There has been a notable rise in the number of British players moving abroad in search of first-team opportunities in recent years. 

Jadon Sancho has proven that the grass may well be greener on the continent and his Borussia Dortmund career has shed light on the fact that Bundesliga clubs are willing to offer first-team opportunities at a very young age. 

With investment in the Premier League continuing to grow and depriving young players of an opportunity to break into the senior squad, it's becoming increasingly common for the next generation to move overseas.

During the 2020/21 season there were 18 British players plying their trade in either the Bundesliga, Serie A, La Liga or Ligue 1. 

Many of those were youngsters looking to carve a path to stardom, but there's also a sprinkling of seasoned professionals thrown in for good measure. 

Now that the season has drawn to a close, GIVEMESPORT take a closer look at the 18 Brits abroad and rank their respective campaigns from worst to best. 

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Let's take a look at how the British players fared away from their home country...

18. Clinton Mola (Stuttgart)

17. Fraser Hornby (Stade Reims)

16. Rabbi Matondo (Schalke)

15. Ronaldo Vieira (Hellas Verona)

14. Demarai Gray (Bayer Leverkusen)

13. Aaron Hickey (Bologna) 

12. Reece Oxford (Augsburg)

11. Aaron Ramsey (Juventus)

10. Chris Smalling (Roma)

Chris Smalling's season was significantly disrupted by a handful of injury problems and he managed just 16 Serie A appearances. 

9. Jonathan Panzo (Dijon)

The 20-year-old centre-back suffered relegation with Dijon but this was a major season of exposure for a player who left Chelsea for Monaco in 2018. 

Stern tests against the likes of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe will only have aided his development at such a crucial age.

8. Fikayo Tomori (AC Milan)

Another Chelsea loanee who excelled away from Stamford Bridge, Fikayo Tomori can count himself incredibly unlucky to have missed out on a place in Gareth Southgate's provisional 33-man England squad.

He was a rock for AC Milan following his short-term January loan deal.

7. Ryan Sessegnon (Hoffenheim)

Ryan Sessegnon missed seven Bundesliga games through injury but he still racked up two goals and three assists in 23 outings, underlining his attacking prowess from left-back in the process.

It remains to be seen if his form will earn him a proper opportunity at Spurs in 2021/22.

6. Stephy Mavididi (Montpellier)

Nine goals in 35 appearances for the former Arsenal youngster in Ligue 1. 

Stephy Mavididi is one to watch for England fans.

5. Ashley Young (Inter Milan)

Antonio Conte's preferred system utilises wing-backs and Ashley Young was a beneficiary of that during Inter Milan's 2020/21 Serie A title triumph.

At 35 years of age the former Man United star enjoyed a solid campaign.

4.Trevoh Chalobah (Lorient)

Trevoh Chalobah returns to Chelsea on the back of an impressive season-long loan at Lorient. 

The midfield enforcer recorded 2.4 interceptions and 1.6 tackles per game to give Thomas Tuchel something to think about over the summer window.

3. Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund)

What a stunning debut season for Jude Bellingham.

The multifaceted Dortmund midfielder has shown maturity far exceeding his years both on and off the field and thoroughly deserves to go to Euro 2020.

2. Kieran Trippier (Atletico Madrid)

Kieran Trippier became the umpteenth player to win a major trophy after leaving Spurs during a stunning La Liga title triumph with Atletico Madrid. 

The 30-year-old provided six assists and was a solid presence at right-back over the course of the season.

1. Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund)

The narrative surrounding Jadon Sancho's season is a little perplexing.

He got off to a slow start but he finished the campaign with 16 goals and 20 assists in 38 appearances, including a brace and an assist in Dortmund's 4-1 win over RB Leipzig in the DFB-Pokal final.

That's stunning form by anyone's standards but just a few weeks ago Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher omitted him from their England squads for Euro 2020.

If this has been a bad season for Sancho, then what exactly does a good season look like? 

That Sancho's brilliant season has somewhat slipped under the radar speaks volumes about how high he's set the bar since leaving Manchester City.