FIFA 22 best young players list reveals the top 50 career mode wonderkids

FIFA 22
(Image credit: EA)

The FIFA 22 best young players list is something you need to bookmark ahead of any new career mode save. (Go on. Do it now. You won't regret it.) Some FIFA 22 wonderkids are no-brainers if you can afford them, such as Paris pair Gigi Donnarumma and Kylian Mbappe. But we've included plenty of hidden gems too. The list is split into five categories: keepers, defenders, midfielders, wingers and strikers. Note that ages and stats in GR's FIFA 22 best young players guide are correct as of October 1, 2021.

FIFA 22 best young goalkeepers

FIFA 22

(Image credit: EA)

No surprise to see Gianluigi Donnarumma top this list: he did the very same in FIFA 21, and that was before going on to claim the Euro 2020 player of the tournament award. Still, your career mode club is never going to afford PSG’s £198 million release clause, nor the Italian’s £96K per week wage. Thankfully there are bargains elsewhere on the list: Genk expect around £5 million for Vandevoordt, while Lanus demand a similar fee for Morales – and both are on the market for less than £10K off your weekly wage bill. Tempting.

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Name Club Age Rating Potential
Gianluigi Donnarumma Milan 22 8993
Maarten Vandevoordt Genk 19 7187
Dean Henderson Man Utd 24 80 87
Unai Simon Athletic Bilbao 24 8286
Alex Meret Napoli 24 79 86
Lautaro Morales Lanus 2172 85
Andriy Lunin Real Madrid 22 7485
Illan Meslier Leeds United21 77 85
Diogo Costa FC Porto 21 7385
Justin Biljow Feyenoord 23 77 85

FIFA 22 best young defenders

An incredibly strong mix of full-backs and centre-halves here, from which Sporting CP left-back Nuno Mendes narrowly misses out. The 19-year-old’s overall rating can accelerate all the way from 78 to 88 – and you can purchase him immediately, despite being on loan to Paris St Germain in real life. For our money, the best value young defender is another who just falls short of the top ten: RB Leipzig centre-back Josko Gvardiol. Also 19, he costs just £12 million but can rise from 75 to 87 over future seasons.

FIFA 22

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Name Club Age Rating Potential
Trent Alexander-Arnold Liverpool 2287 92
Ruben Diaz Manchester City24 87 91
Matthijs de Ligt Piemonte Calcio 21 85 90
Theo Hernandez AC Milan 23 84 90
Dayot Upamecano FC Bayern 2282 90
Jules Kounde Sevilla 22 83 89
Pau Torres Villarrael 24 8289
Eder Militao Real Madrid 23 82 89
Alessandro Bastoni Inter Milan23 80 89
Alphonso Davies FC Bayern 208289

FIFA 22 best young midfielders

No spot on this list for the ultra-talented likes of Federico Valverde (Real Madrid), Mason Mount (Chelsea), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United) or Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan) – but it’s worth noting that they too have potential ratings of 89. FC Bayern 18-year-old Jamal Masiala is another prodigious talent to narrowly miss out: he starts the game on 76 but can shoot all the way up to 88 with training and game time. You need serious wonga to sign any of these guys, as Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz is the only one with an asking price under £30 million.

FIFA 22

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Name Club Age Rating Potential
Phil Foden Manchester City 21 8492
Kai Havertz Chelsea 22 84 92
Frenkie de Jong Barcelona 24 87 92
Pedri Barcelona 18 81 91
Jadon Sancho Manchester United 21 87 91
Ryan Gravenberch Ajax 19 78 90
Florian Wirtz Bayer Leverkusen 18 78 89
Jude Bellingham Dortmund 18 79 89
Eduardo Camavinga Real Madrid 18 78 89
Mason Greenwood Manchester United19 78 89

FIFA 22 best young wingers

FIFA 22 features so many talented wingers that we’ve granted them their own separate category this year, and again some notable young names miss out: Rodrygo (Real Madrid), Pedro Goncalves (Sporting CP) and Takefusa Kubo (Mallorca, on loan from Real Madrid) all have potential OVRs of 88. From those who do make the top ten, Lyon wideman Cherki offers the most astonishing value: you can pinch him for a fee in the region of £7 million and weekly salary of around £10K. Get your bid in as soon as you launch career mode.

FIFA 22

(Image credit: EA)
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Name Club Age RatingPotential
Federico Chiesa Piemonte Calcio 23 83 91
Ansu Fati Barcelona 18 76 90
Ferran Torres Manchester City 21 8290
Vinicius Jr Real Madrid 20 80 90
Dejan Kulusevski Piemonte Calcio 2181 89
Oyarzabal Real Sociedad 24 85 89
Antony Ajax 21 79 88
Rayan CherkiOL 17 73 88
Gabriel Martinelli Arsenal 20 76 88
Jeremy Doku Rennes 19 77 88

FIFA 22 best young strikers

FIFA 22

(Image credit: EA)

Yep, being under 24 still just about qualifies Richarlison and Gabriel Jesus as FIFA 22 wonderkids – although there are more affordable, better-value names to spend your career mode monies on. The two names in the middle are the ones to hone in on. Offer Sassaulo £9.5 million and you should be able to sign Raspadori for a weekly wage of £25K, while Hlozek’s initial salary at Sparta Prague is just £13,000 per week – although the Czech club wants £15 million for his signature. It’s still a no-brainer, particularly as (unlike Raspadori) he can also play at LM or RM.

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NameClubAgeRatingPotential
Kylian Mbappe Paris SG22 91 95
Erling Haaland Dortmund20 88 93
Joao Felix Atletico Madrid 2183 91
Lautaro Martinez Inter Milan 23 85 89
Giacomo Raspadori Sassuolo 21 74 88
Adam Hlozek Sparta Prague 18 76 87
Moise Kean Piemonte Calcio 21 79 87
Victor Osimhen Napoli 22 80 87
Richarlison Everton 24 8287
Gabriel Jesus Manchester City24 83 87

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Ben Wilson

I'm GamesRadar's sports editor, and obsessed with NFL, WWE, MLB, AEW, and occasionally things that don't have a three-letter acronym – such as Chvrches, Bill Bryson, and Streets Of Rage 4. (All the Streets Of Rage games, actually.) Even after three decades I still have a soft spot for Euro Boss on the Amstrad CPC 464+.