Football Manager 2021 wonderkids: the best, highest potential players in FM21 listed
Wonderkids are as important as ever in FM21, with tracking down the talents of the future still one of the most satisfying reasons to play the game.
As always in Football Manager, the only way you can reach championship glory - whichever league you choose to dive into - is by building up your team with loyal, talented players.
n the game, the only way you'd be able to find some of these players is by having the best scouts possible, and so below we've done the some of the hard work for you and compiled a wonderkids list of the 50 best young players in FM21.
On this page:
- FM21 wonderkids: the best, highest potential young players in Football Manager 2021 listed
- FM21 wonderkids explained: what are wonderkids and how do you find them?
If you're after a bargain, mind, it's worth giving our guide to FM21 free agents and bargain transfers a look.
FM21 wonderkids: the best, highest potential young players in Football Manager 2021 listed
Here's our list of the best wonderkids in FM21, sorted by highest potential to lowest potential rating - a hidden number as found in the database editor.
FM21 wonderkids list: the best young players in Football Manager 2021
| Rank | Name | Position | Current ability | Potential ability | Age | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kylian Mbappe | AM (RL), ST (C) | 181 | 196 | 21 | Paris Saint-Germain |
| 2 | Erling Haaland | ST (C) | 164 | 160-190 | 20 | Borussia Dortmund |
| 3 | Dejan Kulusevski | M (R), AM (RC) | 152 | 160-190 | 20 | Juventus (Zebre) |
| 4 | Ansu Fati | AM (RL), ST (C) | 148 | 160-190 | 17 | Barcelona |
| 5 | Vinicius Junior | AM (L), ST (C) | 146 | 160-190 | 20 | Real Madrid |
| 6 | Rodrygo | AM (RL), ST (C) | 136 | 160-190 | 19 | Real Madrid |
| 7 | Pedri | M (C), AM (RLC) | 138 | 160-190 | 17 | Barcelona |
| 8 | Ilaix Moribo | DM, M/AM (C) | 120 | 160-190 | 17 | Barcelona B |
| 9 | Yusuf Demir | AM (RC), ST (C) | 115 | 160-190 | 17 | Rapid Vienna |
| 10 | Matthijs de Ligt | D (C) | 163 | 185 | 20 | Juventus (Zebre) |
| 11 | Frenkie de Jong | D (C), DM, M (C) | 160 | 183 | 23 | Barcelona |
| 12 | Gianluigi Donnarumma | GK | 156 | 182 | 21 | AC Milan |
| 13 | Kai Havertz | M/AM (C) | 153 | 180 | 21 | Chelsea |
| 14 | Jonathan David | AM (RLC), ST (C) | 138 | 150-180 | 20 | Lille |
| 15 | Alphonso Davies | D/WB/M/AM (L) | 152 | 150-180 | 19 | Bayern Munich |
| 16 | Dominik Szoboszlai | M (LC), AM (C) | 140 | 150-180 | 19 | RB Salzburg |
| 17 | Callum Hudson-Odoi | AM (RLC) | 140 | 150-180 | 19 | Chelsea |
| 18 | Myron Boadu | AM (RL), ST (C) | 137 | 150-180 | 19 | AZ Alkmaar |
| 19 | Antony | M (R), AM (RC), ST (C) | 137 | 150-180 | 20 | AFC Ajax |
| 20 | Francisco Trincao | AM (RL), ST (C) | 136 | 150-180 | 18 | Barcelona |
| 21 | Nuno Mendes | D/WB (L) | 133 | 150-180 | 18 | Sporting |
| 22 | Giovanni Reyna | M/AM (LC) | 132 | 150-180 | 17 | Borussia Dortmund |
| 23 | Mohamed Ihattaren | M/AM (RLC) | 130 | 150-180 | 18 | PSV Eindhoven |
| 24 | Jude Bellingham | M/AM (RLC) | 129 | 150-180 | 17 | Borussia Dortmund |
| 25 | Karim Adeyemi | AM (R), ST (C) | 127 | 150-180 | 18 | RB Salzburg |
| 26 | Jamal Musiala | AM (RLC), ST (C) | 126 | 150-180 | 17 | Bayern Munich |
| 27 | Reinier | AM (C) | 125 | 150-180 | 18 | Real Madrid B |
| 28 | Joao Pedro | AM (RL), ST (C) | 125 | 150-180 | 18 | Watford |
| 29 | Ryan Gravenberch | DM, M (C), AM (LC) | 124 | 150-180 | 18 | AFC Ajax |
| 30 | Curtis Jones | M (C), AM (RLC) | 124 | 150-180 | 19 | Liverpool |
| 31 | Joshua Zirkzee | ST (C) | 124 | 150-180 | 19 | Bayern Munich |
| 32 | Diego Lainez | AM (RL) | 124 | 150-180 | 20 | Real Hispalis |
| 33 | Troy Parrott | ST (C) | 123 | 150-180 | 18 | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 34 | Jeremy Doku | AM (RL), ST (C) | 120 | 150-180 | 18 | Rennes |
| 35 | Josko Gvardiol | D (LC) | 119 | 150-180 | 18 | RB Leipzig |
| 36 | Tanguy Nianzou | D (C), DM | 119 | 150-180 | 18 | Bayern Munich |
| 37 | Fabio Silva | ST (C) | 115 | 150-180 | 18 | Wolves |
| 38 | Sebastiano Esposito | ST (C) | 114 | 150-180 | 18 | Inter Milan |
| 39 | Rayan Cherki | AM (RLC), ST (C) | 106 | 150-180 | 16 | Lyon |
| 40 | Maarten Vandevoordt | GK | 105 | 150-180 | 18 | KRC Genk |
| 41 | Naci Unuvar | M (C), AM (LC), ST (C) | 97 | 150-180 | 17 | AFC Ajax |
| 42 | Pipi | M/AM (C) | 84 | 150-180 | 16 | Real Madrid B |
| 43 | Trent Alexander-Arnold | D/WB (R), DM, M (C) | 160 | 178 | 21 | Liverpool |
| 44 | Jadon Sancho | M/AM (RL) | 158 | 178 | 20 | Borussia Dortmund |
| 45 | Martin Odegaard | M (RC), AM (C) | 155 | 178 | 21 | Real Madrid |
| 46 | Nicolo Zaniolo | M (C), AM (RLC) | 150 | 176 | 21 | AS Roma |
| 47 | Lautaro Martinez | ST (C) | 160 | 175 | 22 | Inter Milan |
| 48 | Joao Felix | AM (RLC), ST (C) | 159 | 175 | 20 | Atletico Madrid |
| 49 | Marcus Rashford | AM (L), ST (C) | 157 | 175 | 22 | Manchester United |
| 50 | Gabriel Jesus | AM (RL), ST (C) | 156 | 175 | 23 | Manchester City |
Scroll right on mobile to view full table.
FM21 wonderkids explained: what are wonderkids and how do you find them?
Now, you're probably thinking: names that “could” end up as the best players? What does this mean? Well, Football Manager 2021, like previous entries, shows you how good every player is in the game thanks to attribute ratings. These cover technical, mental and physical abilities, such as how good a player is at passing the ball or if they show leadership in the team.
However, there's also a hidden ratings system in the game's database. At the beginning, each player is given a “current ability” rating, which is a score out of 200. But, more importantly, there's also a “potential ability” rating. Should a player receive the right squad and staff support, run of results and other variables, they could achieve a rating much higher than the one assigned to them at the beginning of the season.
Once again, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the highest rated players in the game. However, Kylian Mbappe's potential score of 196 matches Ronaldo's, so it could prove worthwhile to try and snatch him early on (provided you have an endless pit of resources of course). But there are some gems that could end up being better buys, such as Pipi and Ajax's Naci Unuvar, particularly as their ratings aren't high at the start of the season. It looks like the first thing you'll be doing is requesting a bigger transfer budget from the board.
For more Football Manager 2021 guides like this, meanwhile, our FM21 free agents and bargain transfers page is worth checking out.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7psHRqJ6apZWne6%2Bx02iYq6yZmLmmv46fpqiskpa5rXnMmqWan5WnenN8kWpksKeembKzt8idqmaalajBbrTIoJ%2Beq6RivbDAxKeropmcYr2trdieqaxllqJ%2FcnmWaW1p