Few Football Manager accomplishments are more satisfying than taking a young prospect and developing them into a world class footballer. We have selected the five best young players to sign in FM24, guaranteed to bring your club wins on their own.
Big clubs have been getting more aggressive with their purchases of young talent in recent years. It’s rare for a young player that’s shown great potential to stick at a smaller club beyond their teenage years, as shown by the blockbuster transfers of Jude Bellingham and Moises Caicedo this summer. No offense to Borussia Dortmund fans, but Real Madrid is a different caliber of club.
Even so, we’ve managed to highlight five potential superstars that are yet to make the big jump in the real world, but are guaranteed to evolve into footballing machines in Football Manager 2024. It won’t be cheap to sign them, and you definitely won’t be buying any of our suggested prospects if you choose to manage a low division club. All we can guarantee is that getting your hands on these players sooner rather than later can only help your FM24 career.
Best young goalkeeper to sign in FM24
There is an abundance of great young goalkeepers to sign in Football Manager 2024, but if you are looking to solve your goalkeeping problems for the next two decades, go ahead and get Dennis Seimen from Stuttgart. The 17-year-old is capable of challenging for a starter spot right away, and though he may not be world class at first, he will get there faster than most keepers. Once he’s fully developed, Seimen will be ready to become your own personal Manuel Neuer.
Best young defender to sign in FM24
Portugal is a known destination for scavenging world class talent, and we have one particular target in mind—Benfica’s Antonio Silva. The center back broke into the Benfica starting 11 last season and already proved his worth by helping the club to their first league title in four years. Silva’s market price isn’t likely to go down as seasons progress, so you might want to go in fast before you’re required to make him the most expensive defender in the world in order to sign him.
Best young midfielder to sign in FM24
Benfica have stacked the deck with young Portuguese talent, and our pick for the best young midfielder in FM24 is an even stronger recommendation than Antonio Silva. Similarly to his teammate, Joao Neves broke into the Benfica starting lineup last season and played a vital role down the stretch for the title-winning team. Being a year younger than Silva, Joao Neves has even more room to grow and will be among the best central midfielders in Football Manager 2024, whether playing for your club or another.
Best young winger to sign in FM24
It’s hard to believe how many top-of-the-line winger prospects there are in Football Manager 2024, but we had to pick one, and we chose Yeremy Pino as the best young winger in FM24. The 20-year-old (at the beginning of an FM24 career) Villarreal player is already an established international and is bound to set your club back more than a few pennies, just as he’s bound to add immense class to your wing play.
Best young striker to sign in FM24
God bless players with several natural positions, because that’s how we managed to sneak in Lamine Yamal as the best young striker in Football Manager 2024 without having to take out Yeremy Pino, who absolutely deserved a recommendation. Yamal is by far the youngest player on our list at just 16 years old, and thus has the most growing to do. It won’t take much time for the teenager to become first team material and he is destined for World Golden Ball contention once in his prime, so if you can somehow snatch him away from Barcelona, you owe it to your club to do so.
Honorable mentions
Though we are confident in our selections, that doesn’t mean there aren’t other fantastic prospects to be found elsewhere. You may not be able to get some of the players we highlighted, or you may want to buy multiple young defenders, for example. In any case, here are some alternative propositions that are no less talented than the ones we’ve already mentioned.
Goalkeeper – Illan Meslier
Illan Meslier gave Dennis Seimen a good run for his money, and while we’d still pick the German ahead of the Frenchman, this was one of the closer decisions we had to make. Meslier is a Leeds player, which makes him the only player on our list playing for a second division club. You can reap the benefits and snatch your goalkeeper of the future on the cheap.
Defender – Lutsharel Geertruida
Geertruida has been an integral part of the Feyenoord defense for years despite still being just 23 years old. While on the older side for a prospect, the Dutch international has potential for improving and is yet to make his big transfer move, so we’d say he fits the bill. The obvious advantage he has over most of our other hopefuls is that Lutsharel Geertruida is ready to deliver on day one.
Midfielder – Manu Kone
Manu Kone is another established youngster looking to make the next step in his career. If you decide your club should be Kone’s next destination, you’ll get one of the best central midfield prospects in FM24. The 22-year-old comes with a similar package to Geertruida—ready to make an immediate impact while still being young enough to develop further.
Winger – Badredine Bouanani
After two senior citizens in a row, we’re back to raw 18-year-old undeveloped gems. Badredine Bouanani is currently employed by Nice and has all the potential in the world. You’ll have some developing to do with Bouanani, but he’s the ideal alternative to Yeremy Pino if you don’t have unlimited funds.
Striker – Evan Ferguson
You will need all the dollars you can muster to add Brighton’s Evan Ferguson to your squad. As you might imagine, a teenage starter in the Premier League comes with a high price tag off the bat, especially when their potential is as high as Ferguson’s. Lamine Yamal is very much our first choice for best young striker in FM24, but Ferguson is a worthy second.
We’ve given you 10 players that are guaranteed to become world beaters in Football Manager 2024. From here on, it’s all down to how deep your club’s pockets are and how good your youth development is. You can also go easy mode and start a career with a team that already has one or more of these hot youngsters on their payroll.
