The best Football Manager 2022 wonderkids for you to sign

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.