The best wonderkids in Football Manager 2021

As a manager of a football club, you need to find and acquire the best talent available to you within your budget. Finding a good balance of youth and experience is often what can help to provide that equilibrium in any good squad and give you the best possible chance to push for success. 

However, it should be noted that experienced players are not always good in the long term, but wonderkids, reserved for 20-year-olds and younger, represent a prospect that is showing signs of becoming a world-class player while also being a useful player in your team, even at a young age.

Not every wonderkid looks great when they start in a save on Football Manager. But you can always guarantee that any player you pick up on this list will be a wonderkid for your team.

Here are the best wonderkids in Football Manager 2021, with a mix of value and experience:

Goalkeepers

Maarten Vandevoordt

• Age: 18
• Nationality: Belgian
• Club: KRC Genk
• Value: £925k
• Wage: £4.1k p/w

Illan Meslier

• Age: 20
• Nationality: French
• Club: Leeds United
• Value: £18.5m
• Wage: £25k p/w

Defenders – Center Back

Matthijs De Ligt

• Age: 20
• Nationality: Dutch
• Club: Zebre (Juventus)
• Value: £38.5m
• Wage: £215k p/w

Zinho Vanheusden

• Age: 20
• Nationality: Belgian
• Club: Standard
• Value: £9.5m
• Wage: £24k p/w

Josko Gvardiol

• Age: 18
• Nationality: Croatian
• Club: Dinamo (on loan from RB Leipzig)
• Value: £2.2m
• Wage: £13.75k p/w

Defenders – Left Full-back

Nuno Mendes

• Age: 18
• Nationality: Portugese
• Club: Sporting Lisbon
• Value: £6m
• Wage: £4.1k p/w

Rayan Aït-Nouri

• Age: 19
• Nationality: French
• Club: Wolves (on loan from Angers SCO)
• Value: £3m
• Wage: £9.75k p/w

Defenders – Right Full-back

Reece James

• Age: 20
• Nationality: English
• Club: Chelsea
• Value: £25.5m
• Wage: £60k p/w

Tomás Esteves

• Age: 18
• Nationality: Portugese
• Club: Reading (on loan from FC Porto)
• Value: £500k
• Wage: £3.4k p/w

Defensive Midfielders

Sandro Tonali

• Age: 20
• Nationality: Italian
• Club: Milan (on loan from Brescia)
• Value: £10.5m
• Wage: £35k p/w (£65k p/w while at Milan)

Florentino Luís

• Age: 20
• Nationality: Portugese
• Club: Monaco (on loan from Benfica)
• Value: £9m
• Wage: £16.75k p/w 

Central Midfielders

Eduardo Camavinga

• Age: 17
• Nationality: French
• Club: Stade Rennes
• Value: £20m
• Wage: £19k p/w 

Vítor Ferreira

• Age: 20
• Nationality: Portugese
• Club: Wolves (on loan from FC Porto)
• Value: £1.7m
• Wage: £2k p/w

Pipi

• Age: 16
• Nationality: Japanese
• Club: Real Madrid
• Value: £120k
• Wage: £1.3k p/w

Central Attacking Midfielders

Phil Foden

• Age: 20
• Nationality: English
• Club: Manchester City
• Value: £34.5m
• Wage: £30k p/w

Naci Ünüvar

• Age: 17
• Nationality: Dutch
• Club: Ajax
• Value: £325k
• Wage: £950 p/w

Left Midfielder/Winger

Curtis Jones

• Age: 19
• Nationality: English
• Club: Liverpool
• Value: £7.5m
• Wage: £20k p/w

Ansu Fati

• Age: 17
• Nationality: Spanish
• Club: Barcelona
• Value: £54m
• Wage: £70k p/w

Right Midfielder/Winger

Emanuel Vignato

• Age: 19
• Nationality: Italian
• Club: Bologna
• Value: £1.4m
• Wage: £9.75k p/w

Dejan Kulusevski

• Age: 19
• Nationality: Swedish
• Club: Zebre (Juventus)
• Value: £23.5m
• Wage: £81k p/w

Center Forward/Strikers

Sebastiano Esposito

• Age: 18
• Nationality: Italian
• Club: SPAL (on loan from Inter)
• Value: £4.8m
• Wage: £3.3k p/w

Alexander Isak

• Age: 20
• Nationality: Swedish
• Club: Real San Sebastian (Real Sociedad)
• Value: £8m
• Wage: £16k p/w

Evanilson

• Age: 20
• Nationality: Brazilian
• Club: FC Porto
• Value: £7.5m
• Wage: £18.25k p/w

Wilfried Gnonto

• Age: 16
• Nationality: Italian
• Club: Zurich
• Value: £34k
• Wage: £210 p/w

---