Unearthing a wonderkid in Football Manager can be highly satisfying, particularly if they go on to become a world-class player who spearheads your success or if you manage to cash in with a lucrative transfer fee when a bigger club comes calling.
Football Manager 2023 is here and, to help you refine your scouting, GOAL takes a look at some of the best young players with high potential to sign on the game, listed according to their value.
Note: We have limited the list to the best strikers, midfielders, defenders and goalkeepers aged 20 and under, with players' ages matching those at the start of the game.
Football Manager 2023 wonderkid strikers: Best young forwards
Player | Age | Club | Nat. | VA. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Karim Adeyemi | 20 | Borussia Dortmund | Germany | ÂŁ54m - ÂŁ80m |
Jeremy Doku | 20 | Rennes | Belgium | ÂŁ51m - ÂŁ63m |
Fabio Silva | 19 | Wolves | Portugal | ÂŁ48m - ÂŁ71m |
Mathys Tel | 17 | Bayern Munich | France | ÂŁ38m - ÂŁ55m |
Ansu Fati | 19 | Barcelona | Spain | ÂŁ38m -ÂŁ55m |
Gabriel Vidovic | 18 | Bayern Munich | Croatia | ÂŁ34m - ÂŁ51m |
Joao Pedro | 20 | Watford | Brazil | ÂŁ30m |
Youssoufa Moukoko | 17 | Borussia Dortmund | Germany | ÂŁ25m - ÂŁ29m |
Mohamed-Ali Cho | 18 | Real San Sebastian | France | ÂŁ23m - ÂŁ34m |
Joe Gelhardt | 20 | Leeds United | England | ÂŁ23m - ÂŁ33m |
Dane Scarlett | 18 | Tottenham | England | ÂŁ21m - ÂŁ31m |
Jon Karrikaburu | 19 | Real San Sebastian | Spain | ÂŁ20m - ÂŁ25m |
Jamie Donley | 17 | Tottenham | Northern Ireland | ÂŁ19m - ÂŁ28m |
Benjamin Sesko | 19 | RB Salzburg | Slovenia | ÂŁ16m - ÂŁ24m |
Vitor Roque | 17 | ATP | Brazil | ÂŁ12m - ÂŁ14.5m |
Marcos Leonardo | 19 | SAN | Brazil | ÂŁ11.5m - ÂŁ17m |
Endrick | 15 | SEP | Brazil | ÂŁ11m - ÂŁ13.5m |
Sekou Mara | 19 | Southampton | France | ÂŁ11m - ÂŁ13m |
Evan Ferguson | 17 | Brighton | Ireland | ÂŁ10.5m - ÂŁ15.5m |
Rodrigo Ribeiro | 17 | Sporting CP | Portugal | ÂŁ9.4m - ÂŁ13.5m |
Ricardo Pepi | 19 | Augsburg | USA | ÂŁ8.8m -ÂŁ13m |
Emre Tezgel | 16 | Stoke City | England | ÂŁ6.4m - ÂŁ8m |
Julian Rijkhoff | 17 | Borussia Dortmund | Netherlands | ÂŁ6m - ÂŁ8.8m |
Alex Tibidi | 18 | Stuttgart | France | ÂŁ4.6m -ÂŁ6.8m |
Iker Bravo | 17 | Bayer Leverkusen | Spain | ÂŁ2.6m - ÂŁ5.2m |
Rory Wilson | 16 | Aston Villa | Scotland | ÂŁ900k - ÂŁ1.9m |
Some of the best strikers and forwards on Football Manager 2023 will set you back a significant fee, so you will need a hefty transfer budget to sign those at the top end, such as Borussia Dortmund duo Karim Adeyemi and Youssoufa Moukoko.
The likes of Ansu Fati at Barcelona and Bayern Munich's 17-year-old Mathys Tel will also be hard to sign unless you are prepared to make a major transfer bid. Nevertheless, many wonderkids are open to loan moves, particularly if they are not featuring for their parent club and this is a definite option if you are managing a financially-restrained club.
Fifteen-year-old Brazilian wonderkid Endrick is considered one of the best young strikers to sign on Football Manager 2023 and has a transfer tag of ÂŁ11 million to ÂŁ13.5 million, which makes him somewhat more affordable, but he will not be able to leave Brazil until he turns 18.
Getty ImagesFootball Manager 2023 wonderkid midfielders: Best young DMs, CAMs & wingers
Player | Age | Club | Nat. | VA. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Jude Bellingham | 18 | Borussia Dortmund | England | ÂŁ106m - ÂŁ126m |
Pedri | 19 | Barcelona | Spain | ÂŁ67m - ÂŁ83m |
Florian Wirtz | 19 | Bayer Leverkusen | Germany | ÂŁ66m - ÂŁ98m |
Jamal Musiala | 19 | Bayern Munich | Germany | ÂŁ62m - ÂŁ77m |
Noni Madueke | 20 | PSV | England | ÂŁ60m - ÂŁ87m |
Eduardo Camavinga | 19 | Real Madrid | France | ÂŁ55m - ÂŁ68m |
Giovanni Reyna | 19 | Borussia Dortmund | USA | ÂŁ55m - ÂŁ66m |
Gavi | 17 | Barcelona | Spain | ÂŁ55m - ÂŁ66m |
Yeremy Pino | 19 | Villarreal | Spain | ÂŁ52m - ÂŁ77m |
Harvey Elliott | 19 | Liverpool | England | ÂŁ44m - ÂŁ55m |
Nico Williams | 19 | A. Bilbao | Spain | ÂŁ35m - ÂŁ51m |
Romeo Lavia | 18 | Southampton | Belgium | ÂŁ28m - ÂŁ41m |
Alfie Devine | 17 | Tottenham | England | ÂŁ25m - ÂŁ31m |
Ilaix Moriba | 19 | RB Leipzig | Guinea | ÂŁ25m - ÂŁ30m |
Fabio Miretti | 18 | Juventus | Italy | ÂŁ24m - ÂŁ36m |
Rayan Cherki | 18 | Lyon | France | ÂŁ24m - ÂŁ30m |
Hannibal | 19 | Manchester UFC | Tunisia | ÂŁ29m - ÂŁ29m |
Carney Chukwuemeka | 18 | Chelsea | England | ÂŁ23m - ÂŁ29m |
Warren Zaire-Emery | 16 | PSG | France | ÂŁ20m - ÂŁ30m |
Alejandro Garnacho | 17 | Manchester UFC | Argentina | ÂŁ19m - ÂŁ28m |
Harvey Vale | 18 | Chelsea | England | ÂŁ18.5m - ÂŁ23m |
Charlie Patino | 18 | Arsenal | England | ÂŁ17m - ÂŁ35m |
Julio Enciso | 18 | Brighton | Paraguay | ÂŁ16m - ÂŁ20m |
Shola Shoretire | 18 | Manchester UFC | England | ÂŁ13m - ÂŁ16.5m |
Jordan James | 17 | Birmingham City | Wales | ÂŁ13m - ÂŁ16.5m |
Julien Duranville | 16 | Anderlecht | Belgium | ÂŁ12.5m - ÂŁ15.5m |
Luka Sucic | 19 | RB Salzburg | Croatia | ÂŁ12.5m - ÂŁ14.5m |
Paul Wanner | 16 | Bayern Munich | Germany | ÂŁ12m - ÂŁ17.5m |
Ben Doak | 16 | Liverpool | Scotland | ÂŁ11m - ÂŁ16m |
Leo Castledine | 16 | Chelsea | England | ÂŁ11m - ÂŁ16m |
Archie Gray | 16 | Leeds | England | ÂŁ11m - ÂŁ13.5m |
Yaser Asprilla | 18 | Watford | Colombia | ÂŁ11m - ÂŁ13.5m |
Fabio Blanco | 18 | Barcelona | Spain | ÂŁ9.8m - ÂŁ12m |
Luka Romero | 17 | Lazio | Argentina | ÂŁ9.4 - ÂŁ11.5m |
Angelo | 17 | SAN | Brazil | ÂŁ9m - ÂŁ13.5m |
Ewan Simpson | 15 | Aston Villa | Scotland | ÂŁ9m - ÂŁ13.5m |
Noel Aseko Nkili | 16 | Bayern Munich | Germany | ÂŁ8.8m - ÂŁ11m |
Jamie Bynoe-Gittens | 17 | Borussia Dortmund | England | ÂŁ8.6m - ÂŁ13m |
Alvaro Bastida | 18 | Cadiz | Spain | ÂŁ8.6m - ÂŁ10.5m |
Arda Guler | 17 | Fenerbahce | Turkey | ÂŁ8.6m - ÂŁ10.5m |
Charlie Webster | 18 | Chelsea | England | ÂŁ8.6m - ÂŁ10m |
Eyup Aydin | 17 | Bayern Munich | Germany | ÂŁ8m - ÂŁ12m |
Roony Bardghji | 16 | Kobenhavn | Sweden | ÂŁ6.4m - ÂŁ9.4m |
Jobe Bellingham | 16 | Birmingham City | England | ÂŁ5.8m - ÂŁ7.2m |
Lovro Zvonarek | 17 | Bayern Munich | Croatia | ÂŁ5.6m - ÂŁ6.6m |
Arijon Ibrahimovic | 16 | Bayern Munich | Germany | ÂŁ3.7m - ÂŁ7m |
Simone Pafundi | 16 | Udinese | Italy | ÂŁ3.2m - ÂŁ6.2m |
Kenan Yildiz | 17 | Juventus | Turkey | ÂŁ600k -ÂŁ4m |
Wesley Dual | 16 | Barcelona | Spain | ÂŁ500k - ÂŁ1.1m |
Jude Bellingham, Pedri and Florian Wirtz are wonderkid midfielders who are effectively unattainable unless you are managing one of the biggest clubs in the world and have a transfer kitty to match. Signing such players would be a statement, but if you have to work with a small budget, there are still plenty of options available.
Alejandro Garnacho is the type of bright talent that could be available to sign on loan, given that he is not yet a first-team player for Manchester UFC (Manchester United).
Watford's Yaser Asprilla has potential to shine and has already been capped at senior level for Colombia, while Jobe Bellingham - brother of Jude - could follow in his elder sibling's footsteps. Brazilian youngster Angelo could represent value for money if you negotiate a decent deal, while Wesley Dual at Barcelona and Kenan Yildiz at Juventus have fairly low price tags.
You can see more wingers, defensive midfielders and attacking midfielders in the table above.
Football Manager 2023 wonderkid defenders: Best young centre-backs & full-backs
Player | Age | Club | Nat. | VA. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Tino Livramento | 19 | Southampton | England | ÂŁ70m - ÂŁ84m |
Nuno Mendes | 20 | PSG | Portugal | ÂŁ69m - ÂŁ101m |
Josko Gvardiol | 20 | RB Leizpig | Croatia | ÂŁ69m - ÂŁ82m |
Destiny Udogie | 19 | Tottenham | Italy | ÂŁ43m - ÂŁ53m |
Giorgio Scalvini | 18 | Atalanta | Italy | ÂŁ35m - ÂŁ43m |
Devyne Rensch | 19 | Ajax | Netherlands | ÂŁ27m - ÂŁ32m |
Antonio Silva | 18 | Benfica | Portugal | ÂŁ24m - ÂŁ30m |
Kaiky | 18 | Almeria | Brazil | ÂŁ21m - ÂŁ31m |
Joe Scally | 19 | Borussia M'gladbach | USA | ÂŁ17m - ÂŁ21m |
Jesus Vazquez | 19 | Valencia | Spain | ÂŁ16m - ÂŁ23m |
Alejandro Balde | 18 | Barcelona | Spain | ÂŁ13.5m - ÂŁ20m |
Reuell Walters | 17 | Arsenal | England | ÂŁ10m - ÂŁ12m |
Diego Coppola | 18 | Verona | Italy | ÂŁ9.8m - ÂŁ14.5m |
Conor Bradley | 18 | Liverpool | Northern Ireland | ÂŁ9.4m - ÂŁ14m |
Stefan Bajcetic | 17 | Liverpool | Spain | ÂŁ8.8m - ÂŁ13m |
Calvin Ramsey | 18 | Liverpool | Scotland | ÂŁ8.8m - ÂŁ13m |
Tayo Adaramola | 18 | Crystal Palace | Ireland | ÂŁ7.2m - ÂŁ8.8 |
Jayden Meghoma | 15 | Southampton | England | ÂŁ6.6m - ÂŁ10m |
Adam Aznou | 16 | Bayern Munich | Spain | ÂŁ5.6m - ÂŁ6.8m |
Arnau Martinez | 19 | Girona | Spain | ÂŁ4.2m - ÂŁ6.2m |
Maldini Kacurri | 16 | Arsenal | Albania | ÂŁ2.9m - ÂŁ5.6m |
Mateusz Jasinski | 16 | Wolfsburg | Poland | ÂŁ2m - ÂŁ3.9m |
Taylan Bulut | 16 | Schalke | Germany | ÂŁ1.2m - ÂŁ2.5m |
Paulo Fritschi | 17 | Stuttgart | Germany | ÂŁ1.1m - ÂŁ2.2m |
Leandro Morgalla | 17 | 1860 Munchen | Germany | ÂŁ950k -ÂŁ2m |
Vincent Manuba | 16 | Bayern Munich | Germany | ÂŁ950k - ÂŁ2m |
Joshua Uwakhonye | 16 | Borussia M'gladbach | Germany | ÂŁ850k - ÂŁ1.7m |
Benfica have a brilliant young centre-back called Antonio Silva and he could well be the next Ruben Dias, but he'll cost you. Germany, meanwhile is packed full with talented defenders, such as Paulo Fritschi at Stuttgart, Leandro Morgalla of 1860 Munich and Bayern Munich's Vincent Manuba.
Arsenal have a youngster by the name of Maldini in their ranks - 16-year-old Maldini Kacurri - and if he's anything like his namesake from Milan, you'll have a cracking defender on your hands.
Check out the best young centre-backs and full-backs on Football Manager 2023 in the table above.
Football Manager 2023 wonderkid goalkeepers
Player | Age | Club | Nat. | VA. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Gavin Bazunu | 20 | Southampton | Ireland | ÂŁ33m - ÂŁ49m |
Anatoli Trubin | 20 | Shakhtar | Ukraine | ÂŁ30m - ÂŁ44m |
Gabriel Slonina | 18 | Chelsea | USA | ÂŁ12.5m - ÂŁ18.5m |
Josh Griffiths | 20 | West Brom | England | ÂŁ6.2m - ÂŁ7.4m |
Ted Curd | 16 | Chelsea | England | ÂŁ5.4m - ÂŁ6.4m |
Dennis Seimen | 16 | Stuttgart | Germany | ÂŁ4m - ÂŁ6.2m |
Iker Alvarez | 20 | Villarreal | Andorra | ÂŁ4m - ÂŁ5.8m |
Luca Podlech | 17 | Schalke | Germany | ÂŁ1.3m - ÂŁ2.6m |
Martin Turk | 18 | Parma | Slovenia | ÂŁ900k - ÂŁ1.9m |
Maarten Vandevoordt | 20 | Genk | Belgium | ÂŁ800k - ÂŁ4.3m |
Tommy Setford | 16 | Ajax | England | ÂŁ750k - ÂŁ8.2m |
Alex Padilla | 18 | A. Bilbao | Spain | ÂŁ450k - ÂŁ6.2m |
Dogan Alemdar | 19 | Rennes | Turkey | ÂŁ325k - ÂŁ3.3m |
Ferran Quetglas | 17 | Real Madrid | Spain | ÂŁ250k - ÂŁ2.5m |
Marcelo Pitaluga | 19 | Liverpool | Brazil | ÂŁ250k - ÂŁ750k |
If you are a believer in promoting young goalkeeping talents, then you can't go far wrong with Gavin Bazunu or Gabriel Slonina, though you'll likely have to pay a premium. Sixteen-year-old Dennis Seiman at Stuttgart is highly regarded, as is Alex Padilla at Athletic Club.
Marcelo Pitaluga is the Brazilian understudy to Alisson at Liverpool, while Rennes' Turkish shot-stopper Dogan Alemdar is relatively affordable for a full international with lots of senior experience under his belt already.