Everyone wants to sign one of the best Football Manager 2022 wonderkids but truth be told, most clubs can’t afford these players apart from the top clubs with a huge transfer budget. For smaller clubs with limited finances, it might pay off to use the scouting team to identify little-known hidden gem wonderkids and talents which they can develop and sell for a significant fee that improves their finances.
Finding little-known hidden gem wonderkids in FM22 could be described as real art. It’s not for anyone spending hours browsing through major and smaller nations in the hunt for cheap wonderkids and bargains that got the potential to play at a higher level of football.
But fear not! We have actually done most of the job for you!
To help you identify ‘the best’ hidden gem wonderkids in FM22, I’ve compiled this list of cheap wonderkids that are great value for the money! You’ll find a mix of possible rather unknown wonderkids to you, as well as some talents of greater reputation that you might have discovered already, but are playing outside the top leagues.
Our recommendation of hidden FM22 wonderkids features players that you can develop into future stars. I’ve searched high and low across the globe to help you get to know some of the Under-21 hidden gems in Football Manager 2022 which you probably have never heard of!
The great thing is that these hidden gem wonderkids are available for under €10Million and got the potential to become future ‘superstars’. Follow along, to get to know some of the cheap wonderkids in FM22.
DISCLAIMER! The starting player attributes and development 10 years into future, can/will vary from save to save. Our star rating recommendations aim to provide you with an insight into the players average potential, where 5-star is 170-200 PA.
Top 12 Hidden Gems | Little Known Football Manager 2022 Wonderkids
Manfred Ugalde / 19 / Twente (Lommel SK)
Manfred Ugalde is one of the latest talents to emerge from the renowned Saprissa academy. The Costa Rican pressing forward can be a great signing for any mid-table clubs or those battling to avoid relegation. The former Best Younger Player of the 2019 Scotiabank CONCACAF League tournament award winner signed a contract with City Football Group, the organization that owns among others Lommel SK, Manchester City, Girona and New York City FC in June 2020, and was placed at Lommel SK.
The versatile attacking player, who is currently out on loan at Twente, stands out for his quickness and off the ball movement. With a low center of gravity and bagged with flair, he got the skills to open up the defensive organizations with creativity and rapid change of directions, either with the ball running against his marker or out of possession. Partner him up with a typical poacher, or use him as a lone advanced forward where you aim to attack the space behind the opposition defensive and see him flourish.
He got the potential to become a decent Bundesliga player, but I believe he will be fit the French Ligue 1, Belgium Jupiler Pro, Dutch Eredivisie or English Championship, the best.
Value: € 120K-€1.2Mill
Wage Demands: €21-3K p/w
Manfred Ugalde – 10 Years into future
Lorenzo Lucca / 20 / Pisa
When I’m thinking about a prolific Italian striker my mind wanders to Luca Toni. The former Fiorentina striker scored 268 goals in 586 appearances. Now, the new Luca Toni is emerging in the Italian Serie B. Lorenzo Lucca has already scored 6 goals in 13 appearances and is attracting interest from the biggest Italian clubs.
In FM22, you can do one of the greatest bargains by tieing him up at a deal below €8Million!
The rangy striker (201cm tall!), is the perfect striker for your 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 system. Use him in the target man role in a two-striker partnership, or let him be your main goalscorer. He is an excellent threat at attacking set-pieces due to his brilliant heading and jumping reach. His composure and decisions will make him a dangerous outlet inside the box. With 15 in finishing and powerful shots will make him bang in goals, over and over again!
Lorenzo Lucca isn’t the fastest, nor the most creative forwards in FM22 and isn’t very good at running with the ball, but could be a great signing for teams dominating the match by squeezing play into the opponent’s final third. Make sure the playmakers find him with a through ball or ask them to cross early into the box, and he’ll be able to finish on target.
Value: € 750K-7.6Mill
Wage Demands: €20-40K per week
Lorenzo Lucca – 10 Years Into Future
Agustín Álvarez / 20 / Peñarol
Uruguay has always been great at producing hardworking forwards. In Diego Forlan, Edison Cavani and Luis Suarez, European football have seen these magnificent payers with the eye for the goal lift trophies for their clubs. Now two of them are reaching the latter stages of their career – two players who have scored 118 goals combined for the National team. The player who can take on their heritage is now identified!
A product from the same club that gave us Diego Forlan, Agustín Álvarez may be the player that can help Uruguay to reach World Cup in 2030.
The striker who is currently emerging at Peñarol has scored 23 goals in 38 appearances in 2021. In FM22, he stands out with his abilities inside the box. His accuracy at shooting and finishing could let you see him score tenth of goals throughout a season. Similar to Lorenzo Lucca, he’s great in aerial situations but is far quicker and got better movements.
He could be a great Advanced Forward, or Complete forward, as he is very well-rounded. His quickness and movements can make him a great attacking threat, as you aim to play over the opposition defensive lines with a more direct passing style.
Value: €8-12Mill
Wage Demands: €15-20K per week
Agustín Álvarez – 10 Years Into Future
Hugo Félix / 17 / Benfica
The Benfica Academy is one of the leading clubs in Europe when it comes to youth development. At the best football school in Portugal, and possibly in the entire world, at least according to our ranking of the best Youth Academies in Football Manager, you can find some of the best cheap wonderkids and bargains in FM22. One ‘hidden gem ‘wonderkid is the brother of Portuguese superstar João Félix.
Let me introduce one of my favorite FM22 wonderkids; Hugo Felix!
Just like his brother, he’s a creative attacking midfielder who stands out for his vision and flair. While João Félix could perform as a wide advanced playmaker or false nine, Hugo is more of a Mezzala or Advanced Playmaker who can connect play and create chances from the middle of the park, or the half-spaces.
He’s a player who stands out in possession of the ball. He is composed with the ball at his feet, got the first touch, technique and balance to interchange passes at a quick tempo and retain possession. His close control makes him able to pass and receive without worrying about loose touches and gifting the ball to the opponent. Despite he got the abilities to find teammates with incredible passes and through balls, he also got the capabilities to take on a player if required to. His dribbling and agilitymakes him able to create space for his teammates as he moves forward with the ball. He could be a great solution as an attacking midfielder moving between the lines and setting up the forwards into goalscoring opportunities.
Apart from creating chances and assists, he got great qualities in finishing off the attacks by long shots from just outside the penalty box, or inside the box.
Hugo Felix is a great player for both 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 possession systems, but could also be an option for 3-4-2-1 or 3-4-1-2 systems where movements are coming from his sides as you use ‘look for underlaps’.
Value: €1.5K-4Mill
Wage Demands: €5K-15K per week
Hugo Félix – 10 Years Into Future
Akinkunmi Amoo / 19 / Hammarby IF
If you’re looking for a cheap equivalent of Neymar or Kylian Mbappe, one inverted winger to look at is the Nigerian winger Akinkunmi Amoo. 2021, is the second season he’s at Hammarby. So far he seems to have adapted to the Scandinavian climate and Allsvenskan level pretty well. With 4 assists and 9 goals in 28 appearances this season, the Nigerian ‘speedy Gonzalez’ has dazzled the opponents.
Akinkunmi Amoo’s main strengths are his capabilities with the ball at his feet. With low centre of gravity, great at finding space when cutting inside with the ball, he’s great at creating chances and making those key passes and assists. He’s a very unpredictable player who can overload the right half-space. As he cuts inside, he got fierce long shots and finishing skills striking the ball well. This makes him into a huge threat as the team enters the final third.
The attacking inside forward could be a great signing for your 4-3-3 vertical tiki-taka tactic or 4-2-3-1 wide counter-attacking system. He got the potential to play at the highest level of football, but I assume he’ll be best fitted in Italy Serie A, French Ligue 1 or Spanish La Liga.
Value: €550K-5.6Mill
Wage Demands: €4K-5.25K per week
Akinkunmi Amoo – 10 Years Into Future
Matías Lacava / 18 / Santos (Academica Puerto Cabello)
The number of Venezuelan superstars or wonderkids in top football isn’t many, but perhaps this new top talent that is currently on loan at Santos FC until December 2022 could be a player to take up the heritage of Salomón Rondón.
Matías Lacava received his debut for Santos in the middle of November replacing top FM22 Wonderkid Angelo Gabriel. Able to play in all attacking positions, whether it’s as an Inside Forward, Shadow Striker or Advanced Forward. He stands out for his brilliance at free kicks and penalties but also got the creativity and unpredictability to cause chaos in the opponent’s defensive block.
He got great vision and passing technic to thread passes between the lines as well as the agility and dribbling to beat his marker in one-on-one situations. He’s perfect in the Inside forward role as he cuts inside from the flank and tries long shots from zone 14, or moves into channels to get into the penalty box and place the ball in the back of the net.
Since he’s out on loan until 31-12-2022, it has its pros and cons. He might perform greatly in Brasileiro Serie A something that increases his reputation and transfer cost. Regardless, he’s one to keep an eye on for the future.
Value: €50K-450K
Wage Demands: €1.5K-2K per week
Matías Lacava – 10 Years Into Future
Chuki / 17/ Real Valladolid
Spain has always managed to develop technically gifted players to the highest stage. While Gavi and Pedri have stolen the show in the past months, there are lots of great creative Spanish wonderkids to watch out for. One of these is Chuki who’s coming through at Real Valladolid.
Chuki received his Spanish Under-18 debut in September and is one of the talents Barcelona has its sensors out for. Standing out for his sublime passing and off the ball, he’s an attacking central midfielder who can create space for others by making third runs into the penalty box.
His capabilities to move into the final third and offer support to the strikers in and around the box and finish off chances could let you see a central midfielder who bags double figures of goals. His movements and abilities to find space, and passing technic can provide that something extra your team needs to penetrate the opposition block by passing your way through it – in a tiki-taka manner.
You can use him as an AMC with the role of an advanced playmaker in a 4-2-3-1 formation, or as a central midfielder attack in a 3-5-2 or 4-3-3 formation.
In some ways, you can look at Chuki as a young version of David Silva, even though there are several areas about his game that needs improvement. Still, his passing, first touch and balance is world-class at such a young age!
Chuki got the potential to play at the highest level of football and could become as good as Pedri or Andres Iniesta.
Value: €40K-3.8Mill
Wage Demands: €4K-8K per week
Fidel Ambriz / 18 / León
In Mexico, Colombia and Uruguay you got the potential to find some cheap hidden wonderkids in Football Manager 2022. One of these players is Fidel Ambriz. The defensive midfielder has made 11 appearances for León this season and could become the next Rafael Marquez.
With the ability to re-train him into a quick ball-playing defender or libero, the Mexican wonderkid got all the capabilities to protect the defensive line whilst being secure in possession. Standing out for his positioning, anticipation and quickness, he’s able to read the game well and be at the right place at the right time.
He lacks a bit of work rate, strength and aggression to become a good ball-winning midfielder, but I see him as a useful deep-lying playmaker or segundo volante. Partner him up with a physically strong player that got the stamina and work rate to cover a lot of ground, and let Ambriz be the one connecting defensive with attacking unit by passes and defensive splitting through ball. Use him in a double pivot in a 4-2-3-1 DM or in a 3-1-3-3 or 4-3-2-1 formation. He got great close control and decent tackling, marking and decision-making to regain possession and close down attacking opponents.
Fidel Ambriz can also be a great player to overload the opposition defensive block by letting him make late runs from deep. I believe he can cause chaos in the opponent’s defensive structure as he runs with the ball directly towards them.
The player still lacks the levels to make an immediate impact in the top leagues, but should have the potential to be a great signing for Italian Serie A, Belgium Jupiler Pro or French Ligue 1.
Value: €325K-3.3Mill
Wage Demands: €1K-2K per week
Octavian Popescu / 18 / FCSB
Octavian Popescu has really increased his reputation and transfer market value over the past year. After receiving his debut in the Romanian Liga 1 match against ACSM Poli, the left winger has made a total of 38 appearances. He has produced 8 assists and scored 5 goals by being used both as right winger, shadow striker and left inverted winger.
The Romanian wonderkid, stands out for his quickness and one-on-one capabilities. With unpredictability, vision and dribbling, he got all the tools at his disposal to break through the opponent’s defensive structure and set up his teammates for chances, whether it comes from crosses, through balls or overloads down the flanks.
The technically gifted teenager has the stamina to cover the entire flank, or make lots of short bursts to find vertical space and accelerate past his marker. Use him to stretch the opposition’s defensive lines and let him attack the byline to get in crosses, or use him in the IW-A role and see him make diagonal runs into the channels between FB and DC.
Due to his versatility can be used in a number of formations.
Value: €325K-3.3Mill
Wage Demands: €1K-2K per week
Karim Konaté / 17 / ASEC Mimosas
From the club that brought us Salomon Kalou, Lacina Traore and AIK’s wonderkid Bénie Adama Traoré, you can find a new pearl at ASEC Mimosas. Karim Konaté is a well-rounded forward that could be seen as the future Didier Drogba. The youngster received his international debut for the Ivorian Cost National team earlier in September and have scored 3 goals in 4 appearances in the AFC Champions League.
Standing out for his work rate, off the ball movement, acceleration and aggression, he’s a tireless forward that can hunt for possession and close down the opponent. Perfect for the Advanced Forward -, Complete Forward- or as Pressing Forward role, he can suit a number of systems. He got the skills to run against the opposition in a more counter-attacking system, move into channels with his off-the ball or recycle possession as a deep-lying forward. Inside the penalty box, he’s accurate with his shots and is calm in pressing situations. He can finish from close range or from outside the box, or be a threat at aerial situations.
By signing the player to a team with better training facilities, his level of attributes may skyrocket!
All in all, he might be the wonderful cheap gem you’re looking for!
Value: €230K-800K
Wage Demands: €2K-3K per week
Hollman McCormick / 15 / Independiente Santa Fe
If you’re one who is always looking to build for the future, one of the wonderkids to sign is Colombian striker with the wonderful name: Hollman McCormick. He’s a Colombian of Irish descent and could potentially be eligible to play for Ireland in the future. As one of the youngest players in FM22, you can develop the player into your needs.
The teenager made his debut for the first team in October 2020 and wrote himself into the history books by becoming the fifth-youngest player ever to appear in the Copa Libertadores in May 2021.
In my save, he seems like a great future target man or deep-lying forward. He got great quickness, technique and close control to drop deep and play with the back to goal by bringing his teammates into play. He’s got great heading, but lacks the height or jumping reach to become a real threat in aerial situations. Because of this, I’d look to develop his vision anticipation and passing to play in the False Nine role.
Available for a very cheap fee, he could turn out to become a real gem 10 years into future, if you pick him up sooner rather than later.
Value: €45K-500K
Wage Demands: €900-1K per week
Abass Samari / 17 / Accra Lions
In the last post about cheap wonderkids we looked at fellow Accra Lions teammate Rauf Salifu. Now the time has come to look at the central midfield Abass Samari. The Ghanaian playmaker can play either as a DM, CM or AM.
He received his first-team debut only a month ago, playing as a central midfielder, but has later been used as an attacking midfielder in a 5-1-2-1-2 system.
Featuring great teamwork, passing and close control, the young deep-lying playmaker can follow tactical instructions and dictate the tempo of the game. He’s got a decent balance to keep control of possession when put under pressure.
Apart from aiding the team in the build-up phase and initiating attacks from deep, he’s also got the aggression and tackling to regain possession in the middle of the park. He’s suitable for any tiki-taka tactics or possession-oriented systems where you use either a regista or a DLP. He’s got decent dribbling to move with the ball forward and can help to penetrate the defensive block by passing or a more direct approach by running at the defence.
The youngster could be a great signing for Danish Superliga clubs, Swedish Allsvenskan, Liga Portugal Bwin or Belgium Jupiler Pro before he’s ready for greater challenges.
Value: €45K-500K
Wage Demands: €900-1K per week
Eyüp Aydin / 17 / Bayern Munich
The last ‘hidden’ wonderkid we’d like to put attention on is a player in the Bayern Münich Academy. The German club is one of the leading clubs in its nation to produce world-class players. Toni Kroos, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Philipp Lahm are just some of the players that the Bavarian club has poached to their Academy.
the new kid on the block is a deep-lying playmaker or ball-winning midfielder Eyüp Aydin. born in Heidenheim, but of Turkish descent, he’s currently making a remark in the Regionalliga for Bayern U23. So far, he’s received 20 appearances for the club, playing behind Croatian wonderkid Gabriel Vidovic and Torben Rhein as a holding midfielder in a 4-3-3 formation.
The young defensive midfielder stands out for his work rate, tackling and aggression. He’s great at following tactical instructions and can cover a lot of ground. He’s got great close control and vision – making him a perfect fit for any possession-oriented system.
He got the potential and skills to reach top football and could be labeled as the next Philipp Lahm or Joshua Kimmich due to his brilliant technic and determination.
Value: €1-3Mill
Wage Demands: N/A
Download Shortlist of the Best Hidden Wonderkids in Football Manager 2022?
Get access to more cheap wonderkids and hidden gems in Football Manager 2022 with our collection of the best cheap FM22 wonderkids and hidden gems. The download includes two shortlists that will extend on our ultimate FM22 wonderkids shortlist, that’s available to download here.