There are a lot of wonderkids in Football Manager 20. They are the future of the game and the future of present-day football as we can see with the breakout of Mason Greenwood, Mason Mount etc.…… so we are going look at my top five young players I have used.
Gianlugi Donnarumma (Gk, AC Milan)
The first player we have is Donnarumma, regarded as the next Italian big thing since Buffon, 21-year-old Donnarumma is no doubt the best young keeper in the game. Players of FM can agree that since FM 16, Donnarumma has been a wonderkid and a constant first choice when it comes to young goalkeepers. I had used Donnarumma in several FM saves and he was outstanding with tremendous saves and stats. Here are some stats from my saves.
I didn’t use Donnarumma so much in this season but got him Man Utd for his outstanding season at the club ending the season with a 7.07 av.rating allowing only 18 goals and keeping a 16 clean sheets in 30 appearances
@ my Tottenham save
Spending so far 4 seasons at my club making 84 appearances for my squad and conceding 54 goals and keeping 41 clean sheets.
Donnarumma is a wonderful keeper and should always be a contention when picking Goalkeepers as he is still quite young and can be at your club for years to come.
Ruben Dias (DC, Sl Benfica)
The second player we have is Ruben Dias, Ruben Dias is a strong commanding centre-back with 6’2ft height, stamina value of 16 and strength value of 17. He’s also a great passer from the box averaging a pass percentage of 89% at the club I used him in 49 appearances and an average rating of 7.26 that season.
He is a leader and a strong option for a captain at any club you bring him in as he has a leadership value of 16 and a teamwork value of 16 and has ‘gets the crowd going’ as a trait which will be a morale boost to your team whenever playing. He is 22 years old so definitely has many more years in whichever team you bring him in. I always buy Ruben Dias as he has a release clause of 50 million pounds which makes him an easy steal. Here are some of his stats:
Martin Odegaard (MC, Real San Sebastian)
At our number three we have Martin Odegaard, or as I call him my young Iniesta as he is a crazy passer and a brilliant player at ball progression. Despite being so young, Martin Odegaard enters into any game and basically controls the game especially if played in the deep lying playmaker (support) role as his passing ability of 16 and technique of 16 helps him player killer through balls or long passes. A good dribbler and a great free kick taker kind of really reminds you of young Iniesta. Well here are some his stats as to why you should consider him in your squad:
Pedri (AMC, Barcelona)
Pedri is a very young at the start of the game as he is 16, so I will advise you try to steal him as you are in for fM20’s cheat character. He has a lot of years to his name. I got Pedri after he broke into Barca’s first team in 2021/2022 for 28.5 million. Technically would have gotten him for way less, but every penny spent on him was worth it as he turned up in special fashion with 16 goals and 50 assists in 62 appearances, and this was just in two seasons. Shocked, right? So was I, and that makes him a must buy for me in all my saves. Barcelona may have the next best thing in their academy since Lionel Messi and I hope to see him breaking into the first team soon.
Reinier (Amc, Real Madrid)
The world was in huge shock when Los Blancos made the announcement of the signing of then 16-year-old Reinier for a whooping 26 million pounds with the world questioning his ability and wondering who he was. But from my FM20 research, I have been able to realise that the deal for Reinier was a steal because I haven’t seen a player with a knack for goals and assists as him. He is very good going forward, a good finisher from long range, an accurate passer from long range as well as a very versatile player who can be trained into a striker. An idea I got from seeing a move he got to Atletico and managed 53 league goals and 20 assists in 85 league appearances before I signed him.
So far, he has 48 league goals and 35 assists in 102 league appearances and he currently has a passing percentage of 84% in just 13 games in the present season I am using him, mind you he is still 25 years of age. Dortmund apparently have an awesome player who they got on loan.
Sebastiano Esposito (ST, Inter Milan)
At number six, we have Esposito, this guy is probably the most confident young striker I know after Mason Greenwood. At the age of 17, he can be trusted to be a starting striker for any side from the likes of Real Madrid to the likes of Wolves as he doesn’t get overwhelmed by the pressure of being the sole leading striker.
I have used Esposito in almost every save I have played in the complete forward role when he plays with partners and in the advanced forward role when he plays alone and he is natural finisher and a born goal scorer. He could be trained in some traits like trying to beat the offside trap and placing his shots to help him become a better finisher. So if you are looking for a young striker who can lead your line and is cheaper than a Greenwood (who Manchester United usually never sell), then you have yourself an Esposito.
Rafael Leao (ST, AC milan)
At number seven, we have a surprising name which most people may find skeptical but I have reasons as to why Rafael makes this list. Although I would advise any one who wants to get him to wait one year for him to grow and mature in the game, but once that is done you have on you a calm, deadly striker. With his pace and finishing ability. With his great speed and teamwork ability especially when played in a two-man attack system, Rafael leao is a 20+ goal striker also racking up the assists as he has a total of 85 goals and 42 assists in 146 appearances for my team. So yes, I would always put him on my shortlist for strikers to buy.
Ludovit Reis (DM, Barcelona)
I am sure by now you must be wondering who are all these players he keeps mentioning but I can assure they are all worth it. At number eight, we have Barca academy player, Ludovit Reis. Reis is a cheaper and somewhat if I may say better player than Sandro Tonali, I know some people will have my head for this but wait I have my reasons. While Tonali is more of an aggressive deep lying playmaker, Reis is a much more technical type as he is very comfortable on the ball and dominant on the ball as in my present season, he has attempted 2997 passes and completed 2801 passes which is presently the highest in my whole squad which has a Sandro Tonali and a passing percentage of 93% in 41 appearances. Tonali has his strengths on tackles and his aggressiveness reminds you of Roy Keane type of player while if you are looking for creativity from deep then you have yourself a Reis as I call him a hybrid of Thiago Alcantara and a Sergio Busquets.
So there was my list of top youngsters to consider getting in FM20 and although a lot of you may not agree with some names here, I would just say buy them and be amazed.
