by MaddFM.
In January 2021 the FM Community went into overload when it was confirmed that one Youssoufa Moukoko would finally be making his first appearance in Football Manager with the release of the first FM21 data update, arguably the most exciting in-game Wonderkid to emerge for many years and instantly lauded for his attributes and undoubted potential in the FM universe.
In general, only players who turn 16 in the year the game is released make it into the database itself, and with football (and in particular youth football) more and more accessible and visible in the public domain than ever before, the hype continues to grow around youth players and in this light FM is no different. Each new version of the game brings much anticipation and excitement as a new impending batch of Wonderkids take to our screens with players born in 2006 now available to be placed in-game, so today we will take a look at 5 Youth Players to Watch who we expect to make their Football Manager debuts in FM23 and in turn represent some of the most exciting wonderkids in this latest FM game cycle.
1. Endrick Felipe
Mainly known as “Endrick”, our first FM23 debutant has been lighting up the Brazilian Youth Leagues for Palmeiras scoring 165 goals in 169 games and featuring regularly for the U20 side despite being 5 years below the age level. Endrick’s strongest role is as a Centre Foward but can equally be deployed on the left or right flank - his pace and flair are matched by his technique and finishing ability and as a result he has already been heavily linked with PSG, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Liverpool despite only recently turning 16. These clubs look set to be disappointed however, as it appears Barcelona are Endrick’s preferred choice which is little wonder considering he has drawn frequent comparisons to a young Romario and Ronaldo both of whom went on to become legends at the Camp Nou.
From a Football Manager perspective - it remains to be seen how his attributes and potential are portrayed in-game, not to mention his availability considering he is contracted at Palmeiras until 2025 (let’s not even think about work-permit issues), however one thing that appears guaranteed is that he will end up at the elite end of one of Europe’s Top 5 leagues in real life, whatever about your first FM23 save.
2. Warren Zaïre-Emery
We recently had Joe Donnohue from Scouted Football on the 5 Star Potential podcast, during which he referred to Warren Zaïre-Emery as “one of the best I’ve seen at that level”. High praise indeed for the 16-year-old PSG midfielder who has been so dominant at underage level that he has already made his debut for the Ligue 1 side becoming the youngest player ever to do so at 16 years and 151 days old. Zaïre-Emery is very much an all-round midfielder - he is highly effectively defensively as a 6 however has the transitional play and passing ability to play as as a DLP or a Box-to-Box midfilder - continuing to evolve as he grows in strength, pysique and maturity not to mention getting minutes alongside the likes of Messi, Veratti and Renato Sanches.
Similar to Endrick above - availability may be the key challenge with Zaïre-Emery having just signed his first professional contract until June 2025, however if the Researchers at SI get his physical and technical attributes on point, we are looking at potentially one of the best wonderkid midfielders to emerge in the game in many renditions of FM gone by.
3. Archie Gray
Is it just me or have we not had an English Wonderkid for a while? Step forward Archie Gray - son of former Leeds Striker Andy Gray (90s football knows), Grandson of Leeds legend Frank Gray and nephew of former Leeds Manager Eddie Gray - it’s safe to say football is in the blood of the 16-year-old who has impressed so much in his time in the Leeds academy that he was called up to the Leeds first team by Marcelo Bielsa and more recently has been dubbed as “first team ready” by current manager Jesse Marsch. A talented midfielder with excellent passing, movement and an eye for goal, Archie Gray has already been tipped as a future England midfielder by Jamie Redknapp and with a spot vacated and big boots to fill following the departure of Kalvin Phillips, there is certainly a pathway to the first team and it will be an interesting prospect to see how he progresses both in real life and in-game as we see him in Football Manager for the first time.
4. Julian Duranville
Anderlecht and Wonderkids, name a better duo. Not only is 16-year-old Julien Duranville slowly breaking into an Anderlecht side that already contains such wonderkids as Fabio Silva and Sebastiano Esposito, there are already whispers of a Belgium call-up for the World Cup as well as rumours circulating of a €15m bid from Bayern Munich for the young Belgian’s signature. Explosive from either wing, good technical ability and a direct run-at-opponent mentality, Duranville is already proving to be a handful for opposition defenders in the Belgian Jupiler Pro League and recently bagged his first goal for the club just 6 minutes after coming on as a substitute in a 2-2 draw against Oud-Heverlee Leuven.
While it is early days to compare him with a young Romelu Lukaku or even the more recent Jeremy Doku - the latter’s injury history combined with the aging Thorgan Hazard and Dries Mertens may indeed mean a pathway towards the Belgian national side - hopefully his very recent upward spike and evolution is reflected in FM23 and if so, he may prove to be a bargain after a season or two as has traditionally been the case with Anderlecht players in-game.
5. Paul Wanner
Speaking of Bayern - our final debutant for FM23 arrives in the form of German U17 attacking midfielder Paul Wanner, a left-sided player who operates mostly in a central role but can play on either wing also. Although he was actually born in December 2005, he didn’t make the cut for FM22 and thus features in Football Manager for the first time and not a moment too soon ; after becoming Bayern’s youngest ever player and the second youngest in the Bundesliga behind the aforementioned Moukoko, he went on to have an impressive U17 Euros campaign for Germany scoring two goals and attracting much plaudits for his dribbling ability, pace and creativity in the middle of the park. Widely tipped as a long-term successor to Thomas Muller and judging how Bayern have put faith in their academy players in recent times (see Alphonso Davies and Jamal Musiala) - Wanner looks to have a big future at Bayern as illustrated by the long-term contract awarded this year, however if FM-Bayern are inclined to spend rather than develop than Wanner could evolve into a top prospect within a couple of seasons of FM23.
There we have it - five brand new FM prospects and potential wonderkids for Football Manager 2023, none of whom featured in FM22 and all of whom we hope will go on to do big things for both club and country in real life as well as in FM23. Will each go on to fulfil their (fingers crossed) 5 Star Potential in-game, or will they join a long infamous list of failed Football Manager wonderkids in years to come? Only time will tell - roll on FM23.
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