100 Wonderkids You Need to Sign on Football Manager 2019

There's one thing we all clamour for when we start a new Football Manager 2019 save: a bargain wonderkid who has the potential to take your team to the next level.

These players become the centrepiece of your tactical masterplan. Whether it be to spearhead your team to La Liga and Champions League glory with Barcelona, or to be a utility man in the battle for the Scottish Challenge Cup with Stenhousemuir, you have a vision for where every single one of your incoming transfers fits in.

You defend them fervently to the press, who have the gall to question the fact that he's played for seven clubs already and he's only 23. You ask the captain to welcome him to the team, and if he's coming from overseas, you sometimes even bring in another player who speaks the language just to give him a mate. Sometimes, they commit treasonous betrayal by giving you a thumbs down in team-meetings...but we'll deal with that when we come to it.

At any rate, you want to get your signings right, especially in this early stage of the game's release. We're going to help you do just that, by breaking down a list of 100 wonderkids (who won't cost a fortune) to get on your shortlist before you do anything else on that Borussia Dortmund save, courtesy of FM Scout.

*All values subject to change.

Goalkeepers

Alban Lafont 

Fiorentina - £5m

Only Gianluigi Donnaruma has a higher potential than this guy, so unless you've got crazy money to throw about (and don't get me wrong, Lafont won't be cheap) Lafont is your man long-term for a major club. 

Andriy Lunin

Real Madrid - £70,000

Something of a newcomer to the mainstream players of the game, 18-year-old Lunin is one of the gems of Real Madrid's youth ranks at the beginning of any given save.

Mile Svilar

Alessandro Plizzari

Milan - £600,000

Plizzari has a senior season under his belt in Serie B, so is already a decent back-up for major sides, with the potential to go a lot further.

Will Mannion  

Hull - £210,000

Another who is currently cutting his teeth at senior level, Mannion looks like a potential bargain once his loan with Aldershot comes to an end. 

Manuel Gasparini 

Udinese - £200,000

At 16, it's likely Gasparini will be some way off first team level whoever you sign him for - but get him in your youth ranks early on and watch him grow. 

Gavin Bazunu 

Shamrock Rovers - £30,000

Man City have already beaten you to the punch with the signing of this guy, but he's well worth prying from their grasp, having already experienced Europa League football at just 16.

Haviv Ohayon 

Tel Aviv - £300,000

One of the more developed keepers on the list at 20, it likely wouldn't take too long to get this guy first-team ready.

Ionut Rus 

Free Agent - Free

*FREE TRANSFER ALERT* This guy could be the bargain of the century, and you'll get him on peanuts as far as his wages go. What is there to lose? 

Diogo Costa 

Porto - £280,000

He's 18 at the start of play, and has the potential to go as far as almost anyone. Sign him...before he ends up at Wolves.

Right Backs 

Pablo Maffeo 

Stuttgart - £4.9m

Man City will regret letting the young Spaniard go by the looks of his in-game stats. You're not likely to find a pacy wing-back with higher potential.

Felix Passlack 

Dortmund - £3.4m

Passlack can play basically anywhere on the right hand side, has been known to fill in at left back, and can be picked up for fairly cheap in relation to his potential. Deal? Deal. 

Nordi Mukiele

Raoul Bellanova 

Milan - £100k

A very cheap alternative compared to some others on the list, Bellanova is lacking in first team experience, but has as much potential as anyone.

Josha Vagnoman 

HSV - £2.1m 

With his potential and reasonably high value, Hamburg won't let this guy go for buttons, but he shouldn't be too difficult to obtain as long as you've got some cash to spend.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka 

Crystal Palace - £10.75m

One of the more expensive players on the list, Wan-Bissaka is making waves in Palace's first team at the minute. He'll cost an absolute fortune down the line, so the earlier you sign him, the better. 

Tyler Adams 

RB New York - £1.6m

Previously a central midfielder, Adams has recently reverted to right back, but serves as a long-term option in either of those positions - or as a DM, if that's what you're after.

Mateu Morey 

Barcelona - £120k 

A particularly promising fixture in Barca's youth ranks, Morey is well worth a look, even if the Catalan giants will ask for a good deal more than his low market value. 

Frederik Norrestrand 

Brondby - £10k

You'll get this guy for peanuts, and he'll go on to become a quality right back for almost any club. 

Ryan Nyambe 

Blackburn - £3.4m 

Nyambe is near enough first team ready at Championship level, and can go far beyond that with the right coaching.

Centre Backs

Dayot Upamecano 

Leipzig - £6.75m

Upamecano is an absolute monster at the back, and is first team ready for most clubs you'll play as. He'll cost a fair amount, mind you.

Matthijs de Ligt 

Ajax - £7.25m

The obvious inclusion, de Ligt is already considered world class by many, and is a bona fide first team star at Ajax.

Marco Varnier 

Citadella - £1.5m

Varnier is expected to be one of Italy's first choice centre backs for years to come. It surely won't be long before one of the country's giants snaps him up - so get him on the cheap while you can.

Eder Militao 

Porto - £4.9m

FM Scout reckons the Brazilian has one of the highest potentials of defenders in the game, and can play RB, CB, or CM. Seems like a no-brainer really.

Ethan Ampadu 

Chelsea - £550,000

Famous in the real world for impressing in midfield on his Wales debut, Ampadu is natural in midfield or at centre back, and has the stats to go very far. 

Panagiotis Retsos 

Leverkusen - £5.75m

Retsos has the versatility to play anywhere across the back line, and the composure to walk into almost any team. 

Dael Fry 

Middlesborough - £5.75m

One for those pesky home grown quotas in the Premier League, Fry is 20 and already an accomplished Championship defender. 

Filip Benkovic 

Leicester - £8.25m

As centre backs go, only two players in the game have outright higher potential than this guy, who's currently on loan at Celtic from Leicester City.

Kristoffer Ajer 

Celtic - £8m 

Another plying his trade at the Scottish champions, Ajer is big, strong, composed, and can also fill in in midfield if you need him to. 

Malang Sarr

Left Backs

Luca Pellegrini 

Roma - £1.5m

Pellegrini has burst onto the scene at Roma this season, giving Aleksandr Kolarov a run for his money at left back, and will be one of the world's best left backs on your FM game before too long.

Toni Lato 

Valencia - £2.2m

He likely won't be cheap, but as left backs go, not many have the potential to go further than this guy.

Gian-Luca Itter 

Wolfsburg - £2.1m

Having come through at Real Madrid, Itter departed for the Bundesliga in search of first team football - maybe your team is the next natural step in his burgeoning career.

Josh Tymon 

Stoke - £750k

Quality left backs can be hard to come by in FM, especially at bargain prices, but that's exactly what Josh Tymon offers, provided you have the patience to develop him.

Jay Dasilva 

Chelsea - £2.6m

Dasilva has been threatening to be a quality FM player for a while now, but it looks as if this is the year in which he may realise his potential.

Goncalo Costa 

Sporting CP - £20,000

Despite his surname, Costa certainly won't cost you a lot should you acquire him early on, and there's the potential to make millions on him if he develops like he promises to.

Alex Centelles 

Valencia - £450,000

Another Spanish full-back that looks as if he has a very bright future ahead of him, Centelles is in the top tier of potential as far as buyable left-backs go, so he offers a very promising option.

Zlatan Sehovic 

Partizan Belgrade - £120,000

As far as his current ability goes, Sehovic isn't bad, and will improve fast in the right environment.

Rogerio

Rico Henry 

Brentford - £4.4m 

Henry has been one of the Championship's most promising youngsters for the last few years, and nothing has changed this time around. He's almost Premier League ready, and playing for a Championship club, shouldn't cost too much.

Defensive Midfield

Sandro Tonali

Brescia: £1.2m 

If anyone looks set to make an impact on European football in the years to come, it's Brescia's Sandro Tonali, who has the potential to go as far as anyone in FM.

Amadou Diawara 

Napoli - £17.5m

Diawara will cost a significant amount, but is a ready made first team signing for any club, and has a good six or seven years of drastic improvement in front of him.

Claudio Gomes 

Manchester City - £580,000

With the current crop of youth players at City, Gomes often gets overlooked, but he won't be for long - especially in FM - as long as you don't mind professional players with post-2000 birth dates making you feel disgracefully old.  

Arne Maier

Manuel Locateli 

Milan - £6.5m

Locateli is another Italian who looks set to dominate international football in the years to come, but he'll likely cost you if you're to tempt him from Milan. 

Wendel 

Sporting CP - £2.9m

As well rounded a midfielder as they come, Wendel can do just about every job you'd ask of a primarily holding midfield player.

Douglas Luiz 

Manchester City - £14m

Luiz' development has been stunted since he signed for City two years ago, but could well be their long-term replacement to Fernandinho - unless you get in there first.

Amadou Haidara 

RB Salzburg - £850k

He looks like an absolute steal, given that he's a midfield powerhouse with the attributes to make an impression in any team.

Weston McKennie 

Schalke - £6m

The American international has made a serious impression at Schalke in recent years, and looks poised to become one of the best young players in the world, so you'd be advised to get him while you can.

Ronaldo Vieira 

Sampdoria - £2.2m

Sampdoria had the foresight to pry him away from Leeds a year ago, and will surely profit from it in the near future given his impressive physical attributes.

Right Wing

Ferran Torres 

Valencia - £1.3m

We haven't seen a great Spanish Torres in something approaching a decade now, but Valencia's versatile 18-year-old attacker may be about to change all that - in FM at least.

Exequiel Palacios 

River Plate - £6.25m

More of a wide midfielder than a winger in FM terms, Palacios offers a more reserved alternative to the other south American wide players you might come across on your virtual travels, and can also fill in at central midfield.

Marquinhos Cipriano 

Shakhtar - £1.3m

A versatile attacker that's just as adept playing up front as on the right of an attacking midfield three, Cipriano has the potential to be one of the next great Brazilian forwards.

Tahith Chong

Leon Bailey 

Bayer Leverkusen - £29.5m

Bailey won't come cheap, but he's a season away from becoming one of the best in the world, and he's only 20.

Christian Pulisic 

Borussia Dortmund - £20.5m

Pulisic has been linked with moves to a host of top clubs for who knows how long now, and it's all for good reason. He has the pace and the final product to go as far as anyone on the wing.

Reiss Nelson 

Arsenal - £14m

Nelson is currently making his presence felt in the Bundesliga, and it surely won't be too long before he follows suit and does the same in the Premier League.

Jordi Mboula 

AS Monaco - £1.5m 

Mboula arrived from Barcelona in January, and is highly thought of at Monaco, so won't come for cheap, but is well worth the investment.

Victor Tsygankov 

Dynamo Kyiv - £4.4m

Tsygankov can play on either wing, but is at his best cutting in onto his favoured left foot. Playing for Kyiv, he's likely to be available at a reasonable price.

Federico Chiesa 

Fiorentina - £25m

Chiesa will cost big bucks, but is a ready made star at the top level before you even consider his frightening potential.

Central Midfield

Houssem Aouar 

Lyon - £8.5m

As creative midfielders go, Aouar would give most players a run for their money. He can do it all in an attacking sense, so is worth the investment; even if Lyon drive a hard bargain.

Sergio Gomez 

Borussia Dortmund - £2.1m

Gomez won't offer much from a defensive perspective, but play him in a midfield three and watch your team benefit from his typically Spanish flair.

Ryan Gravenberch 

Ajax - £250,000

At 16, Gravenberch has only started to show what he can do. His value will likely rise sharply with every birthday, so you'd benefit greatly from getting him in early.

Renato Sanches 

Bayern - £13.25m

Sanches had a bit of a disaster at Swansea last season, but he's come into his own since returning to the Allianz Arena, and will be a top player in this year's FM.

Gedson Fernandes 

Benfica - £4m

Fernandes is finding his feet as a first team player in Portugal at the moment, so won't come cheap, but will only get more expensive as the years wear on.

Kangin Lee 

Valencia - £150k

Lee looks like one of the best bargains in the game on the face of it, and can just as easily play off the striker as in the middle of the park.

Mickael Cuisance 

Borussia Monchengladbach - £4.3m

A first team quality player for most clubs at the start of the game, Cuisance has the potential to be one of the best in what is an unbelievable pool of French midfield talent.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles 

Arsenal - £15.5m

Maitland-Niles hasn't so much burst onto the scene at Arsenal as much as he's slowly crept onto it, but his remarkable versatility and potential make him worth a look when it comes time to recruit new talent for your club.

Aurelien Tchouameni 

Bordeaux - £600,000

Tchouameni is a monstrous midfield presence, and worth having around, even if it'll be a while before he's one of your best midfielders.

Mason Mount

Left Wingers

Jadon Sancho 

Borussia Dortmund - £9.5m

No prizes for guessing who makes the top of the left wingers list, as Jadon Sancho's real life antics make his in-game value seem like an absolute steal.

Paulinho 

Bayer Leverkusen - £8.75m

Paulinho, at 17, looks as if he could be the next Neymar, even as the present Neymar is hitting his prime.

Antonio Marin 

Dinamo - £200k

Marin is another just beginning to scratch the surface of his abilities, so it's worth acquiring him when he's available for buttons early on, before other clubs start to take stock.

Josip Brekalo

Ryan Sessegnon 

Fulham - £17m

After being tipped for huge things towards the end of last season, Sessegnon has taken his time to settle into the Premier League. His potential is still massive, however, and he can do a shift at left back which is always a bonus.

Emile Smith-Rowe 

Arsenal - £4.5m

While he hasn't quite had the opportunities it looked like he was set for under Unai Emery as yet, Smith-Rowe remains one of Arsenal's hottest youth prospects, and will be a future asset for whatever side he ends up at in the FM database.

Mikey Johnston 

Celtic - £330k

Johnston is likely to be available for cheap early on, and can grow into an extremely effective wide player for virtually any club.

Alphonso Davies 

Vancouver Whitecaps - £3.3m

Davies looks as if he has an incredibly bright future ahead of him, and is worth the large chunk of your transfer budget that it'll cost to sign him.

Ademola Lookman 

Everton - £11.75m

Having spent last season on loan in the Bundesliga with Leipzig, Lookman was expected to kick on this season, but hasn't really lived up to his promise. He'll cost a bit, but you'd be rewarded handsomely with an impressive player with a lot to prove.

Jeff Reine-Adelaide 

Angers - £2.6m

Despite leaving Arsenal, Reine-Adelaide looks set to bounce back in style, at least as far as FM is concerned.

Attacking Midfield

Phil Foden 

Manchester City - £22.5m

Foden certainly won't be let go on the cheap given his bright future, but it's exactly that which should cause you to dip into your pockets for the future England star.

Joao Felix 

Benfica - £1.2m

Felix is just 18, but has already established himself as a first team player at Benfica, and it surely won't be long before he steps up further.

Kai Havertz 

Bayer Leverkusen - £16.5m

Thought of as one of the GErmany stars of the future, Havertz is the cream of an impressive crop at Leverkusen, and should be able to do a job for you whoever you are, in a number of positions.

Angel Gomes 

Manchester United - £850k

Gomes was quite the talent in last year's game, and has stepped it up again for 19, with the potential to be a world beating attacking midfielder.

Pelayo Morilla 

Gijon - £1.7m

Plying his trade in the lower echelons of La Liga, Morilla has the potential to be one of the best attacking midfielders in the game if given time.

Curtis Jones 

Liverpool - £150,000

While his in-game position doesn't reflect his real life capabilities, he has the potential to go on and make a mark in the England team in FM19.

Brahim Diaz

Riqui Puig 

Barcelona - £300,000

One of Barcelona's hottest prospects in real life, Puig won't cost buttons, but is worth every penny Barca ask for.

Marcus Edwards 

Tottenham - £2.7m

Edwards was immense in last year's game, and despite a slight downgrade, he remains one of Spurs hottest youth prospects  - and may well improve quickly while on loan in the Eredivisie.

Lucas Lourenco 

Santos - £20k

A hot Brazilian prospect available on a shoestring budget, Lourenco looks like a no brainer for those looking for longevity in a save.

Strikers

Pietro Pellegri 

Monaco - £1.3m

Pellegri has the distinction of being in a tier of his own as far as his potential goes. No strikers have the potential to go as far as he does, so he should be near the top of your shortlist.

Fiete Arp

Moise Kean 

Juventus - £2.5m

With Paulo Dybala and Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of him in the pecking order, minutes will be hard to come by for Kean - offering you the perfect opportunity to take him on the cheap and realise his potential.

William Geubbels 

Monaco - £680,000

Monaco made headlines when they moved for Geubbels in January - due to his age - and won't let him go for cheap having so recently acquired him. But he has the potential to be one of the very best in this year's edition, so is worth a look nonetheless.

Fabio Silva 

Porto - £10,000

At 15, it'll be a few months before you can even legally sign Silva, but since FM is a game that doesn't have the same variables as real life, we can state with certainty that he will go on to become a quality player.

Lautaro Martinez 

Inter - £18.5m

It's hard to recall the last game in which Martinez wasn't a FM wonderkid, but he won't be as easy to sign this time around, considering he plays for Inter these days.

Patrick Cutrone 

Milan - £11.25m

Cutrone is thought to be the future of Milan, unless someone comes in with a mammoth offer for him - and that's just what you'll have to do to tempt one of the game's hottest prospects away from the club.

Luka Jovic

Benfica - £1.4m

Another with a history of being a go to youngster in FM, Jovic has maintained much of his FM18 promise and remains one of the best young forwards around.

Abel Ruiz 

Barcelona - £630,000

Ruiz is an out and out poacher, something that's hard to come by, even in FM. If that's what you're after, then, Ruiz offers a stellar long-term option.

Amine Gouiri 

Lyon - £800,000

Gouiri is one of Lyon's bright hopes for the future, and is just as capable on the left wing as up front - a  no-brainer if you're looking for versatility on a budget.