If you are looking to dominate your peers over the long term in Football Manager 2018 then it pays to invest in the best wonderkids: young, up-and-coming players. Without such a vision of the future you are at the whim of the vagaries and unpredictable price fluctuations of the seasonal windows.

Fortunately, there are a few exceptions to the rule. We’ve scoured the Football Manager 2019 database to find the best wonderkids that you can sign for under £5m.

Unfortunately, predicting which young players are going to make the grade is a difficult task. For every Lionel Messi there are 50 to 100 Gavin Hoytes and Bebes. Therefore, it is essential to do your research before taking a gamble on a teenager.

Related: the best PC simulation games.

To help you in this regard, we have put together a team of 11 players we believe are going to make the grade and come to dominate Football Manager 2018 as the virtual years pass by. Some of those listed are well known and already plying their trade at top European clubs, others are rough diamonds waiting for their moment to shine.

Sign as many of these Football Manager 2018 wonderkids as you can, make sure to give them the right coaching, and reap the rewards.

Christian Fruchtl

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Position: GK
Club: Bayern Munich
Age: 17
Nationality: German
Value: £225k
Expected cost: £30-40 million

Gianluigi Donnarumma is so last season. In 2018 you need Bayern Munich’s Christian Fruchtl, sweeper keeper understudy to legend-in-his-lifetime Manuel Neuer, and one of FM18’s best wonderkids.

At just 17, Fruchtl possesses impressive stats across those that matter for a modern keeper, including composure, rushing out, agility, and jumping. He only gets better under the tutorage of quality coaches.

You will need to keep Fruchtl waiting in the wings for a couple of seasons before putting him into the fire that is a starting 11 for a top-tier club. It also helps his development enormously if you can find a team to take him on loan and play him regularly.

Luca Pellegrini

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Position: DL
Age: 18
Club: AS Roma
Nationality: Italian
Value: £120k
Expected cost: £4-7 million

Young fullbacks harbouring genuine quality are notoriously difficult to find given the increasingly complex nature of the position in the modern game. They need to be attackers and defenders and come with the physical prowess – predominantly speed and stamina – to move up and down the touchline for 90 minutes.

Pellegrini has this ability and combines it with excellent starting stats for work rate, teamwork, and off the ball – meaning he will rarely be out of position. You can also pick him up for a fairly reasonable fee, meaning you should place him high on your wonderkids priority list.

Matthijs de Ligt

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Position: DC
Club: Ajax
Age: 17
Nationality: Dutch
Value: £5 million
Expected cost: £25-30 million

At 17 years of age, Matthijs de Ligt became the youngest player since 1931 to play a senior game for the Dutch national team. This followed his call up to the Ajax first team for the 2016/17 season in which he played 23 times – nine times in the Europa League. Such a level of experience is almost unheard of for a central defender at such an age.

De Ligt is a fantastic option if you are looking for someone to play the ball out of defence as opposed to merely being a stopper. He is more Toby Alderweireld than John Terry, which is very much in keeping with the needs of the top modern teams.

Carlos Badal

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Position: DC
Club: Valencia
Age: 18
Nationality: Spanish
Value: £18.25k
Expected cost: £1.5 million release clause

If safety at the back is your concern then you could do much worse than pin your future hopes on Valencia’s Carlos Badal. He is more of a no-nonsense defender than de Ligt, which means the two would work quite well as a partnership.

His determination rating of 19 out of 20 is simply unheard of for a teenager, and this is backed up by excellent ability in tackling, marking, and heading making him a superb wonderkid. Swoop for him at the start of the game and take advantage of his meagre transfer release clause.

Alec Georgen

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Postion: DR
Club: Paris-Saint Germain
Age: 18
Nationality: French
Value: £600k
Expected cost: £11-16 million

Not many young players enjoy the kind of mental stats owned by PSG’s Alec Georgen, the 18-year-old standing out in vision, work rate, concentration, and teamwork. Like Lucatelli above him on this list, these intangible qualities make him an excellent wonderkid candidate to play fullback for many seasons to come.

PSG clearly understand that they have someone of class on their hands, as demonstrated by the fact that it is incredibly difficult to convince them to let him go for much less than £15 million – despite a valuation of just £600k.

Sander Berge

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Position: DMC / MC
Club: Genk
Age: 19
Nationality: Norwegian
Value: £7.5 million
Expected cost: £19-25 million

Hailing from Norway, Sander Berge is one of the finest young players we have ever seen in Football Manager. His technical passing ability and intelligence make him a threat when deployed anywhere through the middle of the pitch, meaning he is a player you can build your team around.

He costs quite a bit of cash to acquire, but it is well worth the effort and investment. At the start of the game he is not quite ready for a top team, but send him on loan for a season and start playing him regularly thereafter.

Gaspar Campos-Anso

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Position: MC / AMC
Club: Sporting Gijon
Age: 17
Nationality: Spanish
Value: £76k
Expected cost: £1.3 million release clause

Like Berge, Gaspar Campos-Anso is a future star through the middle of the pitch – although the Spaniard is better placed slightly further forward than his Norwegian counterpart.

His stats for technique, passing, and first touch give him a David Silva-esque ability to keep the play fast and tidy in and around the box, but he outdoes his fellow countryman in terms of pace and acceleration. His low fee makes him an absolute bargain.

Felice D’Amico

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Position: AML / AMC / AMR
Club: Palermo
Age: 16
Nationality: Italian
Value: £185k
Expected cost: £1-3 million

We all like a player with flair, someone not afraid to launch into an audacious dribble against the best teams, or attempt a ridiculous showcase of skill when simplicity would suffice. If you are looking for that than look no further than Felice D’Amico.

He is not an expensive player, but he starts the game out on loan and with a future fee release clause. This means you have got to wait a while before you can sign him, but it pays to add him to your shortlist and not forget that he is there.

Kylian Mbappe

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Position: AMR / ST
Club: Paris-Saint Germain
Age: 18
Nationality: French
Value: £48.5 million
Expected cost: A lot

If you did not know about Kylian Mbappe before his £160 million move from AS Monaco to Paris-Saint Germain, chances are you do now. Arguably the world’s most high-profile wonderkid, it is impossible to keep the Frenchman off of this list despite the difficulty you are going to have coming up with the funds to prise him away from his Parisian paymasters.

The Easter bunny will be found running around hiding around 30,000 eggs throughout the 4 days in the maze, and the mission is to find the bunny, find the eggs, and then find your way out of the 6 hectare or 8 kms of paths in the maze.During the average 50 minutes in the maze you will come upon more than 100 kernels of knowledge, or trivia signs giving you an insight into 'Amazing Emergency Services', the theme of this year's maze.These signs will also have colourful Easter egg pictures attached to them. Match the post numbers with the pictures on the game sheet and claim another Easter egg. Please wear gumboots or old footwear regardless of whether the egg hunt is in the Amazing Maze or the forest.On Sunday night there is a night time Easter egg hunt by torchlight between 7 pm and 9 pm; bring your own torch and bring the whole family for a hilarious night out. Easter diablo maze 2017. A quiz can also be completed about 'Emergency Service' to fill in the time while you're being happily lost. This is wonderful Easter weekend entertainment for all family members.

Mbappe’s pace, acceleration, and dribbling ability make him an incredible weapon when asked to run directly at defenders, with his natural flair giving him the self-confidence to never give up.

Acquire this 18-year-old wonderkid, or simply play as PSG in order to take advantage of his talents, and you will have an attacker primed to dominate at the top level for many seasons to come.

Patrick Cutrone

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Position: ST
Club: AC Milan
Age: 19
Nationality: Italian
Value: £3.6 million
Expected cost: £18-25 million

Nostalgic for the battering ram style of Italian strikers such as Christian Vieri and Luca Toni? Then Patrick Cutrone is your man. The six-footer is more than capable as an individual to build a blunt-but-effective attack around, possessing the determination and speed to chase down hopeful long balls, the strength to hold off defenders, and the passing ability to bring onrushing teammates into play.

His finishing ability with his head and feet isn’t too shabby, either.

Kasper Dolberg

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Siegefall gameloft. Position: ST
Club: Ajax
Age: 19
Nationality: Danish
Value: £10.25 million
Expected cost: £25 -30 million

Within weeks of starting our first two Football Manager 2018 careers, Kasper Dolberg was snapped up by PSG in one instance, and by Manchester City in the second. Do you need any more evidence of his potential quality?

Dolberg’s physical stats are uniformly impressive across the board, backed up by equally strong technical abilities. As such, the Dane makes for a fantastic player when used in the ‘Complete Forward’ role and used to created goals as frequently as scoring for himself. Think Karim Benzema but slightly better.

Honourable mentions

Best wonderkid goalkeepers

Gianluigi Donnarumma (18, Italy, AC Milan)
Mile Svilar (17, Belgium, Benfica)
Luca Unbehaun (16, Germany, Borussia Dortmund)
Arijanet Muric (18, Switzerland, Manchester City)
Inaki Pena (18, Spain, Barcelona)

Best wonderkid defenders

Trent Alexander-Arnold (18, England, Liverpool)
Kevin Mac Allister (19, Argentina, A.A. Argentinos Juniors)
Reece Oxford (18, England, West Ham United)
Thomas Basila (18, France, FC Nantes)
Riccardo Marchizza (19, Italy, Sassuolo)

Best wonderkid midfielders

Romario Baro (17, Portugal, FC Porto)
Tom Davies (19, England, Everton)
Manuel Locatelli (19, Italy, AC Milan)
Sergio Diaz (19, Spain, Real Madrid)
Christian Pulisic (18, USA, Borussia Dortmund)

Best wonderkid strikers

Kwang-Song Han (18, North Korea, Cagliari)
Alexander Isak (17, Sweden, Borussia Dortmund)
Andrea Pinamonti (18, Italy, Internazionale)
Asier Villalibre (19, Spain, A. Bilbao)
Victor Osimhen (18, Nigeria, Wolfsburg)

Football Manager 2018 Scandinavian Talents Potential Norwegian, Swedish and Danish Wonderkids in FM18Want to extend your knowledge of the best Football Manager 2018 talents? Today VivaLaVidaFM continues the focus on providing player recommendations for Football Manager 2018. With the massive shortlist of released, it’s time to hand you the list of the most promising Scandinavian talents in Football Manager 2018.In order to help you spot some of the best young talents in Scandinavia has taken a closer look at the top 10 youngsters and promising talents from Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

Together with a brief overview of the player, he’ll be discussing some of their pros and cons handing you a short player review of the top 10 Scandinavian talents to watch.This article will feature some of the better known wonderkids, like Kasper Dolberg and Martin Odegaard, but will also features some of the lesser known youngsters from the Nordic region.In addition to the most promising Scandinavian talents in Football Manager 2018 Passion4FM has compiled a massive shortlist of the best talents of Scandinavia, which you can download below. Date of Birth: 17/4/1998. Nationality: Norwegian.

Current Club: Celtic. Position(s): DC, DM, MCKristoffer Ajer spent last season out on loan at Kilmarnock and will be hoping that his first-team experience there will have earned him the chance of a regular spot in Celtic’s first-XI. At 19 years of age he still has time to reach his potential, but must be afforded first team football if he is to do so.The versatile youngster is natural in central defence and midfield and so offers added depth to your squad.

Date of Birth: 23/1/2001. Nationality: Norwegian. Current Club: Liverpool. Position(s): MC, AMCYoung Edvard Tagseth is a Liverpool hot prospect who prefers to play as a deep-lying playmaker in central midfield.

The Norwegian would benefit hugely from some tutoring, though with several other youth prospects hoping to benefit from some tutelage he may well miss out.With his strength and positioning being as low as they are, perhaps Tagseth would be most suited to an attacking midfield role, rather than a defensive one. He’ll need a remarkable improvement on his physicals though, with only 3 in strength, but at 16 he does have age on his side.

Date of Birth: 31/8/1999. Nationality: Norwegian. Current Club: Molde. Position(s): ML, AMLCTobias Svendsen is a very exciting youth prospect from Norway.

At 17, he already has a couple of attributes that stand out; his 15’s in first touch, dribbling and flair highlight how creative Svendsen could be. The young wingers driven personality will only aid his development.Svendsen’s contract ends in November 2018. Make the most of this and try to sign him on the cheap! With the right guidance and conditions, coupled with a little bit of luck, Svendsen could become a crucial player in most first-team squads around the world. Date of Birth: 8/2/2000. Nationality: Danish. Current Club: Ajax.

Position(s): AMRLC, STVictor Jensen is an attacking midfielder who can play naturally in all three of the AM positions. His versatility means that he’d be a good player to have in the first-team squad to provide backup, allowing him minutes where possible to further his progression.Ajax are known for developing their younger players and so hopefully they will give Jensen a chance in the first-team sooner rather than later. He will need to improve his strength as this is a clear weakness in his game. Date of Birth: 19/9/1998.

Nationality: Danish. Current Club: Dortmund. Position(s): MRL, AMRLJacob Bruun Larsen is natural on both wings and can also provide decent backup as a full-back or wing-back. He is by no means poor defensively, with 8 in tackling and 7 in marking. The Dortmund youngster will be hoping for first-team football; a loan spell will be the most likely way for him to receive this.Larsen may be more difficult to acquire as Dortmund are unlikely to want to sell him.

If you are Dortmund boss then Larsen is one of your youngsters to keep a hold of and develop. He has a bright future ahead of him. Date of Birth:. Nationality: Norwegian. Current Club: Heerenveen (on loan from Real Madrid). Position(s): AMRCMartin Odegaard burst onto the footballing scene a couple of years ago.

He signed for Real Madrid back in 2015 and is currently on loan at Dutch side Heerenveen. The advanced playmaker has the potential to be a great player on FM18, can you help him become world-class?I can’t quite believe that Odegaard is earning £84K p/w!

He’s only 18! If you are to purchase Odegaard, expect to have to pay him high wages to leave his Real Madrid contract. Perhaps a loan move is the way to go.

Date of Birth: 18/2/1998. Nationality: Norwegian.

Current Club: KRC Genk. Position(s): DM, MC, AMCNorwegian international Sander Berge, capped for the first time in 2017, is a very exciting prospect on Football Manager 2018. His mental and physical attributes are all 10 or above and his technicals aren’t too bad either.

He is equally natural in both the advanced and deep-lying playmaker roles.Sander Berge will be getting regular football with Genk and should develop well in the first year. With Genk being in the Belgian league, it shouldn’t take too much to prize Berge away from them. He would be a good addition to most top sides across Europe.

Date of Birth: 21/9/1999. Nationality: Swedish. Current Club: Dortmund. Position(s): STAlexander Isak looks like a true wonderkid on this years FM. Already capped by Sweden at only 17, Isak plays for German giants Dortmund.

He is a physical striker who stands 190cm tall, meaning that he would be a great player to be able to bring on when chasing a goal late on.Though his contract expires in 2019, Dortmund are unlikely to want to sell the youngster. If you are to make a move for him then do so at the first opportunity you can. As time goes on Isak will just get better which, in turn, will inflate his transfer value. Date of Birth: 6/10/1997.

Nationality: Danish. Current Club: Ajax. Position(s): AML, STKasper Dolberg is arguably the most recognisable of names in this list of Scandinavian wonderkids. The 19-year-old Danish forward plays for Ajax and was a key member of their first-team squad last season. In FM18 he is a wanted man!The biggest concern when you look at Dolberg’s coaching report is his susceptibility to injuries.

An injury can often have a detrimental effect on a player in their career. For more information on injuries and how you can prevent them, read a post I wrote over on my website.