by MaddFM.
Where did that year go eh? It’s hard to believe we’ve had FM23 in our possession for nearly 10 months now, which means that a new and improved version of the beautiful game is just around the corner and with it will come the annual flow of excitement, anticipation, anxiety and impatience as we eagerly await to see the new changes and features that will accompany it’s arrival.
Though the quality and evolution of these new upgrades and features are unknown at this time - one this is for certain; a new game means new wonderkids, and as each calendar year passes another generation of football players become eligible to feature in Football Manager. Last year we profiled the likes of Endrick, Warren Zaïre-Emery, Julian Duranville, Archie Gray and Paul Wanner (all 2006 generation) and it’s fair to say that all have already gone on to make an impact both in real-life as well as in FM23.
This year it’s the 2007-born cohort who are now of age and are ready to be included in Football Manager, and we’ve picked out 5 players who will be making their FM debuts in FM24 and who you should be excited about and looking out for once the new game hits our screens in the coming weeks and months.
1. Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
It’s estimated that over 4,000 players have graced the Premier League since its inception in 1992, but how many can say they are the youngest player to have ever featured in a competitive PL fixture? Only one of course, and that player is Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri, who at the time of writing holds the record of being the youngest Premier League debutant at the age of 15 years, 5 months and 28 days old when Mikel Arteta decided to bring him on to replace Fábio Vieira in a 3-0 win over Brentford in September 2022.
A fast, creative and dynamic midfielder who loves having the ball at his feet and has shown excellent vision, technique, dribbling and ball control for a player of his age - Nwaneri will likely emerge in FM24 as a versatile Attacking Midfielder who can play in the centre or on the right of the AM strata. It will be interesting to see how his physical attributes are reflected in game as well as how quickly he develops and fulfils his undoubted high potential ability that will likely be assigned by the Sports Interactive researchers. Expect big things from the lad once you travel a few seasons into your first FM24 save adventure.
Interestingly at the time of writing, Nwaneri is aged 16 years and 5 months old meaning he has just 3 months to also grab the record of youngest Premier League goalscorer (currently held by James Vaughan for Everton when he was just 16 years and 8 months of age) - whether Arteta will take a chance remains to be seen, but youngest player AND goalscorer certainly has a nice ring to it 🤙.
2. Lamine Yamal (Barcelona)
What is there to be said about Lamine Yamal that hasn’t been said already? By the age of 16, not only is he Barcelona’s youngest ever player - at the time of writing he has just earned his first two caps for Spain, scoring on his debut after coming on as a substitute in a European qualifier against Georgia (in which he also took the record of youngest goalscorer in a Euros qualifying match away from one Gareth Bale), as well as starting his first ever game for Spain in a 6-0 victory over Cyprus.
A rapid quick and highly confident technician who has shown maturity beyond his years on and off the ball for club and country, it’s easy to see why early comparisons to a young Neymar have been made however even the latter hadn’t made his professional debut for Santos by the age Yamal was when scoring his first goal for the national side; the young Spaniard is going from strength to strength under Xavi at the Camp Nou, and it’s likely that we are looking at the best wonderkid that FM24 will have to offer depending on just how good he is once we load up the new game for the first time. Likely to be set as an Inverted Right Winger who likes to drift inside on his left (who also has the ability to play centrally or up top if needed) - there are serious FM22 Yousouffa Moukoko vibes around this kid and rightly so..expect the timeline to be rocking once his first FM24 attributes arrive on our screens 🗣️.
3. Chris Rigg (Sunderland)
As a Newcastle fan who spent a long time in FM22 trying to produce world-class newgens in the North-East of England, it slightly pains me to see that the most promising player to emerge from this part of the country in years hails from the red and white side of the region; it’s little wonder that Newcastle have been working tirelessly to lure him across the Tyne-Weir divide but to no avail as Sunderland continue to reject their advances.
After making his debut for Sunderland at age 15 having come on as a substitute in an FA Cup 3rd round tie against Shrewsbury, Chris Rigg’s stock has been rising rapidly and at the time of writing he has catapulted himself into the limelight scoring two goals in two games and still only 16 years of age. It’s easy to see why the lad is already drawing obvious comparisons to fellow Mackem Jordan Henderson - not only based on his ability and playing style in midfield where he is both confident and calm on the ball with an explosiveness from deep when needed, but also on the fact that he has captained the England U16 side before being called up to the U17s while still only 15. It’s exceedingly likely Rigg will play Premier League football before long whether at Sunderland or a level above; November will see his first appearance in a Football Manager game and it’s unlikely we will see him stay at the Stadium of Light in many of our FM24 save careers.
4. Kendry Paez (Independiente del Valle)
This is a tricky one. While Kendry Páez is absolutely one of the most exciting prospects to make their Football Manager debut having already had a breakout season at Independiente del Valle in Ecuador, the problem for us from an FM perspective is that he has already agreed a big money move to Chelsea in real life with a deal agreed for him to move to London after his 18th birthday in May 2025 (as per Brexit rules), meaning he will literally be unattainable for the first two seasons of Football Manager 2024.
That said - the idea of seeing Páez in Football Manager for the first time is a mouth-watering prospect as we see a player come through who is the youngest debutant and goalscorer in the Ecuadorian Serie A as well as having just become Ecuador's youngest ever international when he bagged an assist in his side’s’ 2-1 victory over Uruguay. Likely to be some form of Roaming or Advanced Playmaker who is both creative and direct, Páez loves to surge forward with or without the ball and we are looking at a midfielder who could be trained and deployed in almost any midfield role, and who will likely have technical attributes beyond anything we’ve ever seen for a 16-year-old midfielder in-game. Looking at the Chelsea project overall (which from the outside looks like owner Todd Boehly also thinks he is playing Football Manager) - their relentless collation of wonderkids from around the world will be a formidable force in FM, and expect Páez to be at the heart of it a few years into the FM24 universe 👀.
5. Luka Vušković (Hajduk Split)
If like me you were distraught at the realisation that Joško Gvardiol will no longer be available in Football Manager following his £77m move to Manchester City, fear not - there’s a new Croatian Wonderkid Defender in town who looks set to be every bit as good and highly rated as his talented compatriot.
Described as “one of the most talented defenders of his generation in Europe “ by our friend @FTalentScout on Twitter, Luka Vušković is already a tall, powerful and dominant centre-half who can play on either side and possesses excellent positioning and anticipation beyond his 16 years; add to that his ball control, passing ability and long-range delivery and you are looking at one of the top Ball-Playing Defenders in FM and in real life for years to come. Unsurprisingly, despite his age he was one of the most coveted young talents in all of Europe during the 2023 Summer Transfer Window with PSG, Man City and Liverpool all rumoured to be starting a bidding war for his signature, however at the time of writing reports are emerging of a potential deal agreed with Tottenham which would see him join the club in 2025 once he turns 18 (Brexit really does mean Brexit) - if we are lucky the deal won’t be completed before FM24 hits our screens, however with more and more young players being snapped up early by the bigger clubs throughout Europe, it’s possible that he too may also be out of reach before we even get started in this year’s game. NO ONE IS SAFE ⚠️.
There we have it - 5 wonderkids who will be this year’s “new class” in FM24 and who will feature in Football Manager for the first time in their careers. While it’s early days and we know that like all good things, these players will take time to come to fruition in-game before being ready for first-team action, this is just a sample of the increased quality and potential of wonderkids year-on-year and if we are lucky, there will be many more just like them once the new game hits our screens in the very near future. Progress Never Stops - Football Manager 2024 is out on Monday 6th November and is available to pre-order now.
Look out for Episode 318 of the 5 Star Potential podcast in which we will give our first thoughts and reactions to the latest FM24 announcements and feature reveals - available on all popular podcast apps and platforms.
