Football Manager 26 wonderkids: The 600+ best under-20s in FM26

Superstar-in-waiting Rodrigo Mora has already been previewed for FFT's Boy's A Bit Special and in Football Manager 26, he's ready to make an instant impact either at no.10 or from a left-wing berth. Within two seasons, he's world-class and earning Portugal caps – and all for a flat fee of £60m, as per his release clause.

The best midfield talent on the game within the next decade, Ayyoub Bouaddi, is a complete footballer, able to play defensive midfield, be retrained at right-back and put in such consistency that you'll never need to worry about him. “He's a big-bodied ball-carrier in the middle of the park, covers lots of ground in short bursts and beats the first line of a press with his ability to create separations from opponents, leveraging his athletic frame to great effect,” FFT's Joe Donnohue said in a recent report. He's expensive but well, well worth it.

The youngest player to ever feature in the Premier League begins the 2025/26 season on loan at Marseille, as per his loan there from Arsenal in real life. With the Gunners boasting a plethora of talents in midfield and on the wing, Ethan Nwaneri is relatively attainable in your first two seasons – and you'll want to snare him, as he develops into a world-class talent sooner rather than later.

Ajax's next big thing, Abdellah Ouazane has plenty of green stats as a teenager in FM26, with standout finishing, first touch, long shots and technique. Not only is he available for under £30m, he's 6ft tall, meaning that you can successfully retrain him as a complete striker or a central midfielder. Either way, he's reaching the very top by the time he's 23.

The best kinds of wonderkids are those that won't cost the Earth, and this Georgian gem certainly ticks that box. As we noted in a recent scout report of the player in real life, Saba Kharebashvili is able to play as an overlapping wing-back, a wide centre-back or an inverted full-back. Use that versatility higher up the pitch to give yourself options in possession and out of possession, with the new style of play format, too.

Luca Williams-Barnett is still in Tottenham Hotspur's youth sides but look at all those positions he's a natural in. His physical stats are solid for his young age, while he boasts good crossing, passing and vision. He's a world-beater in waiting.

Bundesliga defenders are reliable buys in Football Manager, with Karim Coulibaly our favourite young, left-footed centre-back in the game this time around. Excellent mentals underpin strong physicals, and with that ability to play in midfield, you can have great fun pushing him forward in possession before dropping back into your out-of-possession shape.

Nico Paz is already world-class at the start of the game – and he's still only 20. With 19 for dribbling, 16 for passing and 17 for vision, this is arguably the most exciting playmaker in the game: grab him before Real Madrid do.

One of a number of exciting young Greek talents coming through right now, Konstantinos Karetsas is incredibly consistent in FM26 when it comes to goal contributions, either from the right or behind a striker. You may have to be patient with him out of possession but he's available for around £35m and well worth bringing in as a first-teamer at a club chasing Europe.

If you love Rodrigo Mora but don't have £60m spare, Gilberto Mora – no relation – is a quarter of the price. He's unlikely to want to move in your first window given his age, but by the time he arrives in Europe, he's Champions League-ready and able to play across the midfield.