Want a leg up on the competition? Let's get to scouting.
Football Manager 23 is nearly upon us. Sports Interactive has confirmed the next installment in the franchise will arrive on Nov. 8, which means now is the best time to start planning out your own strategies for recruitment and player transfers. And when you talk about player transfers in Football Manager, it’s impossible to not talk about young players.
Football Manager has scouting systems embedded in clubs and you can go out and find new scouts and analysts as well, but there’s no guarantee that the players they bring to you are sure to develop into great players. And with many fans often wanting to rescue poor-performing or derelict teams from the dregs of lower leagues and guide them to glory, often hitting on a few great youth prospects is the only way for a club to gain any ground in their league.
So, we decided to take a look at the real world and also talk to some experts. Tom Curran and our friends at Scouted Football—an independent publication specializing in talent analysis and scouting—graciously helped us out. Using real-world scouting, they’ve identified 10 young players currently flying under the radar who could make save-defining transfers in FM23.
The name Andrey Santos might hit a little too close to home for Arsenal fans, but everyone else should be aware of the holding midfielder currently plying his trade in Brazil’s second tier. A robust and very compact six who, at just 18, is already stitching together his side in and out of possession, Santos’ most exciting feature is his mobility. He has the profile to develop further as a holding player in a single-pivot or branch out and join the attack as a box-to-box eight. He already has decent technique, is a strong passer, and active ball-winner.
Santos only broke onto the scene this year and European scouts are beginning to take notice, so act quickly. Santos offers an ideal first-window signing in FM23 and it probably wouldn’t take much to lift him from Série B. Get him before the big teams catch on and your midfield will be locked down for seasons to come.
Predicted current ability: Two stars
Predicted potential ability: Four stars
Arda Güler represents the most exciting emerging talent in Turkish football. A left-footed, diminutive playmaker who used his low center of gravity to weave through half-spaces and magic chances out of thin air, Güler has unsurprisingly been dubbed “The Turkish Messi,” which is a familiar story, we know. But Güler has made an impression on the first-team already, scoring twice in his debut for Fenerbache and claiming the famed No. 10 shirt for himself.
Güler is supremely confident for someone of his experience and dribbles with a speed, control, and conviction of midfielders a decade his senior. With a reported 5 million euro release clause nestled in his contract, Güler is a player to target quickly and decisively; he’ll make waves, so don’t wait.
If you’d like a more detailed profile of Güler, Scouted Football went in-depth on him recently here.
Predicted current ability: Two stars
Predicted potential ability: Four stars
If you have the cash to challenge some of the big names, Brazilian attacker Endrick will make a superb addition and is almost guaranteed to develop well. He’s reportedly being chased by Real Madrid in the real world, so you’ll likely face stiff competition to sign him when he turns 18 in-game. He’s also likely to command a significant fee, albeit one that will pale when compared to his potential value.
Endrick is a ridiculous talent. At just 16, he’s tearing up both domestic competitions in Brazil and the international stage, where he turns out for Brazil U-17. He’s tricky, fast, versatile, and has a habit of scoring goals that seem to break the laws of physics.
Endrick is the next-big export from South America and if you can sign him early, you’ll likely be sitting on one of the best attacking talents in FM23.
Predicted current ability: Two stars
Predicted potential ability: Five stars
At just 18, Brooke Norton-Cuffy was shipped out on his second professional loan this summer by parent club Arsenal after impressing with Lincoln City in League One last year. This season, he lines up in the Championship with Rotherham United, and the improved competition is sure to get the best out of him.
Norton-Cuffy is a physical and direct wing-back who can force his team up the pitch by carrying the ball and beating opponents one-vs-one. He’s a solid defender, with the strength and nous to shrug off attacking wingers and win possession. He still has space to develop as a technician and his final product could use work, but his athleticism means he’d be a first-team asset off the bat. The young gunner represents an ideal loan target in the early seasons of a save, or a likely star if you can prise him from Arsenal later on.
Norton-Cuffy is a deeply mature and grounded young man who’s unlikely to give you trouble off the pitch. Scouted Football spoke to him about this and his journey through Arsenal’s academy here.
Hardcore FM players and hobbyist scouts alike will be no strangers to FC Nordsjaelland. The Norwegian club are the darlings of youth football and consistently trot out one of the youngest squads on the continent, as well as being revered for their association with Right to Dream, the Ghanaian Academy offering some of Africa’s brightest prospects a route to Europe.
And onto this famed production line comes Andreas Schjelderup, a dynamic center-forward signed from league rivals FK Bodø/Glimt in 2020. Schjelderup is a small but well-balanced attacker who relies on skill and flair to craft and finish chances. He’s very maneuverable in tight spaces and provides excellent movement for attacking midfielders and wingers to find—if he’s not turned creator himself.
It should be cheap and simple to pry him from Denmark early on and he will provide significant upside. There’s a reason he’s already an FM fan favorite, after all.
Predicted current ability: Two stars
Predicted potential ability: Five stars
It’s no surprise we’ve eventually turned to Borussia Dortmund for this list. The club’s most recent offering is Tom Rothe, a left-sided wing-back who impressed during their UEFA Youth League run last season and was awarded first-team minutes at its end.
Rothe is a tall and physically mature defender who’s difficult to stop once he sets off in a straight line and can whip impressive crosses into the box mid-stride. But his height and gait—he’s 6 feet 3 inches tall already, somehow—make him somewhat stiff and call into question how agile and dextrous he’ll be in the years to come. If his in-game profile lines up with what we’ve seen, he might be a prime candidate for re-training as a left-sided center-back, ideally as part of a back three.
The only drawback here is BVB might want a decent fee for his services. If not, he’s a solid pickup.
Predicted current ability: Two stars
Belgium’s golden generation may be fading, but the next slew of emerging talent promises to fill the gap. One such star is Zeno Debast, who emerged from RSC Anderlecht’s famed academy this season to nail down a starting role for the club at center-back.
A tall and slight defender, Debast’s primary attribute is a proactive approach: He’s very comfortable on the ball, can pass well, and play on either side of a partnership. He’s an elegant player and very modern in style. He’ll be a perfect pickup for top sides who have the time and resources to develop him and will slot nicely into teams looking to control the ball.
He also shouldn’t be too expensive to remove from Belgium, so Debast will make a great early-game addition.
Predicted current ability: Two stars
Roméo Lavia was a relative unknown just a few weeks ago. Now, he’s the talk of the town thanks to a string of killer performances for his new club, Southampton. Joining this summer from Manchester City, he’ll be impossible to sign in-game immediately and difficult for a year or two after (his contract with Saints runs until 2027), at which point he’ll likely command a hefty fee.
But if you can find the spare change, Lavia presents one of the most enticing midfield options on the market, especially if you want to implement a classic 4-3-3. A number six who ties together his team’s spine, Lavia has the basics covered: he’s press-resistant, a quick passer, very intelligent, and wins the ball regularly. And as evidenced so far in the Premier League, he has an occasional eye for the spectacular, too.
Predicted current ability: Two stars
Predicted potential ability: Four stars
Our penultimate pick joined Bayern Munich this summer, so he isn’t one to target for a permanent transfer early—although he might make a great loan signing if you can match his ambitions. Bayern paid a stunning 18 million euros to pry Mathys Tel from Stade Rennais, a fee that reflected his precocious talent and ignored his dearth of senior experience.
Born in Paris and honed at Stade Rennais, Tel is a quick and physical forward, tall for how skillful he is on the ball, who habitually runs the left channel to pull apart defenses before cutting onto his right foot to finish. Some have whispered the name Thierry Henry in reference to the teenager, and his style makes the comparison obvious.
Tel will outgrow the role of squad player after a few seasons, and if Bayern can’t offer him a starting berth when he’s ready for it, it’ll be time to get the checkbooks out.
Predicted current ability: Two stars
Predicted potential ability: Four stars
We’ve saved perhaps the most-hyped name for last. Warren Zaïre-Emery has become the darling of social media over the past few months. In August, at just 16 years and 151 days old, he was handed a first-team appearance by Christophe Galtier to become PSG’s youngest-ever senior player.
Although dozens of wonderkids fail to live up to such fanfare, Zaïre-Emery has all the fundamentals to come good. His technical level is astonishing for his age, and in many areas, he’s ready to rack up senior minutes already: He’s a regular ball winner, can carry comfortably out of midfield, and his intelligent passing can keep teams of players twice his age ticking over. It’s rarely so easy to say that we’re looking at a player set to become one of the world’s best over the next decade.
Because of that, and as he’s just signed his first professional contract, PSG’s financial muscles will flex hard to keep him. But if you have the budget, don’t let that put you off. Few players are likely to be quite this special.
Predicted current ability: Two stars
Predicted potential ability: Five stars