Finding Wonderkids on Football Manager

Everyone has different methods when looking at bringing in the next Wonderkid for Football Manager. In this particular guide, I will explain the methods I have used in my online FM19 save which has allowed me to take a Vanamara National League team in to the Premier League. Before I start, I use these easy methods across all of my saves, and this one in particular is the save where I have reaped the rewards. Whether that’s finding Wonderkids and using them in my team, or selling them off to a European giant.

Media Description- Finding Wonderkids

This particular method is my most used method. It is essentially filtering players at clubs by their media description.

This method works fantastically when you are going through players with a lower reputation and don’t want to click on every player. By filtering using this method, you can see their description. Not only does this save time, but it also means you can see if the game already thinks they have high potential to begin with. Obviously, labelling a talent a Wonderkid is brilliant, but it takes in to consideration the league they are in, their Nationality and reputation etc. This means that, if a player is a Wonderkid in England it’s harder to become one. Where as in Egypt, for example it’s a little easier, due to the natural standards of the Nation.

I will now show you examples of how this works below:

As you can see, there is one player labelled ‘Wonderkid’. If we look further in to this and check his profile, we can see if he’s suitable. This saves time, rather than trying to filter through hundreds of teams looking for the diamond in the rough.

Grisley Grolli, the player in the screenshot looks very good. I checked his release clause, which happens to be £11 Million for foreign clubs. Using this guide as reference, you can reduce the amount of time you spend looking through every player, and focus on the players who match the media description that you are looking for. This is ultimately how you go about finding Wonderkids using this method.

International Youth Teams

Where better to start, Brazil. A country known for producing some of the World’s greatest players.

I have kept the filter on which has the media description on. This is just for my reference, but also to show how easy it is to find Wonderkids.

I find that going through the Youth Teams just after international call up’s or after their games is a fantastic way to discover new talent, that weren’t previously called up. I find this is beneficial if you find the players as they are called up before their media reputation improves. Higher reputation usually means you pay a higher fee, and other clubs are likely to find the player too.

I would also check the main team too, as often the very talented Wonderkids get a sort of fast track to the National Team. This will more than likely be effected by the Nation’s current standard of players, as well as injuries. It is something you should definitely keep an eye out for, as they might go a miss.

Even the smaller Nations I would check out, you never know what you could find. Plus, it doesn’t always have to be a transfer for a first team player, you can recruit with the intent to sell and make profit.

USA Youth Teams

It is important you get the players in early before they are drafted in the MLS. The only downside to outsourcing players, they have to be 18 before they can move to your club. This is all well and good, until the 16 year old prospect who looks amazing doesn’t look as great two years down the line.

You can go to U.S.A and then press clubs and then you can see all the clubs available. The academy teams are where to look for the players. You can usually pick most of the players up for free, or a very low fee due to their age. This means they can sign pre-contracts due to their age and not being in the MLS draft.

Filtering by Release Clauses

This method is great. Trust me. Especially when you have South American Wonderkids, who go for a couple of million to foreign clubs. It’s such a simple way of filtering, but so effective.

Not only can you develop players, but even if these players will never be good enough. You can usually sell them for a profit. That profit is what makes your club more self sufficient.

In the above image, you can see how I filter so it only shows players with a certain release clause. You can do the same, and add more filters. For this particular example, I added age and their International appearances. You can add a variety, and find the next best thing. Just take your time and filter correctly, and you will reduce your expenditure in the transfer window.

Searching Previous Wonderkids/Legends Names- Finding Wonderkids

I tried this method for the first time this year – it works. I have found several players who have the same or very similar names to previous greats such as Ronaldinho and Ronaldo. This is of course all down to luck, but it’s a nice little method that can work.

This player is Diego Maradona, not the real one, but the regen. He’s not the best player in the World, but he’s definitely worth an attempt to sign. Finding players based off their names is very trial and error, but as you can see, you can find the right players.

Here is Cristiano Ronaldo, a player my friend on the online save picked up. He is now one of the best players on the game. As you can see, his attributes say a lot, but his performances say a lot more. This guy is an elite Premier League player and a well established member of Brazil’s national team. He was purchased for a fee of £7K – HOW INCREDIBLE. He was bought by Porto on the save, but returned a few seasons later.

Finding Wonderkids Easily – Summary

All of the above methods can be used to effectively recruit the right players. There are many other factors which will determine whether the player will come to you. I always recruit with the intent for first team football and when I deem them surplus to requirements, I look to sell them on – usually for a higher fee.

I would be very interested to hear of your methods and how you incorporate your Wonderkids. Not only is finding Wonderkids amazing, that connection you can have with them is second to none. Watching them grow as an 18 year old to become Global sensations is something that will never not be satisfying.

When filtering by release clause, take in to consideration the risk and reward you get from the player. Is he worth the money? Is he good enough? Will he be profitable? You have to think about what exactly you want from the player.

I hope this guide is helpful in finding Wonderkids. If you do find success from this guide, please let us know on our social media platforms.

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