Javier Saviola, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Ravel Morrison, Simon Davies and Kylian Mbappe are very different players - but all share something in common. Each was tipped for greatness at a very young age by the video game Football Manager.

The latest in the series - the cunningly titled Football Manager 19 - was released on Nov 2nd last year to the horror of many a space-bar, and the delight of wannabe digital coaches around the world. The best bit? Discovering who the stars of the future are going to be.

But how do Football Manager know?

The scouting network

Big things have been predicted for thousands of players who failed to make the grade but the very best rise to the top, just as in real life. Luke Shaw (then at Southampton), Ruben Neves (then 18 and at Porto), and a 17-year-old Niklas Sule, now a Germany and Bayern Munich centre-back, are success stories all highly rated in Football Manager's database.

The game's hit-rate is phenomenal and very few slip through the net, with the anomalies of To Madeira and Mark Kerr a retro memory. Such is their attention to detail, Jamie Vardy's surprise ascent to Premier League winner prompted meetings and research into how to avoid it happening again, but it's not all about the top tier - youngsters tipped do well in League Two are as important as those who will top Champions League scoring charts.