Signing one of the best Football Manager 2023 wonderkids can be a costly affair. Unless you are managing Newcastle or any of the richest clubs in FM23, you will probably not be able to afford paying the wages and overall transfer cost of signing Jamal Musiala, Benjamin Sesko or any of the other must-buy FM23 wonderkids improve your team with a future world class player, instead you will be forced to look at cheaper targets.
To help you find players with great potential, we hereby identifies the best cheap wonderkids in Football Manager 2023. This year we have limited ourselves to under-21 players available for less than €10million in FM23.
These cheap wonderkids in Football Manager 2023 comes from all around the world. We have set up the best scouting network to identify these FM23 cheap wonderkids bargains.
These young talents we have found have all potential to play in the Premier League. Whether they turn into players with Premier League appearances will depend from save to save as most of these cheap wonderkids have random potential meaning their maximum potential ability may differ from save to save.
Get our ultimate shortlist of cheap wonderkids in Football Manager 2023. This shortlist of FM23 Cheap wonderkids is a great addition to the complete wonderkids shortlist by Passion4FM.com.
Players included: ~250
Latest update: 09.03.2023
The Best-Buy Cheap Wonderkids in Football Manager 2023 [23.1]
Antonio Raimondo / 18 / Bologna U20
If you’re managing at a mid-table club, the Italian wonderkid striker Antonio Raimondo can be a great bargain. For only a transfer cost of €400-600K the first season you can get a player who can develop into a Premier League Standard striker.
Able to play as an Advanced Forward or Pressing Forward he can become a great asset for anyone playing in a 4-2-3-1 system, 4-4-2 or 3-5-2. His ability to strike the ball cleanly makes him into a great finisher – while his Off the ball movement and quickness could make him into a great asset for anyone playing on the counter.
Approx. Transfer Cost: +/- €600K
Rodrigo Cezar / 16 / Santos U20
Even though this Brazilian wonderkid won’t be eligible to be transferred until turning 18, 16-year old poacher Rodrigo Cezar could be one of the greatest bargains on FM23. For under €5Million at the start of the game, you can sign one of the hidden wonderkids in Football Manager 2023.
He’s listed between €150K to €1.5Mill before October 2022 but the actual transfer cost will be a bit higher.
His current skills reminds me of a young Ronaldo 9 – excellent finishing, great quickness and good technique and dribbling to succeed in one-on-one situations. His physic and jumping reach makes him more suitable to play in a two striker partnership where you use a target man next to him to open of space for his quick feet.
Approx. Transfer Cost: €2-5Mill
Ilias Akhomach / 18 / Barcelona B
La Masia have produced a number of brilliant creative midfielders upon the years. In the shadow of Pedri, Gavi and Ansu Fati, we got a versatile Trequartista.
Ilias Akhomach might not be a unfamiliar name for you. He was one of the brightest wonderkids in FM21 at the age of 16. At 18 he’s on an outgoing contract and therefore available for a bargain fee. For around €2.5Mill you can sign a player who can turn into a great first team candidate for any top clubs.
Ilias Akhomach got brilliant technique, first touch, dribbling and agility, making him into a great press-resistant midfielder. He’s abilities to create chances is also something to recognize. With traits like Plays One-Twos, tries tricks and Runs with ball often the similarities to a certain Andres Iniesta is striking!
Whether you wish to use him in the pocket behind a striker in a 4-2-3-1, or play him on the wing in a 4-3-3 formation is all up to you. With immense potential to turn into a world class superstar, Ilias Akhomach is a must-buy wonderkid in FM23!
Approx. Transfer Cost: € 2-3Mill
Adamo Nagalo / 20 / FC Nordsjælland
In FM22, FC Nordsjælland was one of the best places to scout for cheap wonderkids and this continues for Football Manager 2023. The club got one of the best wonderkids in FM23 in Andreas Schjelderup in additional to Adamo Nagalo. Perhaps not an unfamiliar name to you as you might have signed this African centre-back in FM22.
The ball-playing defender got everything a modern centreback needs. Not afraid to get stuck in, good positioning and anticipation to intercept passes or block shots, as well as good tackling and marking to deal with opposing threats.
His allround sets of skills and versatility makes him able to be retrained into a defensive midfielder or defensive wingback for a 3-5-2 system. He can even play as a wide centre-back despite preferring to play in a two-man pairing defensive system, such as 4-4-2 or 4-3-3.
Approx. Transfer Cost: € 2-3Mill
Marc Cucalón / 17 / Castilla
For every edition of Football Manager, the youth academy of Real Madrid includes some very good talents that might not be talked about as much as the ones coming from Valencia or Barcelona.
Last year, we had hot prospects like Bruno Iglesias, Peter Gónzalez Carmona, Oscar Aranda and Sala. This year, Marc Cucalón can be included into the mix. A central midfielder or deep-lying playmaker with great vision, decisions and technical on-ball skills, such as first touch and passing, the Spanish talent could turn out to become a superb signing for anyone who needs a cheap orchester in the middle of the park.
Since he’s on an outgoing contract in the first season, you can get the young Spaniard for under €2Mill, or if you have the nerve to wait until January to see if you can sign him for a relative cheap compensation fee.
Approx. Transfer Cost: € 500K-2Mill
Alan Matturro / 17 / Defensor Sporting
If managing in Spain, Italy or Portugal, you might embrace the skills of this Uruguayan defender. Alan Matturro, who is playing for Defensor Sporting is capable to be used in the no-nonsense centre-back role, or as ball-playing defender. His abilities to try long range passes could be a great tool for any counter-attacking sides who uses a low-block.
His abilities to close down and step up from the defensive line to counter threats makes him into a great signing. Along with Aggression, Marking and Tackling, the Uruguayan wonderkid got great Positioning and Concentration to reduce the number of mistakes and be able to intercept passes and moves.
His Acceleration and Pace is decent as well, but I would recommend to not use him at sides playing with a very high defensive line.
Approx. Transfer Cost: € 500K-2Mill
Hugo Félix / 18 / Benfica
For years, the renown Youth Academy of Benfica have produced a number of exciting Portuguese talents. With the best youth training facilities in FM23, Benfica leads the way, and you can find a number of cheap wonderkids and excellent future newgens by scouting their B-team and youth teams.
One of the brightest talents is Hugo Félix, an advanced playmaker who is rumoured to have more potential than his older brother João Félix. In FM23, Hugo Félix is a highly creative player. Even though he lacks some awareness and teamwork, the Advanced playmaker got the ball control and one-on-one capabilities to create chances and keep possession of the ball regardless of pressure.
Hugo is a player who will shine in small pocket of spaces, just like a certain Lionel Messi. You can use him either in the centre of the park in a 4-3-3 formation or let him work between the lines similar to Martin Ødegaard or Steven Berghuis in a 4-2-3-1 / 3-4-3 formation where he plays in the half spaces as a central winger, or behind the striker as an attacking midfielder.
Note his decent finishing and great long shots which makes him able to finish the chances himself and become a threat from deep with his penetrating runs.
Approx. Transfer Cost: € 1.5-3Mill
Anders Hartveit Ryste / 17 / Odd
If you’re playing with a Championship side or a club in Belgium or Holland, then Norwegian striker talent Anders Hartveit Ryste might be a great signing. The Pressing forward got decent overall attributes with Acceleration, Finishing and Flair standing out.
Like most Norwegian talents, he got the Determination, Teamwork and Determination to improve and work for the team. In the final third, his composure, off the ball and finishing let him get into goalscoring opportunities and with his fairly decent height (175cm) and Heading (12) he can score goals from set-pieces and crosses as well.
Even though he’s a bit off the abilities of Sindre Walle Egeli at FC Nordsjælland, who you also need to check out, the young Odd striker got the potential to become a great Championship player.
Approx. Transfer Cost: € 150K-1Mill
More Cheap Wonderkids Bargains?!
Do you have any suggestions of cheap wonderkids in Football Manager 2023 that didn’t make it on our list? Leave your suggestion below, or stay tune for more FM23 Cheap Wonderkids recommendations coming at FM23 release!