Nearly three in every 100,000 Durham citizens have represented the English national football team according to research on the cities producing the most England players.

The study was carried out by Gambling 'N Go using data from transfermarkt.co.uk.

The birthplaces of all footballers who have played for England since 1950, in the FIFA World Cup, the Euros and the UEFA Nations League, were analysed.

This data was then compared to the population size of each city and town.

This revealed the towns and cities producing the highest rates of England players.

Liverpool topped the list, producing 5.38 players per 100,000 residents.

Sunderland was listed as number two, producing 4.89 players per 100,000 residents.

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Bolton ranked third with a rate of 4.21 players, while Durham was fourth with 2.8 players per 100,000 citizens.

Manchester rounded off the top five with 2.6 players per 100,000.

The study indicated that many of the top-ranking cities for producing England players are in the North.

A spokesperson from Gambling 'N Go said: "It is fascinating to see which cities and towns have produced the most players for the national team, and it is surprising to see smaller areas like Bolton and Blackburn in the ranking.

"It is also clear that a lot of England’s football talent comes from the North.

"The strong local clubs and youth programs in these northern areas clearly play a huge role in developing top talent.

"It will also be interesting to see how emerging football talent could change this ranking over the next few years."

This includes famous northern footballers like Bryan Robson from Durham who played 90 times for England, scoring 26 goals, and Wayne Rooney from Liverpool, who is among the most capped players of all time, playing 120 times for England.