The cheapest way to get new players in Football Manager 2023 is to sign free agents, i.e., players who are currently unattached to any particular club. You’ll have to pay a signing fee, and you’ll have to pay their wages if and when they sign for you, but there’ll be no transfer fee, making free agents a great choice for teams with little or no transfer budget to spend.
Related: The best cheap players in Football Manager 2023
How to find free agents in Football Manager 2023
Go to the players list on your scouting screen and start a new search. Select “Unattached” under contract status, and your list will be populated with every free agent in the game. When looking to sign free agents, consider the following factors:
- International caps: If a player has played fro his country, then there’s a better chance that he’s good.
- World reputation (WR): Again, the more stars a player has here, then the better he probably is.
- Age: The other two factors are fair measures of a player’s skill, but they can also be a measure of his age. A lot of free agents are unattached because they’re over the hill, but you can usually find a few who have played at a high level, but are still in their twenties or early thirties.
The best free agents at the start of the Football Manager 2023 season
If you’re starting a new game in Football Manager 2023, then look out for the free agents listed below.
Sammy Ameobi
- Position: Winger
- Age: 30
- Nationality: Nigerian
Izzy Brown
- Position: Midfielder
- Age: 25
- Nationality: English
Michael Hector
- Position: Centre-back
- Age: 29
- Nationality: Jamaican
Paul-Jose Mpoku
- Position: Midfielder
- Age: 30
- Nationality: DR Congolese
Mateo Musacchio
- Position: Centre-back
- Age: 31
- Nationality: Argentinian
Jordon Mutch
- Position: Midfielder
- Age: 30
- Nationality: English
Havard Nordtveit
- Position: Centre-back
- Age: 32
- Nationality: Norwegian
Ryan Thomas
- Position: Attacking midfielder
- Age: 27
- Nationality: New Zealand
Matej Vydra
- Position: Striker
- Age: 30
- Nationality: Czech
Andre Wisdom
- Position: Centre-back
- Age: 29
- Nationality: English
