Viva Valencia

 
 

Let us start by removing the elephant from the room, I’m a Villarreal guy and have been since 2008 when I was on my quest to see Ronaldinho play in the flesh and after 3 unsuccessful attempts he was in the starting eleven to play Villarreal at Camp Nou. On that night, just over 15 years ago, I watched a Villarreal side containing the likes of Marcos Senna, Santi Cazorla & the fantastic Matias Fernandez run out winners against the likes of Ronaldinho & Thierry Henry and that’s where my love affair started. So why am I going to manage Villarreal’s bitter rivals, Valencia? Well, over the last couple of editions of Football Manager I’ve really enjoyed saves with rivals of teams I’m fond of and as I’m a stickler for a finance based save I’m happy to overlook the rivalry and take control of Los Ches. 

La Liga has been dominated by Real Madrid and Barcelona for as long as we can remember but in the early 2000’s we were treated with the emergence of Valencia as genuine contenders to the Spanish duopoly reaching consecutive Champions League finals in 2000 & 2001 and winning La Liga in the 2001-2 & 2003-04 seasons under the guidance of one Rafa Benitez.

 
 

In 2006 plans were unveiled for a new stadium to be built with a capacity of 80,000. Work started on Nou Mestalla in 2007 in readiness for opening in 2009 but due to financial problems work stopped and multiple deals to get the project re-started collapsed meaning the stadium sat unfinished for a number of years. In 2021 it was announced that the stadium will now be modernised and completed in 2024 with a capacity closer to 50,000.

 
 

The successful decade ended with the club in huge debt and needing to sell star players; David Silva moved to Manchester City, Juan Mata to Chelsea, David Villa to Barcelona and Roberto Soldado to Spurs but despite the club losing so many star players they still operated in the top half of the table dropping in and out of Champions League football which meant more financial insecurity. 

In 2014 Singaporean businessman, Peter Lim (him of Salford City/Class of 92 fanclub), purchased 70% of the football club and in his time with the club, despite continuing to sell their star players, Valencia has accumulated losses of €323 million euros with Lim coming under strong criticism from fans.

 
 

So that’s the background, what about the save?

The ultimate aim is to topple Real Madrid and Barcelona but we’ve got a few steps to climb before we get there:

Step One - Improving the Bottom Line

In 2012 Valencia had the third highest revenue in La Liga, they now have the sixth with Atletico Madrid, Villarreal and Sevilla growing their revenue whereas Valencia have actually gone backwards.

 
 

Simply put, if we qualify for Europe, win our games and maximise our player sales we will turnover more cash. It’s important to remember that turnover isn’t profit so it should go without saying that I’ll be paying attention to the areas of the game where we can manage cost to improve profit.

Step Two - Climbing The Deloitte Money League

Although it’s not really in the game, the Money League is really similar to the reputation league in Football Manager so we’ll be looking to make our move up that table. I’ll be having a look at what information I can pull out of the game to see if I can make a better version of the money league.

 
 

Step Three - Academy

Bringing academy graduates through to the first team not only gives you a sense of pride it can also be highly profitable. I will more than likely disband the second team for cost saving but make sure I have the best available coaches and facilities for our U18’s, we’ll use our scouting network to find the hidden gems falling out of the big clubs and take advantage of our pull when it comes to stealing talent from financially restricted teams in Spain. 

Currently in the first team we have Jesus Vazquez, Yunus Musah (Arsenal academy) & Facundo Gonzalez (Espanyol academy) who are highly rated youngsters that progressed through Valencia Mestalla and are players that can compliment the current first team and potentially generate some income if required.

 
 

Step Four - Finding my Aimar

Baggy shirts & oversized shorts, he was THE man at Valencia back in the early 2000’s. For a South American attacker he was a team player and he worked his socks off for the team. At River Plate he had the luxury of a team dominating possession, at Valencia it was a different story and he realised this early, his unselfishness meant that when Valencia were out of possession he would drop into the midfield to give them an extra man and restrict the play of the opposition. When they attacked, they attacked quickly and often through the Argentine.

In this save, I’m going to look for ‘my’ Aimar but from looking at his attributes in the screenshot below it might be something of a challenge! I’ll no doubt attempt to lure him from National duty and bring him in to my coaching setup.

 

So here we are, the start of a new save. I’ll have the thread pinned on my Twitter @FridayNightFM where I’ll update you on the save as we go and I’ll be looking to write some blog posts based on the processes I employ rather than writing save updates, I’ll leave that for the @5StarPod.

Thanks for reading and until next time, Viva Valencia.

 




Keep Your Wonderkid - 6 Players to Build a Team Around in FM23

 
 

by MaddFM.

It comes up almost every transfer window these days. “No Wonderkid is safe”. Never has this sentiment been more true; as soon as we see a 16 or 17 year old player having a breakout season and enjoying their 5 minutes of fame, the big clubs are instantly sniffing around and already have plans in place having long been aware of these youth players such is the vastness of their scouting networks combined with the ease of transferring knowledge and viewing games at all levels around the world thanks to the internet and the power of social media.

Never was this more evident than in December 2022, when just a month after he made his Football Manager debut we saw Real Madrid complete the signing of 16-year-old Wonderkid Endrick Felipe from Palmeiras for a reported €60m, the highest fee ever paid for player from the Brazilian league let alone a 16-year-old which means Endrick is now locked in for a move since the FM23 Winter Update dropped - we barely got to enjoy him!

 
 

Devastating

This was a monumental moment in wonderkid history and a huge statement by the Madrid club. Nowadays players are being scouted and lined up for big money moves before they have even completed a full season at Senior level, and if football has taught us anything it’s that when one club leads, others will follow and while it brings great levels of excitement around the football community, it is surely bad news for us wonderkid enthusiasts and most certainly bad news for fans of the selling clubs in this scenario. 

 
 

Based on this we can almost derive a new challenge in Football Manager which we briefly introduced back in FM20 - the Keep Your Wonderkid challenge, whereby the goal is to do everything you can to keep a highly-rated wonderkid at their home club and try to fight off all bids and interest from any bigger clubs or suitors interested in their services, meaning the focus of the save is to retain a top talent and in turn build your team around said wonderkid. Sounds easy? Only 2 of the 10 players we identified 3 years ago are still at their original clubs, and knowing how ruthless the big clubs in Football Manager can be, you may have a job on your hands to keep these guys around and avoid their heads getting turned at the first sign of interest elsewhere.

Here are 6 Wonderkids to keep hold of in FM23 and in turn build your squad around them - GOOD LUCK.

1. Arda Güler - Fenerbahce

 
 

We already profiled Arda Güler in our Wonderkid Watch series a few weeks back and since then he has gone from strength to strength for Fenerbahce, most recently his performance against Sevilla in the Europa League knockout round where he helped his side to a 1-0 victory. His 84 minutes have suddenly propelled him to global stardom whereby his vision, awareness, composure and passing ability have opened the eyes of a number of top European clubs, and while he has been loosely termed as the “Turkish Messi”, it’s clear that Fenerbahce have a hell of a player on their hands and at 17 his on-field maturity wherein he continuously looks for the next pass and shows no fear running at opposition defenders have made him highly coveted ahead of the summer transfer window with the likes of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid all rumoured to be considering a transfer bid.

In FM23 we are looking at a glorious Number 10 with phenomenal technical skills and attributes far beyond his 17 years - in particular his 16 Determination, Flair and Technique combined with his “Dictates Tempo” player trait. We previously compared Güler to a young Mesut Özil and he clearly has the potential to emulate Özil in terms of his creativity and exceptional passing ability. The challenge? Keeping him in Turkey - if you have never managed in the Turkish Süper Lig it is complete chaos and havoc and well worth a dabble if you are looking for a brand new save adventure, taking the reigns at Fenerbahce and building a team around Güler to dominate both domestically as well as mounting a serious Champions League challenge knowing that the furthest the club have ever reached is the Quarter Final stages.

2. Alex Scott (Bristol City)

 
 

Having received a substantial attributes boost in the FM23 Winter Update and already confirmed by Football Manager as the most signed player since the update was released, it's safe to assume that Alex Scott won't be in Bristol for much longer. Now in his second full season having played 38 games for Bristol City last season, his performances this year have received widespread plaudits with Pep Guardiola labelling him as an "unbelievable player" following their recent FA Cup clash. The last Guernsey born footballer to reach Premier League heights was one Matt Le Tissier and its looking increasingly likely that Scott will be the next 👀

In FM23 we are looking at an 18-year-old midfielder who can be developed for almost any central midfield role you need him for - already advanced in terms of speed & agility and powerful passing and dribbling for a player his age, add on his high determination and you're looking at a guaranteed future England midfielder at least in-game whatever about real life. For a club in the Championship there are string echoes of Jude Bellingham at Birmingham a few years back and we all know how that turned out - the challenge here is to take the reins at Bristol City and see if you can build a promotion project for a team who have never even made the Championship playoffs let alone play in the Premier League. Build a team around Alex Scott and you may just go where no Bristol manager had ever gone before.

3. Roony Bardghji - FC København

 
 

Another player who Football Manager highlighted as having received a Winter Update attributes boost and a player who we have long obsessed over here at 5 Star Potential (particularly @FridayNightFM who voted him as his Player of the Year last year in FM22). Roony Bardghji is arguably the most exciting player in Denmark at the moment and looks certain to be one of the best exports we have seen from Scandinavia if rumours of a move to Real Madrid are to be believed. Having broken into the FC København first team last season scoring 2 goals in 13 games to help them win the Danish Superliga as well as featuring twice in the Champions League, Bardghji has already bagged 3 goals and 3 assists this season and is now a first team regular due to his incredible pace, flair, confidence in taking on opposition full backs and his exceptional ability in cutting inside and creating goalscoring opportunities for himself or for his attacking team-mates - it surely won’t be long before we see him in a Sweden shirt alongside the likes of Dejan Kulusevski or Alexander Isak not to mention Zlatan who recently was recalled to the side at the ripe old age of 41 (the man is like a fine wine).

In FM23 Bardghji is simply lethal - only 16 at the start of the game, we are already seeing high Pace, Technique, First Touch, Dribbling, Passing and of course that lovely 16 Determination, along with which he clearly likes to Run With the Ball Often, Plays One-Twos and ultimately just makes things happen regardless of which club he plays for. If you can somehow manage to keep him in the Danish capital, then he along with the likes of Ísak Bergmann Jóhannesson and Mohammed Daramy will provide a core around which you can build a team to dominate Denmark for years to come as well as take them into a new era of competitiveness in the Champions League having never qualified from the group stages previously. This is a challenge we can all get behind.

4. Kaiky (Almeria)

 
 

Along with Bardghji and Güler, Almeria’s now 19-year-old defender Kaiky was nominated among the NxGN Top 50 Young Players in the world this year and for very good reason - after breaking out for Santos last year starting 15 games he has been hailed for his exceptional aerial ability, read of the game and adeptness in making blocks/interceptions and never fearing a strong tackle accordingly. Such was the level of his performances that UD Almeria showed no hesitation in being the first club willing to pay €8m for his services and having shown that they are no fools when it comes to scouting South America (it was they who brought Darwin Nunez to Europe), it’s safe to say they have a player on their hands and they are wisely taking their time in moulding him for first-team football - this season he has made 8 starts and 5 sub appearances but despite this he ranks in the 90th percentiles for Blocks and Interceptions in La Liga this season.

In FM23 he is ready; despite only being 18, he already has good enough attributes to play for most top-tier sides in Europe and knowing how quickly good players can be developed in-game, we are looking at potentially one of the best central defenders in the game this year which is probably clear in most saves out there where he regularly ends up at one of the elite level clubs after a few seasons (in my case it was Man City in Season 3). As a player who has been frequently likened to Thiago Silva it’s a no brainer - take the reins at Almeria, park Kaiky in your back line, lock the doors and throw away the key..he’s that good.

5. Diego Coppola (Hellas Verona)

 
 

The amount of top class young centre-halves is outstanding in this year’s game and this is highly evident in Italy where not only have we seen Giorgio Scalvini evolving into arguably the best centre-back in FM23, his compatriot Diego Coppola has certainly been giving him a run for his money and it’s easy to see why. At 6’4” Coppola has dominated aerially for Verona, ranking in the 90th percentiles for Aerial Duels won while also stacking up in terms of blocks and interceptions made - that said, he also contributes positively to Verona’s transition and possession play showing confidence on the ball and also ranking highly for progressive carries and progressive passes received which at 18 is often an undeveloped skill for a central defender of his size.

In FM23 we find a young defender at one of Serie A’s relegation favourites who is unlikely to stay at the club beyond the first one or two seasons - though tall he is not slow, and with strong mental and defensive attributes already he develops rapidly in-game (even under the AI) and alongside Scalvini form the future of the famous Italian National Team back line. The challenge is of course seeing if you can keep him at Verona and build an entire project around him - the last time the club won the Scudetto was in 1985 and since then the highest they have finished is 9th in Serie A (multiple relegations certainly haven’t helped); as Shakespeare himself put it - “In fair Verona where we lay our scene”

6. Alberto Moleiro (Las Palmas)

 
 

If I was to tell you about a short, technical, intelligent and mature-beyond-his-age midfielder at Las Palmas you would probably think we are still in 2020, moments before Pedri made his move from the Canary Islands to Catalonia for what is now one of the bargains of the century at just €5 million. However we are of course in 2023 and in this case we are not referring to Pedri but a player that somehow Las Palmas have managed to produce and help their fans to almost forget about Pedri’s existence - that player is Alberto Moleiro, the 19-year-old local-born attacking midfielder who enjoyed a breakout season in La Liga 2 last year playing 35 games and contributing 3 goals and an assist in a season that saw Las Palmas ultimately fall short in terms of their promotion hopes. This season Moleiro has started like a house on fire with 8 assists in 30 odd appearances, propelling Las Palmas to 3rd in the league just 4 points off leaders Eibar at the time of writing.

Another of @FridayNightFM’s top tips for FM23 - Moleiro starts the game as an 18-year-old who can largely play as an AMC or out wide on the left, with already excellent technical skills (watch out for that 16 Technique and 15 Vision) as well as bags of room to develop physically considering he is only 5’7”. With traits for “Tries Killer Balls Often” and “Likes to Beat Opponent Repeatedly” already in place, Moleiro is an absolute firecracker in-game and can absolutely be the difference maker in helping Las Palmas return to La Liga for the first time since 2018 and with the likes of Jonathan Viera, Vitolo and former FM wonderkid Florin Andone alongside him this is definitely an attractive challenge - lock in Moleiro with as big a release clause as you can find and operation Las Palmas can begin, not a bad excuse for an ad-hoc holiday to the Canary Islands either 😉.

That’s your lot - if you are looking for a new challenge in Football Manager, why not try taking the reins at one of these clubs where your main objective is to keep hold of their prized asset and in turn build your team and your save project around them? Knowing that you will have to deal with big clubs circling, board members getting greedy and of course the player themselves having their head turned - there is a lot to navigate here, but we wouldn’t want it to be too easy either right?

Let us know if you decide to try one and keep us posted on your progress either in the comments below or @5StarPod on Twitter.

Thanks for reading. 

Leading the Line - 6 Target Forwards to sign in FM23

 
 

by MaddFM.

“A Target Forward can transform an average team into a good one by using sheer physicality to disrupt the opposition’s defence and open space for a striker partner and supporting midfielders. The Target Forward uses strength and aerial presence to bring team-mates into play rather than relying on technical ability”.

Target Forward according to Football Manager.

Football has changed a lot in the last 20-30 years. Wind back the clock to the 80s and 90s and it was rare to see a team operating without a “big man” up front, or deploying a “little and large” striker combo as part of a standard 4-4-2 formation and for years, many teams and managers thrived off the benefits of having a big, strong, powerful striker leading the line as a focal point around which the main crux of their tactical setup was constructed. Back in the 90’s, strikers like Niall Quinn, Duncan Ferguson and Chris Sutton all thrived in this role and were highly effective in holding up the ball to bring more creative or technical players into the game accordingly, and this arguably continued through the 00’s in the likes of Didier Drogba, Mario Gomez, Luca Toni and even Peter Crouch all of whom were a nightmare for opposition defenders due to their physical/aerial presence and enjoyment in receiving the ball and holding off defenders through their brute force and strength. More recently and though the role has evolved somewhat, we have seen the same effectiveness of size, strength and hold-up play through the likes of Olivier Giroud, Edin Dzeko, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Romelu Lukaku and even this season through the successful deployment of the likes of Wout Weghorst at Man Utd or Aleksander Mitrovic at Fulham - players who offer their side a central node through to feed the ball and subsequently link up play and offset the ball to bring other forward players into the game and create goalscoring chances and opportunities. 

But what is it about the Target Forward role that was/is so effective and why has it become more rare in football than commonplace as it was in the recent past? It’s fair to say that football has evolved such that managers (and especially foreign managers) have shifted towards a far more intelligent, technical and mobile striker rather than the traditional “big man up top” mould, wherein even taller/stronger strikers are expected to offer much more in terms of athleticism, technique, off the ball movement and overall mobility in the forward line hence why strikers of the more old-fashioned ilk are less favourable and less desired in the modern game. That said - the game has changed so much that some defenders out there simply have absolutely no idea how to operate when up against such a target man, and often struggle to defend against these having become so used to the smaller or quicker type of forward that they would have faced earlier in their careers. Based on this - it’s time we make a case to bring Target Forwards back to the fore of modern football and what better way to do so than through the medium of Football Manager, wherein we will look at a selection of Target Men in FM23 and in particular we will focus on what it is about their profile that makes them so well suited and so effective in this role accordingly.

We are going old-school today people - here are 6 Target Forwards that you should sign in Football Manager 23.

1. Gianluca Scamacca

 
 

Granted he has only just arrived in East London when you load up a new save in FM23 however I would be tempted to start a West Ham save just to see if we can get more out of Scamacca than David Moyes seems to be able to in real life currently. At 6’5” Scamacca has been touted as the next Zlatan for years during his time in Serie A, not only based on his physical profile but also on his technique, touch, ball control and all round finishing ability which has led to him being on the verge of becoming Italy’s first choice striker (albeit with a lack of healthy competition for reasons unknown by this author). Having come through the ranks at Lazio and Roma before a move to PSV at age 16, it was Sassuolo who were astute enough to see the makings of a unique and highly effective striker in Scamacca, and after a couple of loan spells he became a key part of a forward line that helped the Neroverdi finish 8th and 11th respectively in the last two seasons, scoring 16 goals last year which paved the way for a £35m move to West Ham. Hailed for his technical and finishing ability for a player of his size, all eyes have been on Scamacca being the solution to Italy’s recent dip on the international stage and it remains to be seen if he can fulfil this potential in the Premier League at West Ham having only netted 3 goals in his opening 16 games at the time of writing.

In FM23 however, there is no real need to wait - Scamacca is absolutely stacked as a 23-year-old Target Forward with 16 Strength, Balance and Jumping Reach not to mention 17 Finishing and (wonderfully) 16 Flair which means he will be more than noticeable when it comes to the in-game match engine. Throw in 16 Determination and we have a striker of potentially biblical proportion within the Football Manager universe - safe to say that if you have the funds and tactical desire, Scamacca is not to be trifled with if you are looking for one of the most effective Target Forwards in-game this year.

2. Maximiliano Gomez

 
 

@FridayNightFM likes this. Having scored 29 goals in 50 odd appearances for Defensor Sporting in the Uruguayan Primera Division by the age of 20, Gomez made an early move to Europe via Celta Vigo and spent two seasons there before a 14m move to a then progressive Valencia. Despite showing a proven goalscoring record at the Mestalla, the club’s continued downfall led to Gomez eventually being offloaded to Trabzonspor for a mere 3m last summer, scoring 4 goals before joining up with Uruguay’s World Cup squad where he made a handful of substitute appearances before their disappointing group stage exit at the expense of Portugal and South Korea. It’s safe to say Gomez has had an underwhelming career to date however still only 25 he has plenty of time to prove himself in what has become a highly competitive league in Turkey (he’s fond of a red card or two which helps).

That said - Gomez is highly rated in FM23 by the Sports Interactive researchers and is a top tier Target Man in-game. Slightly shorter (by target man standards) at 6’1”, what he lacks in height he more than makes up for in Strength, Heading, Jumping Reach as well as having excellent Finishing, Composure and Off The Ball attributes. His low value and relatively short contract at Trabzonspor make him highly attainable in FM23 and if you are looking for a powerful and consistent striker to lead the line in-game then Gomez is a must-scout for any higher or mid-level team this year. Don’t believe us? The lad was mustard for Joe in his 3 seasons with PSG as a Target-Forward, scoring 56 goals in 67 games wherein he was mainly used for big games and was a nightmare for opposition defenders to defend against. Get it done.

3. Evan Ferguson

 
 

What can we say about Evan Ferguson. At the time of writing the 6’2” 18-year-old has already scored 7 goals in 16 appearances for Brighton in all competitions (only half of which he started), scored his first international goal on his first full start for Ireland AND has become Brighton and Ireland’s youngest ever Premier League goalscorer while averaging a goal every 100 odd minutes this season. The lad is EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD. His recent performances wherein he has clearly shown his physical and technical ability as well as his composure and finishing in front of goal have attracted global attention already, particularly his close control and ability to create goalscoring opportunities out of seemingly nothing, and not since Robbie Keane have Ireland had such an exciting player and striker enjoy such an incredible breakout season at such a young age.

As of FM23 he was recently one of the players who was given a substantial (and deserved) upgrade in the Winter Data Update, and as you can see above he has remarkable attributes for a player who is still only 17 at the start of the game - 15 Pace, 14 Finishing, 14 Strength with excellent technical and aerial ability, we are looking at potentially one of the go-to strikers in this year’s game and this author can’t wait to see what he can do for Ireland both in-game and in real life for club and country on the big stage.

4. Jonas Wind

 
 

The Danish have always had somewhat of a reputation for big strong centre-forwards (see Nicklas Bendtner, Andreas Cornelius, Kasper Dolberg, Youssef Dolberg and one of our current favourites Rasmus Højlund whom we profiled in our Wonderkid Watch series lately). That said, few have come through with as strong a balance of technical and physical attributes as Jonas Wind, who after a number of successful seasons at FC Kobenhavn during which he helped them reclaim the Danish Superliga title in 2022, made a 12m move to Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga who themselves were on the hunt for a new Target Man having sold the aforementioned Wout Weghorst to Burnley. Since then he has averaged a goal every two games for Wolfsburg to help them push for a European place this season, and still only 23 is staking a strong claim to be their first choice striker amid healthy competition from the likes of Omar Marmoush and Lukas Nmecha.

Flip over to FM23 however and we can see what the SI researchers think of him - his physicals are very similar to Ferguson however at 23 we can see increased technical attributes and superior movement, composure and determination meaning he is a ready made Target Forward who should be relatively attainable by the time the first season has passed. Though not the quickest, Wind is ideally suited to be the larger half of a big man/small man combo wherein a speedy poacher or wide forward would thrive alongside him - this one is a no brainer for me.

5. Alvaro Rodriguez

 
 

Our cover star who has quite literally burst onto the scene at Real Madrid this season, taking even well known La Liga journalists and football enthusiasts by surprise such was the nature of his explosive emergence from the relative obscurity of Real Madrid Castilla to scoring an 85th minute equaliser in the Madrid derby earlier this season. Standing 6’4” at only 17 years old, Rodriguez looks set to have a huge future ahead of him at the Bernabeu and who better to mentor him accordingly than Karim Benzema and Carlos Ancelotti who himself is no stranger to big powerful strikers (no wonder he had big Duncan Ferguson as his assistant at Everton). While it’s very soon to detail Alvaro Rodriguez in terms of ability and potential, it’s clear he is highly thought of at Madrid and interestingly he has recently declared for Uruguay despite being born and raised in Spain. 
In FM23 - well you can see for yourself. If I offered you a 6’4” 17-year-old striker with 14 Finishing, 13 Technique, 14 Strength, 15 Jumping Reach and 16 Heading you’d bite my hand off right? Enough said - this boy is the future of Target Men.

6. Ludovic Ajorque

 
 

If Rodriguez is the future then this guy is the present. I would go so far as to say that Ludovic Ajorque is one of the most underrated forwards in the last few versions of Football Manager (unless your name is Dave Azzopardi or FMRazz) such is the unique profile and all round attributes he has consistently carried for a number of years now. Until this season Ajorque had spent the entirety of his career in Ligue 1 and his 46 goals in 4 seasons have helped Strasbourg ensure their top flight status year-on-year not to mention helping them win the French Cup and reach the Europa League Group Stages in 2019. At 29 it looks unlikely that Ajorque will ever go on to break into the French National side however a January 23 move to Mainz 05 will do him no harm as he looks to test himself at an even higher level.

In FM23 he is already levels above both in terms of height (man is 6’5” for crying out loud) and Target Forward attributes - 18 Jumping Reach with 17 Heading as well as 15 Finishing and outstanding Mental attributes - Ajorque is Target Man royalty and can literally break the match engine if deployed effectively in-game (imagine JWP’s 20 Crossing with Ajorque’s aerial ability?). Endless possibilities here - while it might not be pretty it will surely be effective nonetheless, but that’s why you are here right?

There you have it - 6 Target Forward options for you to sign in Football Manager 2023 who might just inspire a tactical revolution for you if you are fed up of deploying the usual in-game formations and tactical styles, quite literal game changers if you can get them the service and quality they need in order to flourish in the Target Forward position. Let us know if you have had any success with this role previously and who your ultimate Target Forwards are either in the comments below or @5StarPod on Twitter.

Thanks for reading.

Interested in becoming a Guest Writer on 5StarPotential.com? Drop us a DM on Twitter or reach out to MaddFM for more info 👌.

Wonderkid Watch - Arnaud Kalimuendo

 
 

by @FridayNightFM

When it comes to the French, there’s one thing you can guarantee, potential wonderkids. They are stacked in all areas and the future looks sustainably bright for Les Bleus and that future includes this former PSG graduate who finds himself spearheading Rennes exciting young side in Ligue 1.

There were a number of clubs interested in signing Kalimuendo in the summer of 2022 including Leeds United, however he chose to join Stade Rennais for approximately £18m plus a future slice of the pie going to PSG should he be sold for a profit.

 
 

With his transfer to Rennes only happening last season he’s still finding his feet - he scored his first league goal for the club in October and has gone on to amass 6 goals and four assists in 19 games this season starting in 62% of the club’s games, playing 54% of the total minutes available which shows he’s still very much on the edge of full time first team football.

 
 

Stats-wise Kalimuendo is in the 90th percentiles for Pass Completion and Progressive Passes this season, and he has proven himself to be adept both at creating and scoring goals particularly during his time at Lens and now at Rennes this season since leaving PSG due to a lack of first team football in the French capital.

 

Career stats to date (Source: BeSoccer.com)

 

In Football Manager 2023 the 20 year old is quite clearly an Advanced Forward and at 5’9” he gives me strong Jermain Defoe vibes, short, powerful and a clinical finisher. His stand out attributes for his position are his Finishing (15), Composure (14), Determination (15), Off The Ball (15) & Acceleration (15) - for a 20 year old these are great attributes to start the game with and with the right training, development and game time Arnaud can become a problem in all the top European Leagues. 

 
 

At the start of the game he’s only just signed for Rennes so don’t expect to be signing him for a while, he’s contracted until 2027 but in two of my saves he’s left France for Italy after the first season for just over £20m. In both saves he’s been managed by the AI meaning I have no knowledge of how he’s been developed and it wasn’t until his return to France in my latest save that he’s been cropping up on the newsfeed… A LOT. 

Marseille brought him home in the 2025/26 season for just £12m after an unsuccessful time in Italy with Atalanta where, in fairness, he had only managed to play 13 games in 3 seasons. His return was as a backup striker where he made 8 starts in the league but came on 16 times and scored 7 goals. His second season at the Stade Velodrome saw him lead the attack, he started 45 games in total and returned 19 goals and 4 assists. Then things really clicked and the next season saw him net 19 in 33 games as he started his quest to become an elite Ligue 1 striker. Season 28/29 and he was on fire his 29 goals in 33 starts saw him win his first international cap for France, he won Ligue 1 Forward of the Season and finished as the European Golden Shoe winner. 

 
 

At the end of the 2029/30 season, my current season, he’s gone one step further; 52 goals in 51 games (35 goals in 32 Ligue 1 games) and he’s undoubtedly up there as an elite European marksman. 

 
 

Development

As you can see from the screenshots, he starts the game with no player traits and has added Likes to Try To Beat Offside Trap & Knocks Ball Past Opponent which clearly take advantage of his Acceleration, Decisions and Off The Ball attributes but will of course mean you’ll be seeing plenty of Offside decisions in your games.

 
 
 
 

Injuries 

Something that surprised me from such an explosive player is that his injury record is actually very good, over the course of this save his longest spell on the sidelines was 4 weeks. I would normally be looking to take advantage of resting my sprinters during the season but he’s just played 50+ games this season with only a couple of knocks.

 
 

Summary

This report was written before the Winter Update dropped so one can only hope that Arnaud as a player has stayed the same as a minimum, you never know he might have even had a small upgrade to mirror his real life emergence.

Having not managed him personally it seems strange to write a report on a player that I’ve had no personal attachment to but the fact that he’s caught my eye in two different saves he has certainly piqued my interest and I’ll certainly be doing my best to pick him up on a future save.

If you’ve had the pleasure of managing him, please let me know, I’d love to know what he’d be like if he realised his full potential.

5 Players You Need to Rescue in FM23

 
 

by MaddFM.

Igor Akinfeev. Matt Le Tissier. Alan Shearer. Players who were repeatedly linked with big money moves throughout their careers but for one reason or another ended up staying at their respective clubs and ultimately concluded their careers having never played at an “elite” club or brought home a major trophy (and that’s coming from a Newcastle fan). 

Is that type of loyalty no longer of value in the modern game? Footballers are often criticised for their perceived lack of loyalty whenever they are approached by or pushing for a move to a bigger club, and perhaps rightly so at times given the treatment and platform provided by their current club at the time; that said, the lifespan of a player’s career is relatively short on the grand scheme of things and opportunities to move to that elite-tier level can often be few and far between. Is it not understandable that some players are keen to capitalise on these opportunities knowing that they may never get a second chance at a similar move? The same can be said for the selling club in question - it’s not every day an elite club comes knocking at the door willing to handover an exorbitant amount of cash for one of your best assets; do you risk keeping that door closed when it’s possible the same offer may never come your way again?

Here are 5 players who despite being repeatedly linked with a big money move somehow still remain at their clubs and as such are very much due the big move they deserve before it’s too late and the opportunity passes them forever. How are these guys still there?

1. Dominik Livaković (Dinamo)

We FM enthusiasts have of course known all about Livaković all along, particularly as he has been one of the best and most solid goalkeeping bargains for several renditions of Football Manager at this point. Fresh from his World Cup exploits (where he equalled the record for most penalties saved at World Cup finals tournaments) he was again linked with with a move to a host of European clubs including Bayern, Chelsea, Man Utd and (ahem) Nottingham Forest, however for one reason or another he finds himself still playing for Dinamo Zagreb in the Croatian league. At 27 he still has plenty of time as a goalkeeper, however as each season passes one could argue opportunities may become fewer and fewer as may his transfer fee and salary demands..if you need a keeper in FM23 you need look no further 🧤.

 
 

2. Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo)

You will do well to find a more consistent attacker in Serie A over the last 4 or 5 seasons than Sassuolo’s Domenico Berardi. Between 2019 and 2022 he racked up 46 goals and 31 assists in 90 odd starts over 3 seasons in Serie A, which led to him becoming a mainstay in the Italian national side making 6 appearances for the Azzurri during their successful Euro 2020 victory - not bad considering his competition for a place included Federico’s Chiesa and Bernardeschi. The problem? He is still at Sassuolo, who having sold the likes of Gianluca Scamacca, Giacomo Raspadori and Jérémie Boga last summer now find themselves languishing in 14th place with the future looking somewhat bleak for Neroverdi fans. In FM23 he is still a master-technician and can do a job in almost any role across the attacking-midfield strata; at 27 he still has his best football in him, give him a way out won’t you? 🙏

 
 

3. José Gaya (Valencia)

Another player we can consider to be FM royalty. It might be me but I reckon Gaya is Football Manager’s most favoured of all left-backs, not once have I had a save over the past 6 or 7 versions where Gaya hasn’t been quickly snapped up by one of the elite European clubs and gone on to become one of the best Left-Backs in-game year-on-year (even in my own save he has persistently been ranked in the Top 50 players in the world following a move to Real Madrid). In the save that is real-life however, Gaya remains at the absolute chaos factory that is Valencia who at the time of writing sit in 19th place and are in an absolute shambles from the top down in South-East Spain - though he commands a substantial transfer fee in-game, he is worth it should you find yourself managing at a club where money isn’t an issue and you are noble enough to release him from the shackles of Valencia 🔓.

 
 

4. Ibrahim Sangaré (PSV)

At one point the PSV midfielder was linked with a move to pretty much every top club in Europe, so impressive was his breakout season in the Netherlands and the two seasons he has put in since then. Highly versatile with the unique ability to play as a 6, 8 or even a 10 at times, Sangaré was rumoured to be on the verge of a move to Liverpool last year while he was also heavily linked to Chelsea and Man Utd in the summer transfer window, however no bids seemed to ever truly materialise resulting in Sangaré extending his contract until 2027 at PSV who themselves are in somewhat of a transition following the departures of Cody Gakpo, Noni Madueke, Donyell Malen and Denzel Dumfries in the last two seasons and though the squad is promising with the likes of Xavi Simons and Fabio Silva shining in a youthful squad, Sangaré is arguably a cut above the rest in Eindhoven and looking at his quality in FM23, is more than deserving of a move to a bigger club or risk finding himself settled in the Dutch league for the best years of his career.

 
 

5. Ricardo Horta (Braga)

We’ve analysed Ricardo Horta previously here at 5 Star Potential, particularly referencing Braga’s excellent track record and pedigree in producing top tier talent as seen through the likes of Pedro Gonçalves, Pedro Neto, Pizzi, Xadas and Francisco Trincão. The one obvious issue here is that it is quite literally a conveyor belt at Braga meaning these players are brought through and sold on for profit - while the club does extremely well in their efforts to keep up with the “Big 3” of Porto, Sporting and Benfica, this is a thankless task with the annual exodus of their star players each year. The one exception to that is Ricardo Horta who has been ever-present for Braga since he arrived from Malaga in 2016 notching up 73 goals and 35 assists in 180 starts for the club (equally impressive considering he largely plays off the left or as a #10). Still only 27 years old, Horta remains Braga’s best player and in his 7th season has very much become settled at the club despite being linked with a move in each of the last three seasons (Newcastle and Benfica the most heavily rumoured suitors). A key contributor for Horta remaining at Braga is reported to be the fact that despite moving permanently to Braga from Malaga, the Spanish club still own 66% of his economic rights and therefore Braga have been holding out for a fee sufficient enough to line their own pockets as well as Malaga’s - whatever the case, Horta is clearly a class above at Braga and definitely deserves to be liberated from North Portugal - LOOK AT THOSE ATTRIBUTES 🔥.

 
 

There we have it. Five players who despite multiple rumours and reports linking them with some of the biggest clubs in Europe over the past few seasons still find themselves operating at clubs somewhat below their true ability and potential levels, and as a result are in need of rescuing in Football Manager 2023 such is the risk that they and their club may already have missed the boat in terms of capitalising on a big money move elsewhere. There are others of course - we could easily include the likes of Rúben Neves or James Ward-Prowse in here such is the loyalty vs ambition crossroads they each may soon find themselves at; regardless, these are players that are primed and ready for a big move and with the new Winter Data Update now officially out, there’s no better time to become the hero that they may not necessarily want, but the hero they need nonetheless.


Thanks for reading.

Interested in becoming a Guest Writer on 5StarPotential.com? Drop us a DM on Twitter or reach out to MaddFM for more info 👌.

Wonderkid Watch - Rasmus Højlund

 
 

by MaddFM.

A tall, blonde, left-footed powerhouse Striker from Scandinavia and his name isn’t Erling Braut Haaland..what is going on?


Rasmus Winther Højlund was born in February 2003 and as has been the case previously with strong technical forwards from Northern Europe, he has enjoyed a rapid rise to stardom since making his FC Copenhagen debut at just 17 in the 2020 Danish Superliga. One of three brothers (the other two being younger twins who are also on the books at Copenhagen), Rasmus became a first team regular the following season and after helping Copenhagen win their first Danish league title in 5 years as well as scoring twice in the Europa Conference League, he soon found himself the subject of a €1.8m move to Sturm Graz in Austria during the January 2022 transfer window, and it was from here that his career accelerated and has quite literally taken off to make him one of the most sought-after Strikers in European football.

 

The Højlund brothers

 

After scoring two goals on his debut for Sturm Graz, 18-year-old Højlund went on to score 6 goals in 13 games that season and despite having only just joined the club in January he was already heavily linked with another move in the Summer of 2022. He started the 2022/2023 season in Austria scoring 6 goals in 8 games and this was more than enough to convince Italian giants Atalanta to part with a reported €17m for his signature in August 2022 just 8 months after he arrived in Austria. As remarkable rises go, this is surely among the wildest and most impressive one might see at this level.

 
 

Although he scored 12 goals in just 21 games for Sturm Graz, one would expect that a player still only 19-years-old might need some time to adapt to the huge jump in level that is Serie A football, and on paper it appeared to be the case for Højlund as he managed just 1 goal and 1 assist in his first 11 appearances for La Dea. However, considering he only started 4 of these it’s clear that Gian Piero Gasperini had a plan for Rasmus Højlund, and while all eyes were on the World Cup in Qatar, Højlund was able to spend time on the training ground learning from the likes of Duvan Zapata and Luis Muriel (both of whom missed out as Colombia failed to qualify) and since Serie A football returned to our screens, Højlund has started like a house on fire scoring 5 goals in 8 games and helping to propel Atalanta right back up the table to 6th at the time of writing. It’s little surprise that he is already linked with yet another move to an even bigger club, with the likes of Man Utd, Inter, Arsenal and Real Madrid all rumoured to be keeping tabs on his impressive progress in Bergamo.

 
 

At 6’3” and arguably still growing, Højlund initially appears to be ideally suited as a Target Man however he has also proven his athleticism, dribbling ability and speed with the ball (akin to Haaland) as illustrated by his running/dribbling stats - at times showing even more mobility and directness than Haaland this season with higher Progressive Carries (301 vs 271), Distance Carried (1663 vs 1270) and Carries into the Final Third (17 vs 6) which show what an asset he has become as part of that famous counter-attacking style which Atalanta are renowned for deploying. Equally he also is highly effective when it comes to his effectiveness in and around the box, scoring in the 99th percentile for Progressive Passes Received and in the 90th percentile for Touches in the Opposition Penalty Area in Serie A (stats via Fbref).

 
 
 

Career stats to date (Source: BeSoccer.com)

 

In Football Manager 2023, Højlund starts off as a 19-year-old versatile forward with excellent physical and mental attributes along with highly promising technical and finishing ability. 15 Pace combined with 15 Determination and 15 Finishing make for a hell of a striking prospect in this game not to mention his Height and Heading / Jumping Reach etc. He can be deployed in almost any Striker role and will surely thrive under your tutelage if given the right training and developmental support in-game.

 

While he is not easily attainable at the start of FM23 considering he has just arrived at Atalanta and is locked into a contract until 2027 in Bergamo, there is little doubt he is good enough for almost any elite tier team and his price tag of €17m-€20m makes him very much affordable for any bigger club in Europe and almost all Premier League sides. Despite starting slightly slower in my own save wherein he is still at Atalanta after five seasons, at 24 he is showing signs of quickly becoming an elite Striker in-game scoring 21 goals in 31 appearances last season and already bagging 9 goals in the opening 16 games of the 2027/2028 season.

 
 

6 years in..

 
 
 

With the FM23 Winter Data Update due any day now, it’s extremely likely Højlund will receive some form of upgrade or attributes boost if his recent form is anything to go by. Mark my words - there’s another Scandinavian goal-machine in town 🔥.

 
 

Thanks for reading.

Let us know if you have any Wonderkids you would like us to cover or if you are interested in profiling any specific players for our Wonderkid Watch series, you can drop us a DM on Twitter or reach out to MaddFM for more info 👌.

 

Wonderkid Watch - Yerson Chacón

 
 

by @FM_Stag

While Venezuela has had its footballing icons over the years (think Juan Arango, Tomás Rincón or Salomón Rondón, the latter’s Everton experience notwithstanding), baseball is the primary sport of choice for most young athletes in the country, often diverting promising talent away from football. Yet it still feels like a surprising fact that Venezuela are the only CONMEBOL nation never to have qualified for a FIFA World Cup finals since the competition’s inception in 1930. 

That said, we all know South America is a permanent hotbed for exciting young talent, and Venezuela has its fair share indeed.

Wuilker Faríñez is a talented goalkeeper still in his mid 20’s who burst onto the radar of many top European clubs in real life before his 2020 move to RC Lens in France, where he has settled into looking like a more than capable stopper. Yeferson Soteldo is another mercurial talent who seemed destined for the very top, but returned to Santos in Brazil for a second spell in 2022 after moves to Toronto and Tigres failed to bear much fruit. 

Deportivo Táchira’s Yerson Chacón bears more than a passing footballing resemblance to Soteldo. At only five foot five inches tall, Chacón is a diminutive yet energetic creative attacker who loves to drive at defenders and take them on.

 
 

Making his club debut at just 16 and bagging two goals in only nine appearances, it’s fair to say that hype around Chacón has been growing for a while particularly after he bagged 6 goals and 6 assists in his first full season at the club as a 17-year-old.

 

Source: Transfermarkt.com

 

Now only 19, already capped for his country and rumoured to be attracting attention from various English Premier League clubs, the predominantly right-sided tricky winger seems destined for a bright future.

 
 

As happy as he is dribbling around and through players out on the touchline, Yerson Chacón is equally adept at cutting inside towards the traditional number 10 position, where his confidence on the ball and determined approach allows him to battle impressively against much bigger and more experienced defenders.

In Football Manager 2023, Chacón starts with the natural versatility to already be comfortable playing on either flank, either across the halfway line or more advanced in the AMR/AML slots. We see many South American talents with great dribbling and technique for a teenager, but Chacón’s raw skills are complemented by excellent starting Agility and Balance attributes of 15. 

Combined with his dimensions and decent speed, it’s fair to say Yerson Ronaldo Chacón (his actual middle name) has all the right elements to be a traditional flair player in a side who have the luxury to carry a usually enigmatic talent of this nature. Where this young Venezuelan stands out however, is how his Work Rate (13), Aggression (13) and Teamwork (15) speak to his full-blooded and committed approach to the game as the rest of his profile does to his natural flair and technical gifts. 

 
 

In my current Sampdoria save, I picked Yerson Chacón up in July 2024 for just £425k. I wish I had discovered him earlier, as I dare say he could’ve been an even bigger bargain for my side. He has the ability even at the very beginning of the game to immediately contribute effectively to a top tier side in Europe. I’m in 2027 now and the young Venezuelan has played 120 times for Sampdoria. Never once have I encountered any attitude challenges with his application or training performances, and he is a key part of my side.

Earlier in the cycle I wrote an article titled ‘What Does Good Look Like in FM23?’ which explored which metrics are actually impressive for players in each position. Numbers only really add value when they have context.

With that in mind, Yerson Chacón averaged 2.98 successful dribbles per 90 (on the very edge of High), 15.76 sprints per 90 (very High) and 0.21 expected assists per 90 (extremely High). If you haven’t checked out the article, the Low, Medium and High are benchmarks based on the performances of the elite players of European football, comparing statistical outputs to players in the top five European leagues – England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

 
 

His key attributes have developed nicely and at only 24, he still has scope for further improvement.

Yerson Chacón may not be the first South American prospect you think of in 2023, nestled away in Venezuela, but I believe at the very least he’ll match countryman Yeferson Soteldo’s status in global football and may even have the ceiling to go further. In FM23, you can make that happen.

What are you waiting for? Go and sign him up!

Thanks for reading.

FM Stag.

Check out FM Stag’s excellent Football Manager content over at FMStag.com where you can find all of his Football Manager save adventures (including his excellent FM23 save at Sampdoria), as well as a host of useful tips, guides and tools from one of the best in the business 👌.

Interested in becoming a Guest Writer on 5StarPotential.com? Drop us a DM on Twitter or reach out to MaddFM for more info.

8 Players Who Deserve Upgrades in the FM23 Winter Update

 
 

by MaddFM

It’s almost that time of year again. The Transfer Deadline has officially “slammed shut” in the Premier League which usually signifies that the annual Football Manager Winter Data Update will soon be upon us once all transfer windows have closed globally, upon which the Sports Interactive team and researchers will be scrambling to make the various personnel changes, transfer moves, contract updates and most importantly attribute changes wherein we usually see players who have in real life been exceeding their in-game ability receive a generous upgrade and bump in attributes to reflect their IRL performances and improvements.

 
 

This is also an ideal time to start a new save (you might find some inspiration here 😉), and while we await the eagerly anticipated Winter Update (usually arrives around mid-late February), here are 10 Players who deserve an upgrade and/or an attributes boost based on their real-life performances and excellent form this season.

1. Karou Mitoma (Brighton & Hove Albion)

We could probably include the entire Brighton squad in this list however it has to be said that Japan international Karou Mitoma has been the shining light of Roberto De Zerbi’s talented side who have been consistently outperforming in the league this season. Costing a mere €2.5m after completing a transfer from Union Berlin, Mitoma showed glimpses of quality for Japan at the World Cup and since returning he has arguably been the best player in the Premier League for Brighton, racking up 7 goals, 2 assists and 3 man-of-the-match awards this season so far not to mention already being linked with a €35m move to Arsenal (how do Brighton do it). 

That said - in FM23 he is very much bang average when it comes to his ability and attributes - quick enough with a bit of technique and dribbling but definitely underestimated when it comes to his goal-scoring, ball-striking and finishing ability. Watch this space when the Winter Update drops 👀.

 
 

2. Ademola Lookman (Atalanta)

If I was to tell you that the player with the second highest goal contributions in Serie A is a former Everton player who was born in London, you probably wouldn’t believe me right? Enter Ademola Lookman, who after a big move to Red Bull Leipzig in 2018 found himself struggling after multiple loan moves to Everton, Fulham and Leicester and last summer eventually made a permanent move to Italian giants Atalanta in Serie A. Since then he has gone from strength to strength under Gian Piero Gasperini both as a winger or a second striker, bagging 14 goals & 4 assists and comfortably outscoring his Expected Goals & Assists (7.5 & 3.5 respectively).

At the start of FM23 Lookman has decent pace and technicals however would not really be viewed as much of a goal threat looking at his preferred roles and also his Off the Ball, First Touch and Composure, and if he continues in this vein then it’s almost a certainty that he will receive an attributes boost once the Winter Update arrives.

 
 

3. Folarin Balogun (Reims)

Picture the scene. You are told by Arsenal that they want you to go out on loan to Reims in Ligue 1 for the season, where your main competition to be top scorer will be the likes of Mbappe, Neymar, Messi, Lacazette and Ben Yedder. Sounds easy right? Well it’s so far so good for Folarin Balogun who at the time of writing sits at the top of the league scorer charts with 14 goals in 21 games for a Reims side whose exploits under Football Manager enthusiast Will Still are attracting headlines for all the right reasons in France. After a disappointing loan spell at Middlesbrough last season things weren’t looking great for Balogun who is among the all time goalscorers for the England U21s, however he looks rejuvenated at Reims and it remains an interesting prospect as to whether we will see him turn out for Arsenal next season should his form continue. 

In FM23 his attributes aren’t bad but at 24 are unlikely to hugely improve - the data update should see justice served to reflect his goalscoring instinct and natural finishing ability, most likely looking at his Composure, First Touch, Off the Ball and Finishing. One to watch once that loan has ended for sure.

 
 

4. Miguel Almiron (Newcastle United)

We can’t do a “most improved” list and not include Wor Miggy. At the time of writing he has scored 10 goals in 20 odd appearances this season which is one more than his overall goal tally for the previous 3 seasons combined since he joined Newcastle from Atlanta Utd in the MLS. While huge credit goes to Eddie Howe for helping to rejuvenate his career in the North-East, Miggy himself looks to be far more confident and assured in front of goal and it’s no wonder that he has amassed the second highest amount of FPL points this year so far with only the anomaly that is Erling Braut Haaland ahead of him.

Looking at his FM23 profile, it will be a travesty if we don’t see an attributes boost across the board for the lad, most certainly his Finishing, Shooting, Composure and Technique all of which are relatively poor in-game - as a Newcastle fan I for one am very much looking forward to Miggy 2.0 when the data update is released in the coming weeks.

 
 

5. Randal Kolo Muani (Eintracht Frankfurt)

More goals than Sadio Mané and more assists than Jamal Musiala..you’d take that at the start of the season wouldn’t you? Randal Kolo Muani has experienced something of a rapid rise to stardom in the last 12 months - little hype was made when he moved to Eintracht Frankfurt from Nantes last summer on a free transfer, however since then he has been a breakout star in the Bundesliga amassing 9 goals and 10 assists while also scoring two goals to help Frankfurt qualify from one of the hardest Champions League groups ahead of Sporting and Marseille. It’s little wonder he was included in Didier Deschamps final World Cup Squad during which he became the third fastest substitute to score at a World Cup Finals and won a penalty to help bring the World Cup Final to a shootout against Argentina (in which he himself scored despite France’s defeat to Argentina).

From an FM23 perspective he is already a very good Striker however is definitely lacking in the Vision, Composure, Decisions and Off the Ball department and as such is more than serving of an upgrade based on his 19 goal contributions so far in Germany - considering he was a free transfer, this is the stuff Football Manager dreams are made of 🔥.

 
 

6. Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)

What a difference a day/year/manager makes..2022 and 2023 Rashford are not the same player, it’s as simple as that. Having returned to full fitness and now clearly the main man under new manager Erik Ten Haag, Marcus Rashford is a man on a mission and at the present time is arguably the most in-form player in the Premier League with 20 goals in 26 starts for Man Utd and 13 in his last 15 in all competitions. He has been unstoppable cutting in on the left-hand side, scoring goals in and outside the box and causing nightmares for opposition defenders in every game he has played particularly since returning from World Cup duty.

It’s not like he is a bad player in FM23 however last seasons slump in form has seen some of his technical and mental attributes take a dip - the data update should likely see Finishing, Composure, Long Shots and Vision all increase and at 24 he can only continue getting better if Ten Haag continues to keep this United side clicking.

 
 

7. Evan Ferguson (Brighton & Hove Albion)

There had to be an Irishman. After scoring 5 goals in 6 games for the Brighton U21s, Ferguson has been brought into the Senior squad by Roberto De Zerbi and hasn’t looked back since, scoring 3 goals in 6 appearances and bagging two assists by the time of writing. Not bad for an 18-year-old who only had 22 minutes of Premier League experience prior to that. Talks of an Ireland call up are already rife (let’s not mention the silly England links) and looking at how quickly he has taken to life in the Premier League as well as his ability, physique and confidence - the future is bright for Ferguson in a Brighton side who are thriving in their current environment.

Though not a bad finisher in FM23 he is nowhere near Premier League standard nor is his potential in-game where he rarely goes on to achieve anything beyond XX football in most saves - it’s possible he will receive one of the higher attribute boosts of all players in this update especially if he can continue to impress in real life in the coming weeks.

 
 

8. Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (Dortmund)

We must not get ahead of ourselves, we must not get ahead of ourselves. Jamie Bynoe-Gittens was born in London in 2004 and after spells at Chelsea and then the Manchester City academy, he decided to follow in the footsteps of one Jadon Sancho by making the switch from the Etihad to the famous Westfalenstadion in Dortmund. Since moving to Germany he has evolved from a pacy winger to a powerful inside forward, adding goals to his game which has led to a rapid ascent to the Dortmund first team wherein he has already amassed 3 goals this season in just 280 minutes of senior football.

In FM23 it’s clear that he is seen as a quick winger with his attributes heavily leaned towards his speed, dribbling and technique however now that he is already proving himself in front of goal at the highest level, it’s quite possible we will see a jump in his goal-scoring attributes in particular his Finishing (11), Composure (9) and Off the Ball (9) which are all poor even for a 17-year-old in-game. If Gareth Southgate isn’t watching, he f*cking well should be.

 
 

There we are - 8 players who have been in scintillating form this season and therefore deserve and are likely to get some form of upgrade and attribute boost once the FM23 Winter Data Update lands in a few weeks time. Hopefully they will get the justice they deserve and no doubt there will be others - let us know who else you think deserves an upgrade either in the comments below or as usual @5StarPod on Twitter 👌.

 
 

Roll on the update ⏳.

Interested in becoming a Guest Writer on 5StarPotential.com? Drop us a DM on Twitter or reach out to MaddFM for more info 👌.

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