Best FIFA 22 young players to sign on Career Mode

Alex Garton
FIFA 22 Young Players

In FIFA 22 Career Mode, having good youth prospects is just as important as having star players, especially if you’re planning on building a long-term project with a club. Here’s a list of some of the best wonderkids we’ve found.

FIFA Ultimate Team is all the rage these days. However, Career Mode has always been the heart and soul of every FIFA title, and it isn’t any different in FIFA 22. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of taking an unsuccessful club to the top of the league or leading a successful one to even more silverware.

But like anything in the football world, there’s an optimal way to do it, and one of the most important things you can do is develop young talent and turn a bunch of wonderkids into the next set of superstar players.

The problem is, with so many young players available on the market, it’s hard to know which ones are worth your time in the game. So, to make things easier for you, we’ve put together a list of some of the best ones money can buy. We made sure to include a good range of positions and prices, too.

Best wonderkids in FIFA 22

When looking for young talent to build your team, the most important thing to remember is to figure out what’s missing and what gaps need to be filled. If you’re top-heavy in attack, you’ll falter in defense and vice-versa. A balance in all areas of the pitch is the key to consistency and success.

Best young goalkeepers and defenders

Sergino Dest FIFA 22
Sergino Dest’s impressive performances at Ajax earned him a transfer to Barcelona.

If your team scores, you might win. But if nobody ever scores against you, you’ll never lose. That’s how the old saying goes, and it rings true in FIFA 22. For that reason, developing a strong backline is a must-do and the perfect place to start.

The general rule of thumb is that you want to fill the center-back position with tall and strong players. Not only will that help them out muscle attackers, but it means they’ll be able to contest crosses much easier, too.

However, the same cannot be said for your fullbacks. It’s a different role with different requirements, and that means pace and other qualities that help with counter-attacking are paramount.

Of course, goalkeepers are the team’s cornerstone, and it’s important to have an amazing one in any squad. Luckily for you, we’ve compiled a list of the best youth prospects available in all these positions. Let’s take a look at who they are and what their stats look like.

Name Age Club Position OVR POT Price
Maarten Vandevoordt 19 KRC Genk GK 68 86 £800k
Luca Netz 18 Hertha BSC LB 63 85 £375k
Jarrad Branthwaite 19 Everton CB 63 85 £375k
Wesley Fofana 19 Leicester City CB 78 86 £25.5m
Illan Meslier 20 Leeds United GK 75 86 £9.5m
Alphonso Davies 20 FC Bayern Munchen LB 81 89 £47.5m
Sergino Dest 20 Barcelona RB 75 86 £9m
Gianluigi Donnarumma 22 PSG GK 89 93 £107.5m
Matthijs de Ligt
22 Juventus CB 85 90 £67.5m
Jules Kounde
22 Sevilla FC CB 83 89 £47.5m
Dayot Upamecano
22 Bayern Munich CB 82 90 £57.5m
Achraf Hakimi 22 PSG RB 85 88 £69.5m
Cristian Romero 23 Tottenham Hotspur CB 82 87 £41m
Andriy Lunin 22 Real Madrid GK 74 85 £8m
William Saliba 20 Olympique de Marseille CB 75 84 £11.5m
Reece James 21 Chelsea RB 81 86 £37m
Ezri Konsa 23 Aston Villa CB 78 84 £20m
Nuno Mendes 19 PSG LB 78 88 £29m
Lautaro Morales 21 Lanus GK 72 85 £5m
Ozan Kabak 21 Norwich City CB 76 85 £15.5m
Luís Maximiano
22 Granada CF GK 78 85 £24.5m
Takehiro Tomiyasu 22 Arsenal RB 76 86 £16m
Evan Ndicka 21 Eintracht Frankfurt CB 77 84 £20m
Aaron Hickey 19 Bologna LB 71 84 £4.3m
Sven Botman 21 LOSC Lille CB 79 85 £25.5m
Owen Wijndal 21 AZ Alkmaar LB 79 84 £25m
Gavin Bazunu 19 Portsmouth GK 66 84 £2m
Ronald Araujo 22 Barcelona CB 79 87 £37m
Hugo Siquet 18 Standard Liege RB 70 84 £3.5m
Fikayo Tomori 23 RB Leipzig CB 81 87 £37m
Juan Miranda González 21 Real Betis Balompie LB 76 84 £16m
Dan-Axel Zagadou
22 Borussia Dortmund CB 78 84 £20.5m
Aaron Ramsdale 23 Arsenal GK 78 84 £18m
Devyne Rensch 18 Ajax RB 73 85 £7m
Tanguy Nianzou 19 Bayern Munich CB 71 85 £4.2m
Mario Vušković 19 Hamburger SV CB 72 85 £5m
Nico Schlotterbeck 21 SC Freiburg CB 79 85 £25.5m
Diogo Meireles Costa 21 FC Porto GK 76 86 £14.5m
Fran García 21 Rayo Vallecano LB 73 84 £6.5m
Aaron Wan-Bissaka 23 Manchester United RB 82 85 £38.5m
Ryan Sessegnon 21 Tottenham Hotspur LB 75 84 £12m
Eric Martel 19 Austria Wien CB 66 84 £2.1m
Alban Lafont 22 FC Nantes GK 79 85 £23m
Márton Dárdai 19 Hertha BSC CB 71 85 £2.4m
Dávid Hancko 23 Sparta Praha LB 77 85 £22m
Gonçalo Esteves 17 Sporting CP RB 68 84 £2.9m
Leonidas Stergiou
19 FC St. Gallen CB 67 86 £2.1m
Wilfried Singo 20 Torino RB 72 84 £5.5m
Micky van de Ven
20 VfL Wolfsburg LB 68 84 £3m
Castello Lukeba
18 Olympique Lyonnais CB 72 84 £5m
Eric García Martret 20 FC Barcelona CB 78 85 £26m
Fresneda 16 Real Valladolid RB 64 84 £1.5m
Lutsharel Geertruida 20 Feyenoord CB 76 84 £15.5m
Alessandro Bastoni 22 Inter Milan CB 83 89 £53m
Ridle Baku 23 VfL Wolfsburg RB 80 85 £32m
Edmond Tapsoba 22 Bayer 04 Leverkusen CB 80 86 £31m
Marc Cucurella Saseta 22 Brighton & Hove Albion LB 79 84 £25m
Tyrell Malacia
21 Feyenoord LB 79 85 £26.5m
Jean-Clair Todibo 21 OGC Nice CB 78 84 £20.5m
Mohamed Simakan 21 RB Leipzig RB 77 85 £22m
Callum Hudson-Odoi 20 Chelsea RWB 78 86 £31m
Ladislav Krejčí 22 Sparta Praha CB 76 84 £16m
Josip Šutalo
21 Dinamo Zagreb CB 73 84 £6.5m
Mohammed Salisu 22 Southampton CB 77 85 £22m
Rayan Aït Nouri 20 Wolverhampton Wanderers LB 76 86 £15.5m
Lisandro Martínez 23 Ajax CB 80 85 £29m
Quentin Merlin
19 FC Nantes LB 67 84 £2.5m
Joško Gvardiol 19 RB Leipzig CB 79 89 £35.5m
Morato
20 Benfica CB 74 86 £9.5m
Jurriën Timber
20 Ajax CB 79 88 £68m
Benoît Badiashile
20 AS Monaco CB 76 84 £15.5m
Tariq Lamptey
20 Brighton RB 75 84 £12m

Best young midfielders

Takefusa Kubo FIFA 21
Kubo is already a highly-revered young talent.

The midfield is the most versatile section of the pitch. It largely depends on the formation and shape of your team. Naturally, that means the kind of players you’ll need depends on what formation and strategy you’re going for.

Some midfielders are excellent all-rounders, while others are better at attacking or defending. They’re generally organized into CAM, CM, LM, RM, and CDM, depending on their strengths and weaknesses. Either way, no matter what you’re looking for, our list will have someone that fits the bill.

Name Age Club Position OVR POT Price
Jude Bellingham 17 Borussia Dortmund CM 76 88 £15.5m
Xavi Simons 17 PSG CM 65 84 £1.6m
Jamal Musiala 17 Bayern Munich CAM 74 87 £8.5m
Ryan Gravenberch 18 Ajax CM 77 89 £22m
Eduardo Camavinga 18 Stade Rennais CM 78 89 £26
Pedri 18 FC Barcelona LM 73 89 £2.7m
Takefusa Kubo 20 Villarreal CF RM 75 89 £12m
Mason Mount
22 Chelsea CAM 83 89 £52.5m
Jadon Sancho 21 Manchester United RM 87 91 £116m
Phil Foden 21 Manchester City CAM 84 92 £94.5m
Emile Smith Rowe 20 Arsenal CAM 76 86 £16.5m
Oliver Skipp 20 Tottenham Hotspur CDM 75 85 £11.5m
Renato Sanches 23 LOSC Lille CM 80 86 £33m
Bukayo Saka 19 Arsenal RM 80 88 £45.5m
Amine Gouiri 21 OGC Nice LM 78 85 £29m
Ibrahim Sangaré 23 PSV CM 78 84 £20.5m
Edson Álvarez 23 Ajax CDM 78 84 £20.5m
Christoph Baumgartner 21 TSG 1899 Hoffenheim CAM 78 84 £22.5m
Mikkel Damsgaard 21 Sampdoria LM 77 87 £23.5m
Samuel Chukwueze 22 Villarreal CF RM 77 85 £23.5m
Xaver Schlager 23 VfL Wolfsburg CDM 80 84 £27.5m
Aurélien Tchouaméni 21 AS Monaco CM 80 87 £42.5m
Nikola Vlašić 23 West Ham United CAM 80 86 £33.5m
Viktor Tsygankov 23 Dynamo Kyiv RM 80 85 £32.5m
Musa Barrow 22 Bologna CAM 77 84 £21.5m
Matheus Luiz Nunes 22 Sporting CP CM 77 86 £23.5m
Ismaël Bennacer 23 Milan CDM 80 84 £27.5m
Matheus Cunha
22 Atletico de Madrid LM 79 86 £35.5m
Ismaïla Sarr 23 Watford RM 77 85 £23.5m
Douglas Luiz 23 Aston Villa CDM 77 84 £20m
Zubimendi 22 Real Sociedad CM 75 85 £12.5m
Alan Velasco 18 Independiente LM 75 85 £12m
Mateus Tetê 21 Shakhtar Donetsk RM 76 86 £17m
Gabriel Martinelli 20 Arsenal LM 76 87 £16.5m
Adam Hložek 18 Sparta Praha CAM 77 87 £22.5m
Mikkel Damsgaard 21 Sampdoria LM 77 87 £23.5m
Boubacar Kamara 21 Olmpique de Marseille CDM 80 86 £31m
Jérémy Doku 19 Stade Rennais RM 77 87 £23m
Manuel Ugarte 20 Sporting CP CM 73 84 £6.5m
Nico González 19 Barcelona CDM 72 84 £14.9m
Christopher Nkunku 23 RB Leipzig CAM 85 88 £73.5m
Curtis Jones 20 Liverpool CM 75 86 £12.5m
Hamed Junior Traorè 21 Sassuolo CAM 73 84 £7m
Rabbi Matondo 20 Cercle Brugge LM 71 84 £4.5m
Michael Olise 19 Crystal Palace RM 75 86 £12m
Joelson Fernandes 18 FC Basel LM 68 84 £3.1m
Talles Magno 19 New York City FC LM 67 84 £2.6m
Conor Gallagher 21 Crystal Palace CM 77 84 £21.5m
Noni Madueke 19 PSV RM 77 88 £23m
Davide Frattesi 21 Sassuolo CDM 75 84 £12.5m
Florian Wirtz 18 Bayer 04 Leverkusen CAM 82 90 £64m
Renan Lodi 23 Atletico de Madrid LM 81 86 £36.5m
Randal Kolo Muani
22 FC Nantes RM 77 84 £21.5m
Harvey Barnes 23 Leicester City LM 80 84 £30m
Lucas Paquetá
23 Olympique Lyonnais CAM 81 86 £39m
Lovro Majer 23 Stade Rennais CM 79 84 £26.5m
Ivan Ilić
20 Hellas Verona CM 74 86 £10m
Andreas Schjelderup 17 FC Nordsjaelland CAM 66 84 £2.1m
Alfie Devine 16 Tottenham Hotspur CAM 60 85 £775k
Tommaso Pobega 21 Torino CM 74 84 £9.5m
Luka Sučić 18 RB Salzburg CAM 72 84 £5.5m
F. da Conceição
18 FC Porto RM 72 86 £5.5m
Fábio Vieira 21 FC Porto CAM 76 86 £17m
Aster Vranckx 18 VfL Wolfsburg CM 72 84 £5.5m
Mykhailo Mudryk 20 Shakhtar Donetsk CAM 73 84 £6.5m
Samuele Ricci 19 Torino CM 71 86 £4.4m
Maxence Caqueret 21 Olympique Lyonnais CDM 79 85 £26m
Joseph Willock 21 Newcastle United CM 75 84 £12.5m
Patrick Wimmer
20 Arminia Bielefeld LM 75 85 £12.5m
Santiago Simón 19 River Plate RM 74 85 £9m
Rodrigo Gomes 17 Braga LM 66 85 £1.9m

Best young strikers and wingers

Ansu Fati may be handed a terrifying 90-rated card in the next FIFA 21 promo.
Ansu Fati has the potential to reach a 90 overall rating.

Picking strikers and wingers is often the most thrilling part of building a team in Career Mode. People love weaving through the opposition with pacey wingers, and scoring a bullet with a sharpshooting striker is the cherry on top.

However, it’s important to pick players that have the right skills for the job. For example, wingers generally need to be pacey, good at dribbling, and cross the ball well. Strikers, on the other hand, need to be agile, strong, and clinical.

Attacking players tend to be more expensive than others due to all the hype around them. Fortunately, we’ve included a good range of young strikers and wingers at prices ranging from £1.3m to £82m, depending on your budget.

Name Age Club Position OVR POT Price
Ansu Fati 18 Barcelona LW 76 90 £15m
Fabio Silva 18 Wolverhampton Wanderers ST 69 85 £1.3m
Myron Boadu 19 AZ Alkmaar ST 76 86 £14.5m
Rodrygo 19 Real Madrid RW 79 88 £34m
Charles De Ketelaere 20 Club Brugge LW 73 85 £6.5m
Gonzalo Plata 20 Sporting CP RW 74 86 £9m
Vinicius Jr.
21 Real Madrid LW 80 90 £52m
Ferran Torres
22 Manchester City RW 82 90 £61.5m
Joao Felix 21 Atletico Madrid ST 83 91 £82m
Donyell Malen 22 Borussia Dortmund ST 80 85 £33m
Thiago Almada 20 Velez Sarsfield RW 74 86 £10m
Moussa Diaby 22 Bayer 04 Leverkusen LW 81 88 £52.5m
Tammy Abraham 23 Roma FC ST 79 86 £35.5m
Noa Lang 22 Club Brugge RW 78 85 £28.5m
Cody Gakpo 22 PSV ST 79 85 £28m
Brahim Díaz 21 Milan LW 78 87 £31.5m
Jovane Cabral 23 Sporting CP RW 78 86 £31m
Harvey Elliot 18 Liverpool RW 73 87 £7m
Brian Brobbey 19 RB Leipzig ST 73 85 £7.5m
Leon Bailey 23 Aston Villa RW 82 86 £43.5m
Alexander Isak 21 Real Sociedad ST 82 86 £45m
Darwin Núñez 22 Benfica LW 76 85 £17m
Pedro De la Vega 20 Lanus RW 74 85 £9.5m
Patson Daka 22 Leicester City ST 77 84 £21.5m
Rafael Leão 22 Milan LW 77 85 £23.5m
Marcos Paulo 20 Famalicao ST 72 84 £5.5m
Octavian Popescu 18 FCSB RW 70 85 £3.7m
Armando Broja 19 Southampton ST 70 84 £3.8m
Youssoufa Moukoko 20 Borussia Dortmund ST 69 89 £3.2m
Luis Sinisterra 22 Feyenoord LW 78 84 £22.5m
Julián Álvarez 21 River Plate RW 78 87 £32m
Facundo Farías 18 Colon ST 74 86 £10m
Christos Tzolis 19 Norwich City ST 74 87 £10m
Darwin Núñez 22 Benfica LW 76 85 £17m
Giacomo Raspadori 21 Sassuolo ST 75 85 £12.5m
José Juan Macías 21 Getafe CF ST 75 84 £12.5m
Kayky da Silva Chagas 21 Manchester City RW 66 87 £2.7m
Matìas Soulé 18 Juventus RW 65 85 £2m
Liam Delap 18 Manchester City ST 64 85 £1.9m
Victor Osimhen 22 Napoli ST 81 89 £58.5m
Cole Palmer 19 Manchester City RW 67 86 £2.6m
Abdallah Sima 20 Stoke City ST 72 84 £5.5m
João Pedro 19 Watford LW 71 84 £4.5m
Kamaldeen Sulemana 19 Stade Rennais ST 75 85 £12m
Gavi 16 Barcelona RW 74 88 £9.5m
Kaide Gordon 23 Liverpool LW 61 84 £1m
Mohamed-Ali Cho 17 Angers SCO ST 70 85 £3.7m
Oihan Sancet Tirapu 21 Athletic Club de Bilboa ST 75 85 £12.5m
Facundo Farías 18 Colon ST 74 86 £10m
Dejan Kulusevski 21 Tottenham Hotspur CF 80 87 £43m
José Manuel López 20 Lanus ST 73 84 £6.5m
Dušan Vlahović 21 Juventus ST 83 90 £162m
Nicolò Zaniolo 22 Roma FC RW 79 87 £39m
Luka Jovic
23 Real Madrid ST 79 84 £27m
Jesper Lindstrøm 21 Eintracht Frankfurt CAM 75  84 £12.5m
Josip Brekalo 23 Torina LW 77 84 £21.5m
Amourricho van Axel Dongen 16 Ajax LW 64 84 £1.6m
Lassina Traoré 20 Shakhtar Donetsk ST 74 84 £9.5m
Dane Scarlett 17 Tottenham Hotspur ST 64 86 £1.8m
Alejandro Garnacho 17 Manchester United LW 63 84 £1.5m
Yeremy 18 Villarreal CF ST 76 85 £16m
Karim Adeyemi 19 RB Salzburg ST 74 87 £10m
Luca Oyen 18 Genk LW 67 86 £2.6m
Stipe Biuk 18 Hajduk Split LW 69 84 £3.2m
Mathys Tel 16 Stade Rennais LW 64 84 £1.5m
Anssumane Fati 18 FC Barcelona LW 79 90 £37m
Luka Romero 16 Latium RW 66 86 £2.3m
Joe Gelhardt
19 Leeds United ST 71 84 £4.5m
Jayden Braaf
18 Manchester City LW 64 84 £1.6m
Morgan Rogers 18 Bournemouth RW 66 84 £2.2m

Top 20 highest potential FIFA 22 wonderkids

These are the nine highest potential players in FIFA 22.EA SPORTS has officially released the FIFA 22 player ratings, including the top 20 players with the highest potential. There are some familiar names on the list, including superstars Kylian Mbappe, Gianluigi Donnarumma, and Erling Haaland.

However, there are plenty of other fresh names in the mix, too.

Name Age Club Position OVR POT Price
Kylian Mbappe 22 PSG ST 91 95 £174.5m
Gianluigi Donnarumma 22 PSG GK 89 93 £107.5m
Erling Haaland 21 Borussia Dortmund ST 88 93 £128m
Trent Alexander-Arnold 22 Liverpool RB 87 92 £103m
Phil Foden 21 Manchester City CAM 84 92 £85m
Kai Havertz 22 Chelsea CAM 84 92 £85m
Jadon Sancho 21 Manchester United RM 87 91 £104.5m
Matthijs de Ligt 22 Juventus CB 85 90 £67.5m
Joao Felix 21 Atletico Madrid ST 83 91 £74m
Pedri 18 Barcelona CM 81 91 £48.5m
Ferran Torres 21 Manchester City RW 82 90 £61.5m
Dayot Upamecano 22 Bayern Munich CB 82 90 £57.5m
Vinicius Jr. 21 Real Madrid LW 80 90 £52m
Ryan Gravenverch 19 Ajax CM 78 90 £30m
Ansu Fati 18 Barcelona LW 76 90 £15.5m
Marcus Rashford 23 Manchester United LM 85 89 £69.5m
Jules Kounde 22 Sevila FC CB 83 90 £47.5m
Mason Mount 22 Chelsea CAM 83 90 £52.5m
Federico Chiesa 23 Juventus RW 83 911 £72.5m
Federico Valverde 23 Real Madrid CM 83 89 £51.5m
FIFA 22 Highest Potential Wonderkids
These are the nine highest potential players in FIFA 22.

Official FIFA 22 Wonderkids announced by EA

As showcased above, there are countless talented young players available to sign in FIFA 22, but only a select few can be chosen by EA to be the official Wonderkids.

This is the best under 21 starting XI based on FIFA 22’s FUT ratings:

Name Age Club Position
Joao Felix 21 Atletico Madrid CF
Erling Haaland 21 Borussia Dortmund ST
Ferran Torres 21 Manchester City RW
Jadon Sancho 21 Manchester United LW
Pedri 18 Barcelona CM
Phil Foden 21 Manchester City CAM
Bukayo Saka 20 Arsenal LM
Alphonso Davies 20 Bayern Munich LB
Maxence Lacroix 21 VfL Wolfsburg CB
Reece James 21 Chelsea RB
Illan Meslier 21 Leeds United GK

That sums up our list of the best young players in FIFA 22 career mode. Hopefully, some of our suggestions will be exactly what you need to round off your team. We’ll keep this list updated with any new players that pop up. In the meantime, here are some more FIFA 22 guides for you to check out:

Best strikers in FIFA 22 Ultimate Team | Best goalkeepers to buy in FIFA 22 Ultimate Team | Best center-backs to buy in FIFA 22 Ultimate Team | Best midfielders to buy in FIFA 22 Ultimate Team | Premier League POTM | Serie A POTM | Ligue 1 POTM | Eredivisie POTM | LaLiga POTM | Bundesliga POTM