than relying on youngsters - overseas footballers offer far more both in terms of choice and in terms of price-to-quality ratio.
"The sheer price of English players is the main turnoff. Shaun Wright-Philips is worth £21million because he's English. If he were, say, Portuguese, he'd cost a quarter of that.
"The scarcity of English talent, coupled with the belief that they are less of a risk in terms of adaptability, is what drives their price through the roof.
"Until costs come down, clubs won't field more English players.
"So how do you bring the cost down? Well, the law of supply and demand tells us that increasing supply is the best way to do so."
Vialli also believes the big difference between England and Italy is at youth level.
He said: "Italian youngsters receive a much more "professional" footballing education from a young age.
"They tend to be more technically proficient and they receive far more tactical training, making them more adaptable to different systems and situations.
"A lot of this has to do with the fact that we have a big head start. Howard Wilkinson's Charter only introduced the Academy system a decade ago. In Italy, we've had academies since the 1960s."
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