Football Manager 2021 wonderkids: All the best young goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and forwards

Martin Macdonald

Updated: 23 May 2023 08:42 CDT
11 min read

Football Manager 2021 wonderkids: All the best young goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and forwards — © ProShots

Football Manager 2021 has been released for a while now, but that doesn’t mean a new game can’t be fired up at any point, with glory awaiting users who master their tactics, man management, and of course recruitment.

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One of the best aspects of FM 2021 is trying to identify and sign the ‘next big thing’ superstar – a wonderkid who can be moulded into the player to take your team to trophies.

It can be a minefield at times, but FootballTransfers has you covered.

A player earns a ‘Wonderkid’ tag within Football Manager due to their potential ability being high.

Wonderkids have been ranked using the FMScout rating system as a guide, while we have kept our list to players who are 20 or younger as of 1 January 2021.

The potential ratings below are based on recommendation levels from 1 to 100 given by scouts on FM 2021.

Football Manager 2021 wonderkid goalkeepers

Player	Value (M)	Potential Rating
Maarten Vandevoordt, 18, Genk	3.3	85
Mikki van Sas, 16, Man City	0.01	82
Alejandro Iturbe, 16, Atletico	0.03	82
Ivan Martinez, 18, Pamplona	0.13	80
Gavin Bazunu, 18, Man City	0.2	80
Alex Padilla, 16, Athletic Bilbao	0.04	79
Manuel Gasparini, 18, Udinese	0.17	78
Cristian, 18, Atletico Mineiro,	0.01	78
Francisco Meixedo, 19, Porto	0.03	78
Alessandro Russo, 19, Sassuolo	0.42	78

One of the best rated young goalkeepers in the game is actually Leeds United shot-stopper Illan Meslier who has a potential rating of 84, but as he is relatively well-known he has been left off our list.

Two Manchester City youngsters make the list in Mikki van Sas and Gavin Bazunu, but at such young ages it will likely be a while before we see them take to the pitch at the Etihad.

The best-rated young goalkeeper in the game is Maarten Vandevoordt of Genk. In December of 2019, he became the youngest goalkeeper ever to feature in the Champions League.

Football Manager 2021 wonderkid central defenders

Three of the most highly-rated central defenders under 20-years-old on FM 2021 are players you will be familiar with, Matthijs de Ligt, Wesley Fofana, and Jean-Clair Todibo, so they have been left off the list.

Player	Value (M)	Potential Rating
Marash Kumbulla, 20, Roma	8.0	87
Josko Gvardiol, 18, RB Leipzig	3.5	86
Tanguy Nianzou, 18, Bayern	1.6	85
Nehuen Perez, 20, Atletico	5.8	85
Matteo Lovato, 20, Verona	3.3	84
Bright Arrey-Mbi, 17, Bayern,	0.35	84
Igor Diveev, 20, CSKA Moscow	2.2	84
Bosko Sutalo, 20, Atalanta	2	84
Andrea Papetti, 18, Brescia	1.6	83
Armel Bella-Kotchap, 18, Bochu	0.06	83
Alvaro Carrillo, 18, Real Madrid	0.15	83
Timothee Pembele, 17, PSG	0.5	82
Strahinja Pavlovic, 19, Monaco	1.8	82
Benoit Badiashele, 19, Monaco	5.2	82
Nnamdi Collins, 16, Dortmund	0.05	82

The highest-rated player on our list is actually the most expensive, too, as Roma centre-back Marash Kumbulla is valued at £8m.

If you are really planning for the future, 16-year-old Nnamdi Collins of Dortmund might be worth a look.

Football Manager 2021 wonderkid full-backs

A couple of recognisable names in here like Brandon Williams, who is also the most expensive wonderkid on our list.

The left-back with the best potential ability is Sporting defender Nuno Mendes, who has been attracting the attention of the likes of Manchester United, Barcelona, and Real Madrid in the real football world.

Player	Value (M)	Potential Rating
Nuno Mendes, 18, Sporting CP	4.5	86
Luka Thomas, 19, Leicester	11	86
Riccardo Calafiori, 18, Roma	0.85	85
Juan Miranda, 20, Barcelona	2.1	85
Rayan Ait-Nouri, 19, Angers	3	85
Owen Wijndal, 20, AZ	4.7	85
David de la Vibora, 17, R. Madrid	0.02	85
Noah Katterbach, 19, Koln	2.5	84
Brandon Williams, 19, Man Utd	16.5	83
Max Aarons, 20, Norwich	15	86
Pedro Porro, 20, Man City	2.7	85
Devyne Rensch, 17, Ajax	1.8	83
Tomas Estevez, 18, Porto	0.4	83
Pierre Kalulu, 20, Milan	2.2	83

The right-back with the best potential ability is Norwich defender Max Aarons, who has been strongly linked with Bayern Munich.

Football Manager 2021 wonderkid midfielders

The above list has been split into defensive midfielders, central midfielders, and then central attacking midfielders.

Some players, of course, can play in numerous central positions in midfield.

Edoardo Camavinga may indeed be a well-known name to Football Manager players, but merits his place on the list due to his potential rating being one of the highest in the game at 91. At just 17-years-old, too, he could be your leading midfielder for 15 seasons!

Player	Value (M)	Potential Rating
Edoardo Camavinga, 17 Rennes	20	91
Sandro Tonali, 20, Milan	10.5	87
Florentino Luis, 20, Benfica	9	86
Gustavo Assuncao, 20, Famalicao	5	84
Oliver Skipp, 19, Tottenham	12.5	84
Nicolo Rovella, 19, Juventus	1.6	83
Eduardo Camavinga, 17, Rennes	20	91
Ilaix Moriba, 17, Barcelona	3.2	89
Vitor Ferreira, 20, Porto	1.7	88
Mickael Cuisance, 20, Bayern	3.2	87
Pipi, 16, Real Madrid	0.12	87
Yusuf Demir, 17, Rapid Vienna	0.82	88
Florian Wirtz, 18, Leverkusen	3.5	87
Gavi, 15, Barcelona	0.21	86
Eljif Elmas, 20, Napoli	9	86
Mohamed Ihatteren, 18, PSV	5.5	86

Football Manager 2021 wonderkid wingers

The above list is split into left wingers and right wingers, with well-known names like Rodrygo, Jadon Sancho, Dejan Kulusevski, Ansu Fati, and Pedro Neto left out, because we know you know about them!

It would appear Porto are set for their winger roles for the next 10 years as they have Francisco Conceicao and Fabio Vieira within their ranks.

Towards the bottom of the list we see two interesting entries from Brazil in Savio of Atletico Mineiro and Renyer of Santos. Work permits might be a problem for those two young wonderkids initially, though.

Shola Shoretire, who recently debuted for Man Utd, is a sure fire future superstar.

Player	Value (M)	Potential Rating
Nico Serrano, 17, Athletic Bilbao	0.45	88
Rayan Cherki, 16, Lyon	0.6	88
Shola Shoretire, 16, Man Utd	0.1	87
Amine Gouiri, 20, Nice	5.2	87
Naci Unuvar, 17, Ajax	0.33	86
Diego Lainez, 20, Real Betis	3	86
Francisco Conceicao, 17, Porto	0.45	86
Yeremi Pino, 17, Villarreal	5	87
Antony, 20, Ajax	8.2	87
Harvey Elliott, 17, Liverpool	8.5	86
Nico Williams, 18, Athletic	0.85	86
Emanuel Vignato, 19, Bologna	2.7	85
Fabio Vieira, 20, Porto	3	85
Savio, 16, Atletico Mineiro	0.06	84
Renyer, 17, Santos	0.05	84

Football Manager 2021 wonderkid strikers

Football Transfers isn’t going to insult your intelligence by including Erling Haaland on a list of the top Football Manager wonderkids.

If you’re not aware of Haaland, FM 2021 might not be the game for you…

However, his young team-mate Youssoufa Moukoko leads the list as he has a potential ability of 95 which is the highest of any wonderkid on our list, and at just 15-years-old.

Previous FM specials Sebastiano Esposito and Eddie Salcedo of Inter feature again, suggesting the future is bright for the Nerazzurri.

Player	Value (M)	Potential Rating
Youssoufa Moukoko, 15, Dortmund	1.1	95
Fabio Silva, 18, Wolves	2.2	88
Dusan Vlahovic, 20, Fiorentina	8.9	88
Alexander Isak, 20, Real Sociedad	8	87
Lazaro, 18, Flamengo	0.03	86
Joao Pedro, 18, Watford	6.3	86
Jose Juan Macias, 20, Chivas	1.6	86
Jamal Musiala, 17, Bayern	3.1	86
Sebastiano Esposito, 18, Inter	1.1	85
Evanilson, 18, Porto	6.3	85
Eddie Salcedo, 18, Inter	2.4	85
Luis Carbonell, 17, Zaragza	0.02	85
Ali Akman, 18, Bursaspor	1.7	85
Dane Scarlett, 16, Tottenham	0.11	85
Kaio Jorge, 18, Santos	2.4	84

Read more about: Alexander Isak Amine Gouiri Ansu Fati Antony Boško Šutalo Brandon Williams David Dejan Kulusevski Devyne Diego Lainez Dušan Vlahović Eddie Salcedo Eduardo Camavinga Eljif Elmas Emanuel Vignato Erling Haaland Evanilson Fabio Silva Florentino Luís Florian Wirtz Harvey Elliott Igor Diveev Ilaix Moriba Illan Meslier Jadon Sancho Jamal Musiala Jean-Clair Todibo Joao Pedro Josko Gvardiol João Pedro Juan Miranda Marash Kumbulla Matteo Lovato Matthijs de Ligt Max Aarons Nehuén Pérez Nicolò Rovella Nuno Mendes Oliver Skipp Owen Wijndal Pedro Pedro Pedro Neto Pedro Porro Rayan Cherki Rodrygo Sandro Tonali Sebastiano Esposito Strahinja Pavlovic Tanguy Nianzou Timothée Pembélé Wesley Wesley Fofana Yeremy Pino Youssoufa Moukoko