(for a while at least)
by @MaddFM
“Real life catches up with you quickly. Football Manager is no exception.”
Football Manager has long been synonymous with identifying and predicting football wonderkids in years gone by, so much so that for many of us this is one of the sole reasons for which we purchase the game each year and rack up countless hundreds of hours scouting the outer echelons of world football and scouring obscure leagues in the hope of finding the next unknown wonderkid to be picked up for a bargain before going on to achieve great things in your latest FM save.
Having said that, there are always a number of more commonly known wonderkids that emerge with each new version of the game, and more often than not the FM researchers usually get it spot on each year and have flagged these wonderkids with high potential long before their names become familiar in traditional footballing circles. While it is easy to remember some of the more infamous names such as Freddy Adu, Cherno Samba, Tonton Zola Moukongo, Maxim Tsigalko and Mark Kerr - let’s not forget that the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar, Vincent Kompany, Marco Veratti and Javier Saviola were all tagged as 5* Potential wonderkids as teenagers within the game long before any had made their senior debuts, so it is safe to say that the team at SI know what they are doing when it comes to scouting and potential (so much so that their database and scouting network has been utilised by a number of well-known elite European clubs in the past).
However - as much as we all enjoy unearthing a wonderkid and await each new version of the game eagerly to see who the next 5* potential wonderkid will be, there comes a point where we can’t keep these players hidden for long and eventually a real-life big-money move arrives as soon as said player shows their potential and ability for all to see. This means that while each new Football Manager game brings about new wonderkids and potential, so too does it often mean the end of an era for previous wonderkids once a real-life move has been made and the database has been amended accordingly - meaning that either their club or the player themselves are highly unlikely to be interested in a move so soon after a transfer has been made.
Here are 10 FM Wonderkids you will no longer be able to sign once FM22 hits the shelves (at least in Season 1 anyway).
1. Patson Daka (Red Bull Salzburg to Leicester City - £27m)
Need goals? Mid-sized team and budget? Daka is one of the go-to men in FM21 wherein usually he ends up at a Newcastle or Everton for around the £15m mark. You are almost guaranteed goals with this guy in FM21 and it’s little wonder Leicester swooped in out of virtually nowhere to nab his signature after he scored 27 league goals in 28 appearances in the Austrian Bundesliga last season. Unfortunately this means you won’t be able to pick up him at the start of FM22, however with Leicester’s traditional model to allow players at least a season to settle in before being fully embedded as a first team starter, a Leicester save with Daka as Jamie Vardy’s eventual replacement definitely whets one’s whistle after they narrowly missed out on Champions League qualification last year.
2. Calvin Stengs (AZ Alkmaar to OGC Nice - €15m)
Calvin Stengs has been an FM favourite for the past two editions of FM at least, progressing into a top quality Attacking Midfielder at AZ Alkmaar and usually finding his way towards an elite club over the progression of an FM21 save. Not only does he have fantastic First Touch, Technique, Vision and Passing ability - at 6’2” he is also a physical athletic unit which combined with his graceful touch and intelligence have made him a go-to versatile midfielder in this year’s game. Someone at OGC Nice certainly agrees as they forked out €15m for his signature - new Manager Christoph Galtier is a shrewd operator and Stengs along with the likes of fellow arrivals Jean-Clair Todibo, Melvin Bard and Justin Kluivert mean that Ligue 1 enthusiasts should definitely keep an eye on Les Aiglons this season.
3. Yusuf Demir (Loan - Rapid Wien to Barcelona - €10m optional fee)
Now this is a mouth-watering prospect. Yusuf Demir is a rapid-fast Winger/Inside Forward who is 5”9’, left-footed and has an extremely low centre of gravity which allows him to quickly turn his opponent and weave in and out at ease when dribbling and taking on defenders. Remind you of anyone? It’s far too early to even consider tagging 18-year-old Demir as a potential Messi replacement, however after already featuring and scoring in pre-season friendlies for Barcelona since joining them on loan this summer, it’s hard to imagine that the Catalan giants won’t activate the €10m optional fee assuming they manage to sort their finances out and Demir gets some decent game time this season - unfortunately this means it’s unlikely he will be available to be snapped up at a bargain price from the beginning of FM22 as was the case in FM21.
4. Donyell Malen (PSV Eindhoven to Borussia Dortmund - €30m)
We spoke about big shoes to fill - how about Donyell Malen seemingly taking Jadon’s Sancho’s place at Dortmund? Selling the latter for £76m and spending just 30m on Malen could prove to be quite a shrewd piece of business on Dortmund’s part - especially if they can keep Erling Haaland and build a blossoming partnership between the two who scored a combined 46 goals between them last season in their respective leagues. In FM21 Malen gives you the option of a quality Inside Forward or Striker option, the former Arsenal player usually available for a decent fee and often getting snapped up by a Milan club or finding his way to the Premier League, however one might need find an alternative once FM22 comes around and in Noni Madueke PSV might already have a ready-made replacement lined up to fill the void left by Malen’s departure.
5. Josko Gvardiol (Dinamo Zagreb to Red Bull Leipzig - €18m)
If you weren’t aware of Gvardiol’s existence prior to the Euros then you certainly are now, not only having been drafted into the Croatia squad but starting all 4 of their games and showing little if any evidence that he is still only 19 years old. FM players will be well aware of Gvardiol’s quality and potential over the past couple of versions however having made an early summer transfer from his home club Dinamo Zagreb to Red Bull Leipzig in the Bundesliga, no doubt many of you will be on the lookout for an equally talented, versatile and affordable defensive option once you load up your first FM22 save.
6. Kristoffer Ajer (Celtic to Brentford - £14m)
This is also a devastating blow to many FM enthusiasts’ defensive plans in a new save, with Kristoffer Ajer always a great value and rock solid signing for almost any club that can afford him. Equally adept at Centre Back or Defensive Midfield with solid numbers across his Physical, Mental and Technical attributes - the Norwegian international will no longer be a cut-price go-to option in FM22 with ever transfer-smart Brentford splashing out £14m to help them secure survival in their first ever outing in the Premier League this season - if Ajer can hold up to his ability and potential over the last few editions of Football Manager, he might just be the key in helping them do exactly that.
7. Michael Olise (Reading FC to Crystal Palace - £8m)
One of few players to arguably perform better in real life than he did in this years FM21, Michael Olise is being touted as the bargain of the season after new-look Crystal Palace activated his £8m release fee early in the summer. Considering Olise was among the highest goal-contributors in Europe last season (19), the highest of any teenager in Europe while also contributing the highest number of converted crosses last season (remember he was playing for Reading in the Championship) - this is an exceptionally talented player and in FM21 he is a bargain signing at the start of a save, having banged for me in my Angers adventure scoring at will and often being a match-winner when needed in Ligue 1. Sadly he won’t be as accessible in FM22, but Palace’s recent revolution and new youthful transfer approach will surely be a save of choice for many next season.
8. Sebastiano Esposito (Loan - Inter to Basel - €8m optional fee)
Safe to say that this one nearly passed me right on by, having completely missed that Inter had again loaned out Italian wonderkid Sebastiano Esposito (cue @CurtyFM to do the dance) after two separate loan spells at SPAL and Venezia last season. This time he finds himself at Swiss side Basel and at the time of writing has scored in both their opening two league matches - if he can fulfil his FM21 potential then it’s safe to say Basel will be well on their way to closing the 29 point gap from last season where they finished in 2nd place behind high-flying Young Boys. With a relatively low optional fee it remains to be seen if Basel would be able to afford him if desired, however what we do know is that he won’t be available to snap up early within the FM22 universe, and many Esposito fans will be praying that he becomes available once Season 1 is complete.
9. André Silva (Eintracht Frankfurt to Milan - €23m)
If goals are what you need and you can’t afford Haaland, won’t attract Lukaku and don’t want Dybala - André Silva has been an FM21 stalwart in terms of availability and affordability (see @FMDoop’s achievement hunter save) and after scoring 28 league goals in real-life for Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga last season, Red Bull Leipzig were quick to make him their likely first-choice Striker at a relatively low-cost €23m transfer fee. Unfortunately this again removes a go-to Striker option once FM22 comes around and no doubt he will get a bump in attributes and transfer value in the new database, which might make him difficult to acquire early in your first save in the new game. Unless you’re PSG of course, then this article is probably irrelevant for you 😒.
10. Myron Boadu (AZ Alkmaar to Monaco - €17m)
Completing the Dutch mass-exodus is another one of @CurtyFM’s long-term Football Manager favourites, with 20-year-old Myron Boadu earning a big-money move from the aforementioned AZ Alkmaar to Ligue 1 giants Monaco. This one is particularly interesting - in recent years we have seen a few “wonderkids” make the move to the South of France that haven’t really matured into top-tier players - the likes of Pietro Pellegri and Wiliam Geubbels both tipped for greatness in FM and in real-life but yet to become first-team regulars or fulfil their true potential at the sovereign club. After scoring 15 goals to help AZ finish 3rd in the Eredivisie last season, a move to Ligue 1 is both a big test and a big opportunity for Boadu, meaning he sadly won’t be the great value goal-scoring signing in FM22 as was the case in FM21.
There you have it - what has been a crazy transfer window so far means that FM22 will require a lot more scouting and effort to unearth the next batch of Football Manager wonderkids, and with two weeks to go until the window closes there may be even more to follow (keep an eye on Thiago Almada’s rumoured move to Atlanta FC to see if another another wonderkid bites the dust 👀). If the above transfers prove anything it’s that the FM researchers have got it spot on again over the past few versions, and hopefully we will see more of the same if & when FM22 loads up on our screens for the first time later this year. Enjoy these players in FM21 while you still can and let us know if we’ve left any out!
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