Football Manager 2022 wonderkids must be your first port of call this year. There’s nothing quite as rewarding as uncovering a young hidden gem and developing them into a world-beater under your own guiding hand. But who are the best, and where should you start looking? While the game’s dynamic potential means nothing is clear-cut in terms of guaranteed wonderkids, there are hundreds upon hundreds of teenagers who could help improve your team or give you a homegrown project to get stuck into. Below, we gather them all together to form your FM 22 wonderkids list.
Football Manager 2022 wonderkids tips
The process of signing FM 2022 wonderkids can all get a bit overwhelming – so we’ve put together a list of the best young players we’ve found so far this year. This is by no means exhaustive (and is dependent on which leagues and nations you have loaded) but we hope it’s the North Star you can use to guide your team to success this year.
It’s not all about the rich and powerful, though. No matter your budget, we’ve got a wonderkid for you – with a wide range of abilities and talents at your disposal. Whether you’re an oil-rich superclub or scrapping for points in an obscure league, you’ll be able to fill your boots in no time across a wide range of positions and roles.
Note that transfer values have changed this year – depending on your scouting infrastructure, you’re likely only going to get a general idea of a player’s value. For simplicity’s sake, we’ve rounded values up or down, though you may be able to get a player for cheaper than listed here.
FM 22 wonderkids at goalkeeper
It’s very rare to get a wonderkid goalkeeper who makes an immediate impact at elite level. While that breed of shot-stoppers is few and far between, there are plenty on the rung just below that you should be able to snap up within the first few seasons. From there, you’ll likely have the ‘keeper position sewn up for the next decade or so. Handy.
- Gavin Bazunu, 19, Manchester City, Irish, £2.5k/week, £10m
- Mikki van Sas, 17, Manchester City, Dutch, £6k/week, £4m
- Anatoily Trubin, 19, Shakhtar, Ukrainian, £5.5k/week, £14m
- Maarten Vandevoort, 19, Genk, Belgian, £3.8k/week, £6m
- Simon Ngapandouetnbu, 18, OM, Cameroonian, £3k/week, £1m
- Josh Griffiths, 19, West Brom, English, £1.4k/week, £13m
- Filip Jorgensen, 19, Villarreal, Danish, £3.7k/week, £4.5m
- Lucas Canizares, 19, Real Madrid, Spanish, £1.9k/week, £7m
- Senne Lammens, 19, Club Brugge, Belgian, £1.1k/week, £4.5m
- Fillipo Rinaldi, 18, Parma, Italian, £1.8k/week, £2m
FM 22 wonderkids at centre back
There’s arguably never been a better, deeper class of defensive wonderkids on Football Manager. The pick of the bunch has to be Bayern Munich’s Tanguy Nianzou for his price tag, though perennial FM favourite Andrea Papetti is also a steal. Look at Devyne Rensch if you want a Swiss Army knife (or should that be Dutch?) of a defender, equally adept as a wing back as he is in the middle.
- Josko Gvardiol, 19, RB Leipzig, Croatian, £20.5k/week, £60m
- Tanguy Nianzou, 19, Bayern Munich, French, £66k/week, £20m
- Goncalo Inacio, 19, Sporting, Portuguese, £9k/week, £19m
- Devyne Rensch, 18, Ajax, Dutch, £16.25k/week, £18.25m
- Marton Dardai, 19, Hertha Berlin, German, £6.25k/week, £18m
- Stelios Andreou, 18, Charleroi, Cypriot, £6.25k/week, £13m
- Eduardo Quaresma, 19, Sporting, Portuguese, £4.3k/week, £1.5m
- Andrea Papetti, 19, Brescia, Italian, £7.5k/week, £1m
- Leonidas Stergiou, 19, St. Gallen, Swiss, £4.9k/week, £8m
- Santi Ramos Mingo, 19, Barcelona, Argentinian, £2.1k/week, £6m
FM 22 wonderkids at full back and wing back
Curiously, most of the full back talent this year appears to emanate from Europe. There are a handful of great South American wonderkids that can bomb down the flanks, however. Take a look at Julian Aude and especially Calegari if you have Argentina and Brazil loaded.
- Miguel Gutierrez, 19, Real Madrid, Spanish, £9.5k/week, £19.5m
- Nuno Mendes, 19, Portuguese, Sporting, £8.75k/week, £33m
- CJ Egan-Riley, 18, Manchester City, English, £3k/week, £1m
- Alejandro Balde, 19, Barcelona, Spanish, £3.4k/week, £26m
- Calegari, 19, FLU, Brazilian, £8.75k, £18m
- Tino Livramento, 18, Southampton, English, £10k/week, £46m
- Luca Netz, 18, Borussia Monchengladbach, German, £33k/week, £16m
- Julian Aude, 18, Lanus, Argentinian, £2.2k/week, £4.5m
- Calvin Ramsay, 17, Aberdeen, Scottish, £800/week, £4m
- Rodrigo Pinheiro, 18, Porto, Portuguese, £1.7k/week, £1m
FM 22 wonderkids at defensive midfield
Defensive midfielders have to be able to play a bit now – and FM 22 reflects that modern reinvention of the position. While many of these wonderkids aren’t likely able to physically tower over most opponents at a tender age, they can still mix it up with the best of them. Here are some of the best DMs available from the first season.
- Dario Essugo, 16, Sporting, Portuguese, £90/week, £250k
- Joris Chotard, 19, Montpellier, French, £8.5k/week, £8m
- Nicolo Rovella, 19, Zebre (Juventus), Italian, £30.5k/week, £12.5m
- Peter Pokorny, 19, Real San Sebastian, Slovakian, £1k/week, £7m
- Johnny, 19, INT, American, £2.4k/week, £22m
- Maxim Mukhin, 19, CSKA Moscow, Russian, £9.75k/week, £5m
- Nohan Kenneh, 18, Leeds, English, £4k/week, £1m
- Nico, 19, Barcelona, Spanish, £11k/week, £14m
- Diego Rosa, 18, Manchester City, Brazilian, £20k/week, £3.5m
- Moises Caicedo, 19, Brighton, Belgian, £20k/week, £7.5m
FM 22 wonderkids in central midfield
Fair warning, these midfielders won’t come cheap. When one of those at the lower end of the market is a 16-year-old worth £35m, you know you’re set for some eye-watering fees. Have any of these at your disposal, though, and you’ll likely see yourself picking up silverware in no time. They’re that good.
- Samuel Ricci, 19, Empoli, Italian, £30.5k/week, £11.5m
- Ryan Gravenberch, 19, Ajax, Dutch, £48.5k/week, £45m
- Gavi, 16, Barcelona, Spanish, £1.6k/week, £35m
- Eduardo Camavinga, 18, Real Madrid, French, £20k/week, £60m
- Koba Lein, 19, Valencia, French, £3.2k/week, £9m
- Ilaix Moriba, 18, RB Leipzig, Guinean, £24.5k/week, £85m
- Xavi Simons, 18, PSG, Dutch, £925/week, £500k
- Gabriel Misehouy, 16, Ajax, Dutch, £85/week, £15m
- Jude Bellingham, 18, Dortmund, English, £48.5k/week, £100m
- Charlie Patino, 17, Arsenal, English, £1k/week, £9.5m
FM 22 wonderkids at attacking midfield
Let’s party like it’s 2012. Spain, once again, appears to be the go-to destination for some of the game’s premier attacking midfielders. Pedri is the obvious poster child, though be sure to look around at some of the less prestigious teams in hopes of a bargain.
- Carney Chukwuemeka, 17, Aston Villa, English, £2k/week, £9m
- Reinier, 19, Real Madrid, Brazilian, £6k/week, £41m
- Faustino Anjorin, 19, Chelsea, English, £7k/week, £7.5m
- Pedri, 18, Barcelona, Spanish, £33k/week, £70m
- Florian Wirtz, 18, Bayer Leverkusen, German, £41k/week, £60m
- Mario Stroeyekens, 16, Anderlecht, Belgian, £2.1k/week, £12m
- Cher Ndour, 16, SLB, Italian, £90/week, £20m
- Mateusz Bogusz, 19, Leeds, Polish, £10k/week, £10m
- Pablo Torre, 18, Real Santander, Spanish, £5.25k/week, £500k
- Chuki, 17, Valladolid, Spanish, £850/week, £1.9m
FM 22 wonderkids at winger
Tricky teenage wingers have been a mainstay of the wonderkid scene for decades – and FM 22 is no exception. Ansu Fati and Jamal Musiala are standouts (and will cost a pretty penny), but there’s plenty of depth to be found here from the first season onwards. Rayan Cherki, Amad Diallo and Noni Madueke are our picks for potential world-class talent at around the £20m-30m mark.
- Ansu Fati, 18, Barcelona, Spanish, £66k/week, £50m
- Jeremy Doku, 19, Rennes, Belgian, £12.75k/week, £40m
- Ander Barrenetxea, 19, Real San Sebastian, Spanish £23.5k/week, £51m
- Jamal Musiala, 18, Bayern Munich, German, £82k/week, £50m
- Harvey Elliott, 18, Liverpool, English, £20k/week, £30m
- Noni Madueke, 19, PSV, English, £12.25k/week, £30m
- Rayan Cherki, 17, OL, French, £16.5k/week, £15m
- Amad Diallo, 19, Manchester United, Ivorian, £25k/week, £30m
- Yeremy Pino, 18, Villarreal, Spanish, £18.25k/week, £30m
- Filip Stevanovic, 18, Manchester City, Serbian, £3k/week, £35m
FM 22 wonderkids at striker
Unlike previous years, the pool of striking wonderkids in FM22 isn’t that deep. That’s partially due to the AI overvaluing their young players more than ever and, in real life, the dearth of out-and-out strikers in the modern game. Still, there are some gems to be found: someone like Sebastiano Esposito could be a snip for under £10m, while the relatively unknown Jon Karrikaburu has all the makings of an exceptional all-rounder.
- Jon Karrikaburu, 18, Real San Sebastian, Spanish, £4.1k/week, £8m
- Sebastiano Esposito, 19, Inter, Italian, £9.75k/week, £10m
- Dane Scarlett, 17, Tottenham, English, £3k/week, £50m
- Fabio Silva, 18, Wolves, Portuguese, £35k/week, £45m
- Karim Adeyemi, 19, RB Salzburg, German, £7k/week, £12m
- Brian Brobbey, 19, RB Leipzig, Dutch, £49k/week, £7m
- Mason Greenwood, 19, Manchester United, English, £75k/week, £60m
- Youssoufa Moukoko, 16, Borussia Dortmund, German, £55/week, £45m
- Benjamin Sesko, 18, RB Salzburg, Slovenian, £4.3k/week, £10m
- Kaio Jorge, 19, Zebre (Juventus), Brazilian, £30k/week, £5m
Wondering how you can best utilise all these youngsters in-game? Then head on over to our Football Manager 2022 tactics guide.
