As anticipation for the World Cup hits fever pitch, fans expressing their love for the sport through football management games are raring to see who are this year’s Wonderkids. If your game of choice is Football Manager 2023 Mobile, this is the guide you’re looking for.
We are sharing here the key details of the Wonderkids featured in Football Manager 2023 Mobile and we’re keeping things at baseline. Also, in contrast to how we made our 2021 edition, we are not including the players’ star ratings. The reason behind this is that ratings will only be visible after scouting a player outside of your club.
Additionally, we’re not including the values of everyone because the price of acquiring them will vary based on your starting point in terms of continent and time of the year. Note that leagues across the globe have their own start month; a player’s value may drastically increase as dates roll by. We’re certain about this as we have checked the Wonderkids through multiple starts using different clubs and save slots (to ensure raw and fresh data).
For clarity in the quick-reference tone of this article, we are listing player details in the following flow: name – current club, | position/s | number of green/high attributes (3 best attributes).
There will be cases where a player’s attributes have equal ratings, but what we will include in the best three are the ones that matter the most in his respective position. Alternatively, special consideration will be given to mentioning a high attribute that a player has which is not common with his counterparts (something that makes one distinct).
We will be grouping them based on their strong and comfort positions. For reference, let’s check the image above. The pitch representation of Barcelona’s Gabi suggests that his strong position (expressed as bright green) is as Central Midfielder and he can comfortably play as a center-laying Defensive Midfielder or Attacking Midfielder (indicated as a comfort position; dark green). Although he can be deployed as an AMC or DMC, he is classified here as a CM.
With all those clarifications laid out, let’s now take a look at the Wonderkids featured in Football Manager 2023 Mobile listed according to their default ranking and clustered based on their positions.
GOALKEEPERS
1. Trubin, Anatolii – Shaktar | 20 | G | 1 (Arial, Handling, Reflexes)
2. Bazunu, Gavin – Southampton | 20 | GK | 2 (Reflexes, Handling, Aerial)
3. Mamardashvili, Giorgi – Valencia | 21 | GK | 3 (Reflexes, Aerial, Kicking)
4. Turati, Stefano – Frosinone | 20 | GK | 0 (Reflexes, Positioning, Communication)
BEST VALUE: Giorgio Mamardashvili (more or less £9M value; £9.75K wage) – There are only four goalies in the World Wonderkids Rankings and the current one with the most promising attributes is Gavin Bazunu. As such, he is the most prized piece in the pack at £11.5 +/-.
If your Club > Team Report findings indicate you lack depth in the GK position and you are willing to spend for a keeper with deadly potential, you can try to fish Giorgio Mamardashvili off Valencia while they still have trusty veteran Jaume Domenech in their ranks. The values of the goalkeepers aren’t too far from each other, but the cheapest one, surprisingly, is Mamardashvili.
FORWARDS: HYBRID STRIKER-WINGERS
1. Fati, Ansu – Barcelona | 19 | ST/AMR/AML | 5 (Shooting, Dribbling, Movement)
2. Pino, Yeremy – Villareal | 19 | AMR/AMC/AML/ST | 2 (Dribbling, Technique, Pace)
3. Martinelli, Gabriel – Arsenal | 21 | ST/FL/FR | 5 (Movement, Pace, Teamwork)
4. Rodrygo – R. Madrid | 21 | AMR/AML/ST | 3 (Shooting, Dribbling, Pace)
5. Schjelderup, Andreas – FC Nordsjaelland | 18 | AML/ST | 2 (Technique, Passing, Dribbling)
6. Endrick – SEP | 16 | ST/AMR | 0 (Shooting, Pace, Technique) *youngest rising star
7. Roque, Vitor – ATP | 17 | ST/AML/AMR | 0 (Shooting, Technique, Pace)
8. Kubo, Takefusa – Real San Sebastian | 21 | AMC/ST/AMR/RM | 1 (Technique, Creativity, Shooting)
9. Tel, Mathys – FC Bayern | 17 | ST/AMR/AML | 1 (Pace, Dribbling, Technique)
BEST VALUE: Andreas Schjelderup (more or less £3.75M value; £4.8K) – Young guns aren’t usually entrusted as finishers in their first pro years, so the strikers in the batch are honed as wingers too. Should you opt to catch an already polished striker, know that it will be tricky and expensive to convince Barcelona to give up Ansu Fati (valued at £53M +/-) and it will likely be the same in the case of Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli (valued at £45M).
As such, it is appealing to try your luck and go for Schjelderup and perhaps have him mentored by your chosen club’s primary Striker. After all, his Movement and Creativity can be enhanced as he grows in your club.
ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS AND WINGERS
1. Pedri – Barcelona | 19 | CM/AMC/AMR/AML | 6 (Dribbling, Passing, Technique)
2. Saka, Bukayo – Arsenal | 20 | AMR/AML | 9 (Decisions, Movement, Dribbling)
3. Musiala, Jamal – FC Bayern | 19 | AMC/AMR/AML/CM, 7 (Technique, Dribbling, Passing)
4. Elliott, Harvey – Liverpool | 19 | AMR/AMC/AML/CM, 5 (Passing, Technique, Dribbling)
5. Reyna, Giovanni – Borussia Dortmund | 19 | AMC/AML/CM/LM | 4 (Technique, Passing, Movement)
6. Williams, Nico – A. Bilbao | 20 | AMR/RM/AML/LM | 1 (Movement, Dribbling, Pace) | £22M
7. Wirtz, Florian – Bayer 04 | 19 | AMC /CM | 4 (Technique, Teamwork, Passing)
8. Kvaratskhelia, Khvicha – Pathenope, 21, AML/AMC/AMR, 3 (Dribbling, Technique, Decisions), £38.5M
9. Madueke, Noni – PSV | 20 | AMR/RM/AMC/AML/LM | 3 (Dribbling, Technique, Pace)
10. Olise, Michael – Crystal Palace | 20 | AMR/AMC | 3 (Dribbling, Passing, Technique)
BEST VALUE: Giovanni Reyna (more or less £16.75M value; £41.5K wage) – Players in this mix need to be talented in moving the ball around, either to their teammates or by themselves. Passing and Dribbling are high-value skills. Thus, everyone has a fat price tag. At base state, though, Reyna is a solid top 15 piece in the World Wonderkids list and happens to be the cheapest-to-acquire AMC.
Spending millions to net him can be a fruitful investment because the lad only has three weak stats and is projected to develop his Pace, Creativity, and Decisions as he matures. If you aren’t sold yet, know that his current team is the former home of previous year’s top Wonderkid and now a full-fledged star, Erling Haaland.
CENTRAL MIDFIELDERS
1. Bellingham, Jude – Borussia Dortmund, 19, CM/DMC, 7 (Aggression, Stamina, Technique)
2. Camavinga, Eduardo – R. Madrid |19, CM/DMC | 7 (Strength, Tackling, Aggression)
3. Gavi, Pablo – Barcelona | 18 | CM/AMC/DMC | 5 (Decisions, Creativity, Technique)
4. Simons, Xavi – PSV | 19 | CM/AMC | 2 (Aggression, Technique, Dribbling)
5. Miretti, Fabio – Juventus | 19 | CM | *0 (Technique, Leadership, Teamwork)
6. Fernandez, Enzo – Benefica | 21 | CM/AMC/DMC | 6 (Movement, Stamina, Passing)
7. Gravenberch, Ryan – FC Bayern | 20 | CM/AMC/DMC | 2 (Passing, Technique, Aerial)
8. Doue, Desire – Rennes | 17 | CM/AMC | 0 (Dribbling, Technique Pace)
9. Moriba, Illaix – Valencia | 19 | CM/AMC/DMC | 1 (Technique, Passing, Dribbling)
10. Taylor, Kenneth – Ajax | 20 | CM/AMC/DMC | 4 (Movement, Passing, Decisions)
11. Chukwuemeka, Carney – Chelsea | 18 | CM/AMC | 0 (Technique, Passing, Dribbling)
BEST VALUE: Illaix Moriba (more or less £15M value; £24k wage) – Of all the options with a below £20M price tag, Moriba offers the best combination of price, current attributes, and potential. It may be possible to poach him from Valencia since he is yet regarded as a backup.
If you’re lucky enough to pull it off, you are getting your club a role player with only one weak attribute and has room for growth for six key attributes. He is a true star Center Midfielder in the making equipped with talents meant to help both in offense and defense.
DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDERS
1. Caicedo, Moises – Brighton | 20 | DMC/CM | 2 (Stamina, Tackling, Passing), £21.5
2. Vencedor, Unai – A. Bilbao | 21 | DMC/CM | 5 (Positioning, Decisions, Aggression)
BEST VALUE: N/A – Among the 50 Wonderkids in Football Manager 2023 Mobile, only the two above bear DMC as their primary roles, and, coincidentally, they play as CM too. They both have solid current attributes and potential growth paths, thus, they are fitted with more or less £23M and £35M price tags, respectively. With this, we suggest that you explore any other players’ “natural” CMs or DCs that can cover the DMC position.
However, if you’re keen to pick between the two, pursuing Caicedo may be more cost-efficient given that his base Tackling grade is already at 15 and has room to develop his Movement and Positioning making him a potential counter to the Tiki-Taka tactic.
DEFENDERS
1. Fofana, Wesley – Chelsea | 21 | DC | 4 (Strength, Aerial, Pace)
2. Mendes, Nuno – PSG | 20 | DL/DML | 3 (Tackling, Pace, Stamina)
3. Davies, Alphonso – FC Bayern, 21, DL/DML/LM/AML, 8 (Pace, Dribbling, Movement)
4. Udogie, Destiny – Udinese | 19 | DL/DR/AML | 2 (Pace, Stamina, Tackling)
5. Timber, Jurrien – Ajax | 21 | 26.5M | DC/DR/DMC/DMR | 4 (Positioning. Passing, Teamwork)
6. Silva, Antonio – Benfica | 18 | DC | 0 (Tackling, Aerial, Decisions)
7. Scalvini, Giorgio – Atalanta | 18 | DC/DMC | 5 (Decisions, Positioning,
8. Inacio, Goncalo – Sporting CP | 20 | DC | 2 (Aerial, Aggression, Strength)
9. Garcia, Eric – Barcelona | 21 | DC | 1 (Passing, Technique, Tackling)
10. Saliba, William – Arsenal | 21 | DC | 7 (Strength, Aerial, Tackling)
11. Kaiky – Almeria | 18 | DC | 0 (Technique, Aerial, Aggression)
12. Livramento, Tino – Southampton | DR/DMR | 1 (Pace, Stamina, Technique)
13. Zabarnyi, Illia – Dynamo Kyiv | 19 | DC | 3 (Tackling, Aerial, Decisions)
13. N’Diaye, Amadou – AS Pikine | 17 | DL | 0 (Technique, Teamwork, Passing)
BEST VALUE: Jurrien Timber (more or less £26.5M value; £65k wage) – It is almost unreasonable that Timber is the lowest-valued 21-year-old in the batch. He only has one weak attribute—Shooting and you won’t likely expect a Defender to score anyway.
Add to that, he has paths to improve essential Defender attributes like Tackling, Positioning, and Decisions. Timber is also the most versatile player in the entire Wonderkids list of Football Manager 2023 Mobile, as he can play at almost any position; he will only be off as a Striker, Attacking Midfielder, or Left Midfielder.
Noticeably, the listed Wonderkids in Football Manager 2023 Mobile isn’t as long as that of the previous years’, so it shouldn’t be hard for you to hunt the best youngsters that would fit in your squad. We hope that you can use the data we have plotted here so you can determine who to pursue as soon as possible because once you’ve purchased the game and begun playing, the price tags of these developing stars will only go up.