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Football Manager 26 wonderkids guide: The best young players for your squad
P
Phil Iwaniuk
Add these players to your shortlist, and do with them as you see fit. You might use this list to search for players you can turn a profit on later, or keep them and nurture their talents until they win you a few Champions League titles. We’ll list the outright best young player by potential ability per position, and also a cheap option who’s available for fewer millions.
Goalkeepers
Ferrán Quetglas - Real Madrid
It’s bad news, bargain hunters: The best young goalkeeper in the world right now has already been secured by Real Madrid. That means it’s even trickier to prize Quetglas away from the Bernabeu than it is for non-Spanish speakers to pronounce his name.
His wage is relatively low at the start of the game at just £2.5k per week, and his transfer value isn’t much above £1m on paper. But if you were a young Spanish player, where would you rather be than Real Madrid?
Kerem Matışlı - Buraspor
Young Matışlı represents a real bargain if you sign him from Buraspor early enough. His potential ability stat (a hidden stat in the game, only viewable when using an editor) is short of Quetglas’, but he’s earning around £1,000 per week and can be signed for less than £5 million if he’s interested in your club.
Left-backs
Myles Lewis-Skelly - Arsenal
Will the Arsenal superstar win a Premier League title this year in real life? It’s possible. Will he sign for your team in FM 26’s universe? That all depends on whether you’ve got a spare £60-£90 million and can match his £90K weekly wage.
Lewis-Skelly is an especially lithe, pacey wingback whose physical defending has yet to fully develop, but whose bag of tricks in possession of the ball can split a defense apart.
Saba Kharebashvili - Tblisi
Players like Kharebashvili are what wonderkid lists were invented for. At just 17, he’s capable in central, right, or left-sided positions in defense, with impressive stats and two-star role ratings in just about every defensive role, and he’s yours for about £2 million.
His current wages are very reasonable at £1.1k per week. If you’re going to struggle to match that, it’s time to raise the prices in the canteen a bit.
Centre-backs
Willy Kambwala - Villareal
An imposing figure in any backline, with impeccable physical stats matched by technical skill, Kambwala is already a capable player and can mature into a dominant force. Villareal already values his services to the tune of £104 million, but the team pays the 21-year-old Frenchman just £22,000 per week. If you’re a bigger club than them and have a larger wage bill, it’s possible to turn his head.
Matteo Palma - Udinese
Palma’s versatile, less well-known than Kambwala, and though he’s a different kind of defender, he’s equally talented but carries a smaller price tag. It’ll take around £17-£20 million to sign him from Udinese, but his ability to play on the right side of a defensive line and his young age at 17 add plenty of value to that proposition.
Right-backs
Jesus Fortea - Real Madrid
That pesky Real Madrid has got in there again and secured one of the best right-backs in the world before you could. That means it’s a challenge to sign Fortea if you’re anybody with shallower pockets than Los Blancos.
Which is a shame, because the young Spaniard is a real all-rounder, equally strong in his defensive duties as he is sprinting along the line and spraying incisive passes to central players.
Elias Baum - Eintracht Frankfurt
Fortunately for anyone unable to sign Fortea, German Elias Baum provides an excellent alternative. He’s got a similar potential ability and positional versatility, and he can be signed for under £10 million—in our save, Brighton secured him from Eintracht Frankfurt for just £8.5 million.
Defensive midfielders
Chema Andres - Stuttgart
The Bundesliga is brimming with young talent at present, and rangey Spaniard (and Real Madrid academy graduate, would you believe) Andres is among its shiniest gems. That La Fabrica pedigree means his price tag is already high at age 20—somewhere between £50-£70 million.
DMs’ stats always look impressive, since they have to be such all-rounders by virtue of their role. But even in that context, Andres is an especially well developed player for just 20 years old.
Kennet Eichhorn - Hertha BSC
The Bundesliga has young DMs on lockdown, it seems, with the best value proposition Kennet Eichhorn also earning his trade in Germany’s top division. He’s just 15 years old, which means you may have to be patient with him before he’s ready for his first team minutes.
Central midfielders
Ayyoub Bouaddi - Lille
The good news: At just 17 years old, Bouaddi is already more than capable of holding down a position in the first team of just about any top-flight side. The bad news: That prodigious talent has made him rather famous and thus rather expensive.
If you can find around £100 million in transfer fees, you’ll secure a versatile, strong, and precise passer with a potential ability rating above 180—one of the highest in the game.
Niccolo Pisilli - Roma
If your team has Ayyoub Bouaddi aspirations but Europa League pockets, Roma’s exciting MC/AMC is a more achievable target. He’s a much more offensively minded player than the former, equally capable of hammering in goals from outside the box and setting up teammates with an inspired pass.
For these services, around £30 million in transfer fees is required.
Wingers
Kenan Yildiz - Juventus
This young phenom is simply one of the strongest players in the game and in world football, youth or otherwise. Yildiz can play on either wing, as an AMC, or up front. He’s already developed enough at 20 to be a star player at Juventus, which means his star will shine just as brightly in any other side with Champions League aspirations.
Just one drawback: He’s fantastically, hilariously expensive. If Juventus even deign to listen to offers, nothing less than £200 million will prompt them into action.
Gabriel Mec - Gremio
Here’s a Brazilian who’s happy on either wing, who’ll grow into a star for any prestige club with European silverware aspirations, and can be persuaded away from Gremio for far less than Yildiz’ stratospheric asking price.
Gabriel Mec is just 17 at the start of the game and isn’t yet a big name in world football, valued at around £10 million. By the time he approaches that 160 potential ability, that will look like a steal.
Strikers
Endrick - Real Madrid
Recommending Endrick feels almost redundant. He’s been one of the biggest names in world football for multiple seasons now, and already resides at Real Madrid, where a player’s profile could hardly be more conspicuous.
Nevertheless, the Brazilian wonderkid is rated among the absolute highest in the entire FM 26 database by potential ability, so we’re duty-bound to alert you to his quality here. He won’t go for less than £100 million, and even then you’ll need a bit of luck to secure a transfer, like a lack of first team minutes at Los Blancos.
Eli Junior Kroupi - Bournemouth
Young Frenchman Kroupi is forging a bright future for himself at Bournemouth, and the FM 26 database writers have taken notice. Candidly, Kroupi’s potential ability isn’t as high as Endrick’s, but neither are his likely transfer fee or salary demands.
Somewhere around £30 million should be enough to get you chatting with his agent. In exchange, you’ll get a striker with great mental stats, strong dribbling, and, of course, great finishing.
With the perfect squad bought and paid for, why not use our guide to work out the best tactics to make them play together?
Football Manager 26 is available now on the Epic Games Store.