Football Manager 2022 wonderkids: Best young strikers, midfielders, defenders and goalkeepers

Ryan Kelly

Football Manager 2022 wonderkids: Best young strikers, midfielders, defenders and goalkeepers image

One of the most exciting things about Football Manager is uncovering wonderkids and moulding them into world class players or selling them on for profit. Every club in the world has a network of scouts dedicated to discovering the next Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Virgil van Dijk.

To help you get a head start on the new game, we've compiled a list of the best wonderkid strikers, midfielders, defenders and goalkeepers on Football Manager 2022.

This list features only players who are aged under 20 at the start of the new game, so it excludes Erling Haaland, Alphonso Davies and Jadon Sancho, who are now into their twenties. 

POS: Position(s)
NAT: Nationality
VAL: Value

*Players listed by price. Teams shown correspond to those in the game, while ages shown are those at the start of the 2021-22 season. Players may have more than one nationality.

Contents

  1. Football Manager 2022 wonderkid strikers
  2. Football Manager 2022 wonderkid midfielders
  3. Football Manager 2022 wonderkid defenders
  4. Football Manager 2022 wonderkid goalkeepers

Football Manager 2022 wonderkid strikers

Player Age PO. NAT. Club VA.
Jeremy Doku 19 AMRL, ST Belgium Rennes £79m
Mason Greenwood 19 AMR, ST England Man UFC £67m
Fabio Silva 18 ST Portugal Wolves £61m
Ansu Fati 18 AMRL, ST Spain Barcelona £59m
Joao Pedro 19 AMRL, ST Brazil Watford £35m
Youssoufa Moukoko 16 ST Germany Borussia Dortmund £35m
Facundo Pellistri 19 AMR, ST Uruguay Alaves £31m
Yeremy Pino 18 AMRLC, FC Spain Villarreal £30m
Dane Scarlett 17 ST England Tottenham £26m
Christos Tzolis 19 AMRL, ST Greece Norwich £23m
Talles Magno 19 AMRLC, FC Brazil NYCFC £16m
Karim Adeyimi 19 AMR, ST Germany RB Leipzig £15m
Jon Karrikaburu 18 ST Spain Real San Sebastian £14m
Yusuf Demir 18 AMRLC, FC Austria Barcelona £13m
Mohamed Daramy 19 AMRL, ST Denmark Ajax £13m
Benjamin Sesko 18 ST Slovenia Red Bull Salzburg £12m
Ernest Poku 17 AMRL, ST Netherlands AZ £12m
Liam Delap 18 ST England Man City £10m
Angelo 16 AMR, ST Brazil SAN £10m
Matteo Cancellieri 19 AMR, ST Italy Verona £8m
Raul Moro 18 AMRLC, FC Spain Lazio £8m
Kaio Jorge 19 ST Brazil Zebre £7m
Alan Velasco 18 AMRLC, FC Argentina Independiente £6m
Facundo Farias 18 AMLC, FC Argentina Colon £5m
Matias Arezo 18 ST Uruguay River Plate £2m

Ansu Fati may have been given the No 10 at Barcelona and expectations are that he will fill Lionel Messi's boots, but he is not the most expensive wonderkid forward in FM22. That accolade belongs to Jeremy Doku, with Mason Greenwood not far behind.

Many of the names on the above list are already first-team stars for their teams and, unless you happen to be managing one of the game's super clubs, it will take a lot of convincing (not to mention money) to get them to join your project.

Tottenham striker Dane Scarlett is only 17 in the game and boasts plenty of potential ability, to the point where he has been compared to Harry Kane, but there is a premium attached since he plays for a Premier League team. 

There are plenty of cheaper options to run the rule over, with Uruguayan striker Matias Arezo one of the most enticing bargains. Argentina could be a happy hunting ground, with Alan Velasco and Facundo Farias both available for relatively cheap compared to their European counterparts.

Raul Moro of Lazio could be a decent loan option, as could Manchester City striker Liam Delap, who has drawn comparisons to Erling Haaland.

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Football Manager 2022 wonderkid midfielders

Player Age PO. NAT. Club VA.
Jude Bellingham 18 DM England Borussia Dortmund £98m
Pedri 18 AMRLC Spain Barcelona £94m
Florian Wirtz 18 AMC Germany Bayer Leverkusen £85m
Bukayo Saka 19 WBL, AMRL England Arsenal £79m
Ilaix Moriba 18 DM, AMC Guinea RB Leipzig £77m
Eduardo Camavinga 18 DM France Real Madrid £67m
Giovanni Reyna 18 AMLC USMNT Borussia Dortmund £55m
Jamal Musiala 18 AMRLC Germany Bayern Munich £53m
Ryan Gravenberch 19 DM, AMC Netherlands Ajax £41m
Harvey Elliott 18 AMRLC England Liverpool £40m
Reinier 19 AMC Brazil Borussia Dortmund £40m
Alfie Devine 16 DM, AMC England Tottenham £38m
Luka Romero 16 AMRLC Argentina Lazio £33m
Amad DIallo 19 AMRLC Ivory Coast Man Utd £32m
Noni Madueke 19 AMRLC England PSV £30m
Nico WIlliams 19 AMRL Spain A. Bilbao £29m
Filip Stevanovic 18 AMRLC Serbia Heerenveen £24m
Kayky 18 AMR Brazil Man City £24m
Samuele Ricci 19 DM Italy Empoli £23m
Yunus Musah 18 AMRC USMNT Valencia £20m
Rayan Cherki 18 AMRLC, FC France Lyon £20m
Nico 19 DM Spain Barcelona £19m
Gavi 16 DM, AMC Spain Barcelona £18m
Nicolo Rovella 19 DM Italy Genoa £16m
Hannibal 18 AMLC France Man UFC £13m
Konrad de la Fuente 19 AMRL USMNT Marseille £12m
Luka Sucic 18 AMC Croatia Red Bull Salzburg £12m
Tahukiro Nakai 17 AMC Japan Real Madrid £12m
Francisco Conceicao 18 AMRL Portugal FC Porto £10m
Sandry 18 MC Brazil SAN £10m
Alex Baena 19 AMRLC Spain Girona £7m
Paulo Bernardo 19 AMC Portugal SLB £6m
Lucien Agoume 19 DM, AMC France Brest £3m

England and Borussia Dortmund youngster Jude Bellingham has the potential to be one of the best players in the game, but unless you are managing Newcastle United, Paris Saint-Germain or Manchester City, your chances of signing him straight away are slim. 

Likewise Barcelona playmaker Pedri, who has been dubbed 'the new Iniesta', will be next to impossible to sign but it would be a nice challenge to manage the Catalan club in order to help him reach his potential.

Lazio's Mexican-Argentine midfielder Luka Romero could be a fascinating alternative, particularly when you consider that the teen has already been tagged as 'The Mexican Messi'. Barcelona's deep-lying orchestrator Gavi is another wonderkid and he continues to shatter records as one of the youngest players to play in El Clasico and for Spain.

Considering the initial value of many of these young talents, you may not be able to sign them outright but loan deals can often be worked out, particularly for players who aren't yet guaranteed starters for their parent clubs.

If you are constrained with a small transfer budget, it may be worth looking to Portugal. Porto winger Francisco Conceicao and Benfica playmaker Paulo Bernardo can be signed for relatively cheap.

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Football Manager 2022 wonderkid defenders

Player Age PO. Nationality Club VA.
Josko Gvardiol 19 DLC Croatia RB Leipzig £68m
Nuno Mendes 19 D/WBL Portugal PSG £46m
Luca Netz 18 D/WB/AML Germany Borussia M'gladbach £37m
Tino Livramento 18 D/WBR England Southampton £34m
Alejandro Balde 18 D/WB/AML Spain Barcelona £28m
Migel Gutierrez 19 D/WBL Spain Real Madrid £26m
Illya Zabarnyi 18 DC Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv £24m
Deyvne Rensch 18 DRLC, DM Netherlands Ajax £20m
Ricardo Calafiori 19 D/WB/ML Italy Roma £14m
Tanguy Nianzou 19 DC, DM France Bayern Munich £13m
Kenneth Taylor 19 DC, DM, MRLC Netherlands Ajax £12m
Alejandro Frances 18 DRLC Spain Zaragoza £10m
Taylor Harwood-Bellis 19 DRC England Anderlecht £9m
Amadou Onana 19 DC, DM Belgium LOSC £9m
Renan 19 DLC Brazil SEP £6m
Kaiky 17 DC Brazil SAN £2m

RB Leipzig's Croatian centre-back Josko Gvardiol is rated one of the best young defensive prospects in the world but the teen already commands an eye-watering transfer fee.

Similarly Tino Livramento, Nuno Mendes and Luca Netz will all require significant financial muscle in order to lure them away from their clubs at the start of the game.

There are some decent options to be found in Brazil in Santos centre-back Kaiky - who has been labelled 'the new Marquinhos' - and Palmeiras' Renan, with each player initially valued at less than £6 million.

Barcelona left-back Alejandro Balde could become the best full-back in the game, but the club have already slapped a massive release clause on his contract.

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Football Manager 2022 wonderkid goalkeepers

Player Age PO. NAT. Club VA.
Maarten Vandervoordt 19 GK Belgium Genk £16m
Ivan Martinez 19 GK Spain A. Pamplona £9m
Gavin Bazunu 19 GK Rep. Ireland Portsmouth £8m
Lucas Canizares 19 GK Spain Real Madrid £5m
James Trafford 18 GK England Accrington Stanley £5m
Ruslan Nescheret 19 GK Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv £4m
Andre Gomes 16 GK Portugal SLB £3m
Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro 17 GK Netherlands AZ £2m
Alejandro Iturbe 17 GK Spain A. Madrid £2m

Genk goalkeeper Maarten Vandervoordt looks primed to be one of the best goalkeepers in the world but he'll cost you a considerable transfer fee, meaning only bigger clubs will be able to afford him.

If your hands are tied financially, you might have better luck in the Netherlands or Portugal with AZ teen Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro or Benfica's Andre Gomes available at a cheaper price.

Manchester City boast a number of talented goalkeepers in their youth ranks, but both Gavin Bazunu and James Trafford are out on loan at the beginning of the game so you may have to wait a season.

There are plenty of talented Spanish goalkeepers coming through in La Liga too, with Ivan Martinez, Lucas Canizares and Alejandro Iturbe deemed among the best young stoppers in the game.

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Ryan Kelly