by MaddFM.
Welcome back for Part II of our FM24 Youth Academy Challenges segment which focuses on clubs to manage in Football Manager who have a clear track record of producing elite level talent (outside of the standard European powerhouses) and as such make for a great save adventure as we gear up for the latest installment of the FM series from Sports Interactive.
Last time out in Part I we spotlighted 6 clubs across Europe (Le Havre, Stuttgart, Brescia, AZ Alkmaar, Braga and Southampton), and if you are here it means you either enjoyed that piece or are still contemplating your first big save when the new game drops on November 6th. Perhaps that will end here, let’s go 👌.
1 . FC Metz (France)
We return to France to look at another club with an interesting academy model and who despite having a clear track record of elite player development, haven’t yet managed to find a balance between on-field first-team success and off-field youth production. Founded in 1932, FC Metz have traditionally always competed in the French top-tier however have never managed to be crowned Champions of France, with their highest ever league finish coming in 1998 when they finished in 2nd place in Ligue 1 behind FC Lens. Over the past 20 years the club has largely yo-yo’d between Ligue 1 and Ligue 2, even suffering the ignominy of being relegated to the 3rd tier in 2013 and after another spell in Ligue 2 last season, they returned to the top tier as champions and commence life in FM24 back in Ligue 1 where they belong.
Despite this inconsistency and below-par performance in the French league, Metz have continued to be at the forefront of elite youth development in France largely largely through three main avenues: (1) Domestic talent recruitment & development wherein the likes of Robert Pires and Louis Saha came through the Metz youth academy before going on to win trophies at the highest levels of European football; (2) Metz’ extensive & established scouting network which has enabled them to be among the first to identify and sign high potential talents such as Emmanuel Adebayor, Miralem Pjanic, Papiss Cissé and (3) their affiliation to the Génération Foot academy in Senegal which has seen the likes of Sadio Mané, Ismaila Sarr and Pape Matar Sarr all make the transition into European club football via the Metz youth system.
In FM24 Metz are a newly promoted side in Ligue 1 which is always a challenge especially in Football Manager, and have also lost their star player with Georges Mikautadze joining Ajax in the summer; that said, with Excellent Youth Facilities and decent training facilities & academy coaching, there is an opportunity to reignite their academy to be the foundation on which their future stability and success can be built in France.
2. Feyenoord (Netherlands)
One of the more established on this list in terms of pedigree and quality of youth production over the past few decades, Feyenoord are hugely recognised for their player development and have consistently supplied many of the biggest teams in Europe with superstars and elite talents which were nurtured in their Varkenoord facility in Rotterdam. Having just won their 16th Dutch Eredivisie title last season (the first since 2018), Feyenoord are a very interesting proposition in FM24 given that their rivals PSV and Ajax are both going through a period of transition at present, with the latter very much struggling after what is officially their worst start to a league season in the club’s history.
Stefan de Vrij, Robin Van Persie, Georginio Wijnaldum, Jurrien Timber, Orkun Kökçü, Noa Lang, Marten De Roon, Tyrell Malacia, Gustavo Hamer - a consistent flow of top tier talent flowing from the Feyenoord academy each season all of whom have gone on to play elite tier football at domestic, continental and international level - Feyenoord’s track record is unquestionable when it comes to the production and development of players not to mention selling them on for considerable profit which goes a long way towards explaining why the club has only once ever won the European Cup (Champions League) back in 1970 in a famous win over Jock Stein’s Celtic.
Back to present day and Feyenoord present a healthy challenge in FM24 - having only lost the aforementioned Orkun Kökçü from their title-winning first XI last season, a domestic league title challenge is a fair expectation however the real challenge is to see if you can blend a successful youth academy project with advancement in the Champions League beyond their more recent track record where they haven’t progress past the Group Stages since 1999; rated as Excellent for their training & youth facilities as well as their junior coaching and youth recruitment will certainly do no harm in helping accelerate this and bridge the gap accordingly 🔥.
3. Sheffield United (England)
We mentioned yo-yo clubs previously and here is another one. Sheffield United were one of the original members of the first ever 92/93 Premier League season, but since then they have bounced between leagues repeatedly to the point where they even spent 6 seasons in League One before their gradual ascent and return back to the Premier League this season. Putting this to one side however and if we peel back the layers on Sheffield United’s internal structure and youth system, we have a club who have consistently churned out some of England’s top talent, players who have gone on to play for some of the biggest clubs in Europe as well as taking up key roles in the national team throughout.
The list is quite impressive - some of these names include Kyle Walker, Harry Maguire, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Aaron Ramsdale and Phil Jagielka - all players who started their careers at Sheffield United and have since gone on to make big money moves and play elite level football; unfortunately Sheffield United haven’t been able to capitalise on this and therein lies the challenge of balancing the loss of your best assets with maintaining consistent first-team performances.
In FM this is another newly promoted side who do have some strong and promising players in their squad (Cameron Archer, Gustavo Hame and Anel Ahmedhodžić to name a few) - with good all round facilities (and room for improvement), there is the makings of a long-term project here if you can manage to keep them in the Premier League long enough.
4. Las Palmas (Spain)
Somewhere a bit sunnier perhaps? Las Palmas, the capital city of Spain’s Canary Islands and home of one of La Liga’s up and coming football clubs who have returned to the Spanish top tier after a 5 year hiatus since being relegated in 2018. Formed in 1959, UD Las Palmas have never won a major Spanish trophy and shy of their 2nd place finish in 1969, the club hasn’t enjoyed a Top 4 finish in La Liga for almost 50 years.
Despite this and while the club has endured on-field struggles over the past 10-15 seasons, the standard and quality of their youth sides have rapidly increased to the point where a number of their homegrown products have gone on to play for some of the biggest clubs in Europe; striker Sandro Ramirez (who you may remember from a disappointing spell at Everton) is a local lad who came through the Las Palmas ranks before moving on to Barcelona; we saw a similar situation with Vitolo, who left island life for Sevilla and Atletico Madrid before going on to earn 12 international caps for Spain; more recently, the likes of Yeremy Pino (Villareal) and Pedri (Barcelona) have also emerged from the Las Palmas academy to become two of Spain’s most exciting youth prospects, both of whom are already fully-fledged internationals and look set to be vital components of Spain’s future international success.
Safe to say there is a clear track record of pedigree and quality when we look at the Las Palmas youth system and this is reflected in FM as we see a club with Great Training & Youth Facilities and a solid foundation of coaching and recruitment to build on. In FM24 we already see the next elite talent emerging with Alberto Moleiro still at the club despite being linked with moves to Liverpool, Barcelona and Aston Villa this summer; combine this with exciting players like Mika Mármol, Maximo Perrone as well as the experienced Munir and Jonathan Viera (another local boy) and there is a tasty save to be had in Gran Canaria this year.
5. Anderlecht (Belgium)
We had said we would bypass some of the more elite youth academies but it’s impossible to overlook the achievements and successful output of Anderlecht’s youth academy, who not only consistently produce some of the best talents in Belgium but are responsible for successfully developing some of the best players in Europe over the past 20 years. As the most successful Belgian side ever in terms of league titles and European participation, you may be surprised to hear that they haven’t won the Belgian Pro League since 2017 with their only major European trophy coming back in 1983 when they won the then UEFA Cup Final against Benfica; that said, this is a club steeped in European footballing history with one of the most successful youth academies in world football.
Romelu Lukaku; Vincent Kompany; Anthony Vanden Borre; Youri Tielemans; Alexis Saelemaekers; Jérémy Doku; Leander Dendoncker; - all players who can call Anderlecht home and who have gone on to far bigger and better things at domestic and international level, so much so that scouts from many of the top European clubs are practically season ticket holders at Anderlecht youth and senior fixtures and one could argue this was illustrated perfectly by the fact that Borussia Dortmund moved to sign Anderlecht’s most recent wonderkid Julian Duranville for a fee of €8.5m at the age of just 16 years old having only played ~300 minutes of first-team football - heartbreak for FM enthusiasts but a clear testament of the regard held for Anderlecht’s youth academy.
Similar to Feyenoord above - a save with Anderlecht may not necessarily be about domestic success but more so aimed at building and expanding this successful youth production, combined with attempting to better their European competition record knowing that the club haven’t progressed past the Champions League Group Stages since the 2000/2001 season. The facilities and infrastructure are all in place to create a dynasty in Belgium this season 👑.
6. Charlton Athletic (England)
Last but not least we return to England for perhaps a slightly unexpected suggestion for a Youth Academy challenge; Charlton Athletic, who some of you may only know as being long-term League 1 residents while others may remember the glory days when Alan Curbishly led the club back to the Premier League where they stayed for 7 consecutive seasons peaking in a 7th place finish in 2004, only narrowly missed out on European football for the first time in the club’s history before their eventual relegation in 2007.
In terms of academy graduates we are looking at some big names who went on to play for some of the biggest clubs in Europe and beyond - England internationals such as Scott Parker, Jermaine Defoe and Jonjo Shelvey all came through the Charlton ranks before moving on to pastures new and as we know went on to play for the likes of Chelsea, Tottenham, Liverpool and Newcastle. More recently, players such as Ademola Lookman, Jordan Ibe and Ezri Konsa have also emerged from Charlton’s youth system which shows that the club continues to recruit and develop top talent despite having to compete alongside London’s top clubs with 7 Premier League teams all playing in the Premier League currently.
What’s interesting is that FM does not really reflect this slight overachievement in terms of youth recruitment and development, with room to improve in their facilities, coaching and recruitment departments - that said, Charlton present arguably one of the harder challenges of this list but when it comes to FM, that’s what you are here for right?
That’s your lot. 12 teams outside of the standard European giants who have a clear track record of high-quality youth production, upon which you can build the foundations of your FM24 save as you look to drive both on-field and off-field success by leading the first-team to domestic and/or continental glory while simultaneously putting the club’s youth academy at the heart of all decisions made and at the epicentre of your save adventure. Let us know if any of these interest you in the comments below and if you have any other suggestions as we kick-off a brand new edition of Football Manager when FM24 hits our screens on Monday the 6th of November.
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