FIFA 22 Wonderkids : The highest potential young players to sign in Career Mode

It's been another breakout season for a whole host of FIFA 22 Wonderkids and with FIFA now on PlayStation Plus, even more players can join the action. With the January transfer window behind us and the regular season reaching its climax, we finally know who will be available to sign in Career mode until next term.

With the start of a brand-new game cycle comes a brand-new cohort of wonderkids ready to take charge of world football. One of the most rewarding parts of FIFA Career Mode is uncovering hidden gems and nurturing their potential until you have a team full of superstars to dominate domestically and internationally.

And while there's a certain skill to blooding overpowered youth players, it adds a different level of realism to win trophies with real footballers.

Despite improvements in sports science, football is still a young person’s game. Ex-pros often describe the moment they started to find the next generation’s talent ‘frightening’ as the moment they knew they had to retire, and the key to long-term success in FIFA 22 is knowing when to swap out your most-reliable performers to train their successor.

FIFA 22 | Official Career Mode Trailer

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As the kings Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo enter the twilight of their career, we’re in an interesting position where some of the hottest prospects looking to take on their crown are still very young.

But you don’t need us to tell you that this Kylian Mbappe kid is pretty good, or to look out for a plucky youngster called Erling Braut Haaland. This list will go over not only the high-potential wonderkids who already have an overall worthy of a top European side, but the lesser-known young players on the brink of a breakout season.

Also, a few of the youngest players with high potential are making their debut in professional football, meaning you can’t lure them away to your team in the first season. After the main table, we’ll go over some of the best FIFA 22 Wonderkids you can sign straight away.

But to kick things off, here are some of the most talented wonderkids we've found since FIFA 22 released.

Best FIFA 22 Wonderkids we've found since release

• Noni Madueke - RM/ST - PSV - £23m Value - 19 - Thanks to already elite pace and dribbling at just 19 years old, Noni Madueke is tailor made for any Premier League or other top club looking for speed and trickery anywhere across their forward line. With 88 starting potential to further improve his key attributes and round out his more mediocre technicals and stamina, Madueke can become very overpowered extremely easily. PSV have a lot of great players like this to be honest - also check out Cody Gakpo and Yorbe Vertessen.

• Jacob Ramsey - CAM/CM - Aston Villa - £5m Value - 20 - Looking like the next in a very long line of English midfielders set to send the hype train into overdrive, Jacob Ramsey is a great pickup for a wide variety of teams in FIFA 22 Career mode. His starting potential was recently bumped up to 88, and when the fee is this reasonable, you can't really go far wrong. Update: As Ramsey's value and overall has increased, he doesn't represent the same kind of value. For a cheaper option, take a look at his Villa teammate Carney Chukwuemeka.

• Tino Anjorin - CAM/CM - Huddersfield Town - £1.5m Value - 19 - For smaller clubs looking at progressive midfield options, Huddersfield's Tino Anjorin has starting potential of 80 alongside a cheap fee.

• Jesus Ferreira - CAM/CF/ST - FC Dallas - £6.5m Value - 20 - For Championship level road to glory teams, Jesus Ferreira is a fantastic deal with really nice movement stats and stamina with 83 starting potential. His dribbling and passing are pretty average to begin with, but work on improving his 2 star skill moves and they should grow quickly as well.

• Florian Wirtz - CAM/CM - Bayer Leverkusen - £64m Value - 18 - Florian Wirtz's potential just keeps going higher and higher, along with his price tag. Despite his incredible talent, he still seems to have a slightly lower profile than the likes of Pedri or Jude Bellingham, so if you're playing as one of the world's richest clubs, be sure to check him out.

• Gavi - CM/LW/RW - Barcelona - £17m Value - 16 - Like I said above, we've all heard of Pedri, but for a similar player that's more accessible - albeit with lower potential and starting overall - check out his Barcelona teammate, Gavi for literally a quarter of the price. Good pace, stamina, technicals and defending make him suited for anywhere across the midfield, while he also has both wings on his listed positions and 89 starting potential.

• Marcus Pedersen - RB - Feyenoord - £6.5m Value - 21 - With nearly 90 pace and stamina at just 21 years old, this 6ft tall fullback is a great signing for pretty much any team. While his 70ish stats in defending, dribbling and passing are decent enough, his +11 starting potential growth means he'll shoot up very quickly and easily.

• Josko Gvardiol - CB/LB - RB Leipzig - £28m Value - 19 - I originally didn't put Josko Gvardiol on this list since you can't get him in the first window, but his incredible stats simply can't be ignored. His combination of pace, strength, technical ability and solid defending right from the start of a FIFA 22 save make him easily the best defender to sign in a Career Mode lasting multiple seasons.

• Noah Mbamba - CB - Club Brugge - £2m Value - 16 - For a much cheaper option who still has 88 potential, check out Noah Mbamba in Belgium. You can't grab him in the first window either, but his sky-high potential coupled with a very reasonable fee make him a tantilising prospect for road-to-glory saves.

• Julian Alvarez - ST/RW/LW - River Plate - £32m Value - 21 - The legend Sergio Aguero might be gone, but Julian Alvarez is the next small, quick and deadly Argentine ready to fill his diminutive boots. While he'll carry a hefty price tag, Alvarez already boasts mid-80s Movement, 81 finishing, and loads of other technicals around the mid-70s to 80s. With a recently buffed starting potential of 87, he'll lead the line of one of Europe's top clubs for years to come. Update: Alvarez was sold to Man City in the winter transfer window and loaned back to River for the rest of the season - so you now have to wait to pick him up.

• Youssoufa Moukoko - ST - Dortmund - £3.8m Value - 16 - The Bundesliga's youngest ever player, and scorer, has finally been added to FIFA. He already has really good Movement, dribbling and finishing, so really the only question you have to ask yourself is how quickly do you buy him?

• Cade Cowell - ST - San Jose Earthquakes - £2.1m Value - 17 - A raw talent from MLS, Cade Cowell combines the Adama Traore-esque qualities of pace, strength, and dribbling into a much cheaper package. With 85 Sprint Speed, 86 Strength, and 69 Dribbling on a 66 overall player, he's an awesome option for lower league teams.

• Alan Velasco - CAM - Independiente - £10m Value - 18 - Another FIFA, another high-potential Argentine talent ready to grow into a ridiculous monster. Alan Velasco has great speed and dribbling from the start, along with usable stamina, so he's well worth checking out. Update: Velasco swapped Argentina for MLS in the winter window, so you'll either have to wait or use an older save to snag him. Alternatively, take a look at Yusuf Demir or Xavi Simons.

• Khephren Thuram - CDM - Nice - £10.5m Value - 20 - Son of France's most capped player, Lillian Thuram, Khephren is a good all-round midfielder already, but has enough potential to push all of his key stats past 80 pretty quickly.

• Goncalo Inacio - CB - Sporting CP - £21m - 19 - With Pace, Strength, Stamina and Defending all around 80, Goncalo Inacio will cost a lot, but could be an integral part of your defence for literally a decade.

• Hugo Siquet - RB - Liege - £3.5m Value - 18 - With usable Movement, Power, and Defending stats across the board, Siquet's real stand out is his 80 Crossing, which essentially marks him out as the cheap Trent Alexander-Arnold. Give his physicals time to grow into his 84 potenial and you've got a great wing back. He joined Freiburg in the winter transfer window, so snap him up if you're working with an older save, or add him to the targets list for later if you're starting fresh.

Highest Potential Wonderkids in FIFA 22

While they might not be ready to take on the world quiet yet, these are the brightest young talents in FIFA 22.

Give them game time, and they'll turn into the best players on the planet.

We're counting young players as 22 and under.

Highest Potential Wonderkids in FIFA 22
Player Name	Age	Team	Position	Overall	Starting Potential
Kylian Mbappe	22	PSG	ST, LW	91	95
Erling Haaland	20	Dortmund	ST	88	93
Gigi Donnarumma	22	PSG	GK	89	93
Phil Foden	21	Man City	CAM, LW, CM	84	92
Kai Havertz	22	Chelsea	CAM, CF, CM	84	92
Trent Alexander-Arnold	22	Liverpool	RB	87	92
Pedri	18	Barcelona	CM	81	91
Joao Felix	21	Atletico Madrid	CF, ST	83	91
Jadon Sancho	21	Man Utd	RW, LW, CF	87	91
Dusan Vlahovic	21	Juventus (Piemonte Calcio)	ST	83	90
Ansu Fati	18	Barcelona	LW	76	90
Ryan Gravenberch	19	Ajax	CM, CDM	78	90
Ferran Torres	21	Barcelona	RW, ST	82	90
Vinicius Jr	20	Real Madrid	LW	80	90
Matthijs de Ligt	21	Juventus (Piemonte Calcio)	CB	85	90
Dayot Upamecano	22	Bayern	CB	82	90
Florian Wirtz	18	Leverkusen	CAM, CM	78	89
Jude Bellingham	18	Dortmund	CM	79	89
Eduardo Camavinga	18	Real Madrid	CM, CDM	78	89
Dejan Kulusevski	21	Tottenham (Juventus (Piemonte Calcio))	RW, CF	81	89
Mason Greenwood	19	Man Utd	RW, ST	78	89
Jules Kounde	22	Sevilla	CB	83	89
Federico Valverde	22	Real Madrid	CM	83	89
Alessandro Bastoni	22	Inter	CB	80	89
Alphonso Davies	20	Bayern	LB	82	89
Mason Mount	22	Chelsea	CAM, CM, RW	83	89
Jamal Musiala	18	Bayern	CAM, LM	76	88
Antony	21	Ajax	RW	79	88
Noni Madueke	19	PSV	RM, ST	77	88
Giacomo Raspadori	21	Sassuolo	ST	74	88
Nuno Mendes	19	PSG	LB	78	88
Rayan Cherki	17	Lyon	RW, LW	73	88
Gabriel Martinelli	20	Arsenal	LM	76	88
Edmond Tapsoba	22	Leverkusen	CB	81	88
Bukayo Saka	19	Arsenal	RM, LM	80	99
Jeremy Doku	19	Stade Rennais	RW	77	88
Rodrygo	20	Real Madrid	RW	79	88
Moussa Diaby	21	Leverkusen	LW, RM	81	88
Takefusa Kubo	20	Mallorca (Real Madrid)	RM, CM, CAM	75	88
Achraf Hakimi	22	PSG	RB	85	88
Cristian Pulisic	22	Chelsea	LW, RW	82	88
Martin Odegaard	22	Arsenal	CAM, CM	82	88
Kayky	18	Man City	RW	66	87
Christos Tzolis	19	Norwich	LM, RM, ST	74	87
Nicolo Rovella	19	Genoa (Juventus)	CM, CDM	70	87
Josko Gvardiol	19	RB Leipzig	CB, LB	75	87
Adam Hlozek	18	Sparta Praha	ST, LM, RM	76	87
Harvey Elliot	18	Liverpool	RW, CM	73	87
Gio Reyna	18	Dortmund	CAM, LM, RM	77	87
Maarten Vandevoordt	19	Genk	GK	71	87
Mikkel Damsgaard	20	Samdoria	LM, LW	77	87

Low Overall, High Potential FIFA 22 Wonderkids

Not everyone likes playing as teams with huge budgets. To afford top talent, you need to pay top dollar, but for clubs with less cash in the kitty, here are some lower overall players with huge potential growth.

You should be able to afford these guys whoever you're playing with. We've tried to pick players who at least have a real picture in-game, and are available in the first season.

Low Overall, High Potential FIFA 22 Wonderkids
Player Name	Age	Team	Position	Overall	Starting Potential
Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty	17	Toronto FC	RM, LM	58	80
Wilfried Gnonto	17	FC Zurich	CF, LM, ST	58	80
Alex Robertson	18	Ross County	CM	58	81
Coniah Boyce-Clarke	18	Reading	GK	59	81
Rav van den Berg	16	PEC Zwolle	CB	59	83
Pierre Dwomoh	17	Royal Antwerp	CAM, CM	60	85
Ricky-jade Jones	18	Peterborough	ST	60	80
Eugenio Pizzuto	19	Lille	CDM, CM	60	80
Rassoul Ndiaye	19	Sochaux	CDM, CM	61	80
Malachi Fagan-Walcott	19	Spurs	CB	61	80
Zeno Debast	17	Anderlecht	CB, CDM	61	81
Luke Matheson	18	Wolves	RWB, RB	62	81
Tommy Doyle	19	Hamburg	CM	62	81
Hannibal Mejbri	18	Man Utd	CAM, CM	62	84
Pere Joan	19	Mallorca	GK	62	81
Alexios Kalogeropoulos	16	Olympiacos	CB	62	82
Fredrik Oppegard	18	PSV	LB	63	80
Lesley Ugochukwu	17	Stade Rennais	CM	63	80
Cody Drameh	19	Leeds Utd	RB	63	80
Ivan Saranic	18	Dinamo Zagreb	RW, CAM	63	82
Karamoko Dembele	18	Celtic	RM	63	82
Dane Scarlett	17	Spurs	ST	63	86
Charlie Cresswell	18	Leeds Utd	CB	63	80
Llabres	19	Mallorca	LM, LW, RW	63	81
Eren Dinkci	19	Werder Bremen	RW, CF	64	81
Maurits Kjaergaard	18	RB Salzburg	CAM, CM	64	82
Teden Mengi	19	Man Utd	CB	64	82
Cade Cowell	17	San Jose Earthquakes	ST, LM, RM	64	80
Issac Nuhu	19	KAS Eupen	LW, ST	64	80
Vassilis Sourlis	18	Olympiacos	CM, CDM, CAM	64	82
Paul Nebel	18	Mainz	RM, LM, CAM	64	83
Senne Lammens	18	Brugge	GK	64	81
Lorenzo Pirola	19	Monza	CB	64	82
Jayden Braaf	18	Man City	LW, RW	64	84
Gavin Bazunu	19	Portsmouth	GK	64	82
Tino Anjorin	19	Lokomotiv Moscow	CAM, CM	64	82
Liam Delap	18	Man City	ST	64	85
Cole Palmer	19	Man City	RW, CAM	64	84
Osame Sahraoui	20	Valerenga	LW, CM	65	80
Julian Aude	18	Atletico Lanus	LB, CDM	65	82
Luca Oyen	18	Genk	LW	65	83
Bryan Okoh	18	RB Salzburg	CB	65	82
Raphael Onyedika	20	Midtjylland	CDM, CM, CB	65	81
Franco Orozco	19	Atletico Lanus	LW, RW	65	84
Mohamed Taabouni	19	AZ Alkmaar	CAM, LW	66	83
Jarrad Branthwaite	19	Everton	CB	66	84
Xavi Simons	18	PSG	CM	66	83
Ian Maatsen	19	Coventry	LWB, LB	66	82
Mohamed-Ali Cho	17	Angers	ST	66	81
Samuele Ricci	19	Empoli	CM, CDM	67	84
Musa Juwara	19	Crotone	ST	67	85
Alex Mighten	19	Nottingham Forest	LM	67	81

Best FIFA 22 Wonderkids to sign in the first season

There are so many awesome wonderkids in FIFA 22, it's tough to know which who pick. Below are just a few who're available to sign straight away.

• Ansu Fati - Barcelona - £17.5m Value - With Barcelona’s dire financial situation, it’s no longer realistic to suggest that any player is completely off limits. Despite inheriting Messi’s number 10 shirt following his return from injury, Ansu Fati can be lured away from the Nou Camp for less than you might expect and is one of the highest rated talents you can add to your squad.

• Jamal Musiala - Bayern - £17.5m Value - An even less realistic signing than Fati, but no less hyped, Jamal Musiala is an awesome young CAM with awesome dribbling and movement stats at just 18 years old. Not only that but he starts with 76 finishing and 5 star skill moves too, making him a useful member of any attack from the start of Career Mode. Focus on training his stamina quickly, and he’ll suit any advanced midfield position. Update: With a series of strong performances, Musiala's value and overall have soared to pretty much unobtainable heights. Since he's not as good value nowadays, check out Yusuf Demir, Adam Hlozek, or Xavi Simons instead.

• Gabriel Martinelli - Arsenal - £18m Value - Arsenal might not be in as much of a crisis now as during their winless start to the Premier League season, but the fact remains: Martinelli has Saka and Pepe above him in the pecking order on the wing, Smith Rowe and Odegaard able to play wherever they’re needed, and Aubameyang and Lacazette to dislodge through the middle. With solid stats already across the board and a starting potential of 88, he’ll grow into a great attacking player with regular minutes.

• Rayan Cherki - Lyon - £7m Value - For a slightly cheaper option at just 17 years old, Rayan Cherki is one of the few players in FIFA to boast a natural pairing of 5 star skills and 5 star weak foot. With 84 dribbling and a starting potential of 88, Cherki can grow into a flair player worthy of being the talisman for any team.

• Ryan Gravenberch - Ajax - £33m Value - He’s expensive, but at just 19 years old Ryan Gravenberch has all the tools to be a Pogba-esque all-round midfielder with a bit of training. Standing at 6ft 3”, you could train his defending to make him an impassable wall, or lean into his already good dribbling and passing to mould him into an unstoppably powerful attacking midfielder.

• Jurrien Timber - Ajax - £11.5m Value - Gravenberch’s Ajax teammate Jurrien Timber is an interesting player. He’s listed as a CB, with great stats for the position. However, at 179cm - about 5ft 9” - you might find him losing too many headers in dangerous areas, despite a good jumping stat of 82. This makes him a prime target for retaining as a RB or CDM, where you can make use of his decent passing and dribbling without exposing his weaknesses.

• Leonidas Stergiou - FC St. Gallen - £2.5m Value - Despite a low starting overall of 67, Stergiou is another shorter centre-back who makes up for it with a massive jumping stat of 86. He’s a really cheap option, making his accessible to a wide range of teams, and with a starting potential of 86, will grow into a top player fast with good performances.

• Daniel Braganca - Sporting - £12.5m Value - A nippy, technically gifted all-rounder, Braganca, isn’t the most powerful option in FIFA 22, but makes up for his lack of strength with pace, a good touch, and passing acumen. Capable of playing at CM, CAM, or even deeper at CDM, you can use Braganca’s 84/85 potential to focus either on growing his incisive passing or rounding out his solid defence.

• Maarten Vandevoordt - Genk - £4.3m Value - If you're looking for a cheap goalkeeper with high potential either for your bench or Road to Glory save, it's hard to look past Maarten Vandevoordt. With 87 starting potential and an affordable fee, he ticks pretty much all of the boxes.

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