The FIFA 22 best young players list is something you need to bookmark ahead of any new career mode save. (Go on. Do it now. You won’t regret it.) Some FIFA 22 wonderkids are no-brainers if you can afford them, such as Paris pair Gigi Donnarumma and Kylian Mbappe. But we’ve included plenty of hidden gems too. The list is split into five categories: keepers, defenders, midfielders, wingers and strikers. Note that ages and stats in GR’s FIFA 22 best young players guide are correct as of October 1, 2021.
FIFA 22 best young goalkeepers
No surprise to see Gianluigi Donnarumma top this list: he did the very same in FIFA 21, and that was before going on to claim the Euro 2020 player of the tournament award. Still, your career mode club is never going to afford PSG’s £198 million release clause, nor the Italian’s £96K per week wage. Thankfully there are bargains elsewhere on the list: Genk expect around £5 million for Vandevoordt, while Lanus demand a similar fee for Morales – and both are on the market for less than £10K off your weekly wage bill. Tempting.
Name Club Age Rating PotentialGianluigi Donnarumma Milan 22 8993Maarten Vandevoordt Genk 19 7187Dean Henderson Man Utd 24 80 87Unai Simon Athletic Bilbao 24 8286Alex Meret Napoli 24 79 86Lautaro Morales Lanus 2172 85Andriy Lunin Real Madrid 22 7485Illan Meslier Leeds United21 77 85Diogo Costa FC Porto 21 7385Justin Biljow Feyenoord 23 77 85FIFA 22 best young defenders
An incredibly strong mix of full-backs and centre-halves here, from which Sporting CP left-back Nuno Mendes narrowly misses out. The 19-year-old’s overall rating can accelerate all the way from 78 to 88 – and you can purchase him immediately, despite being on loan to Paris St Germain in real life. For our money, the best value young defender is another who just falls short of the top ten: RB Leipzig centre-back Josko Gvardiol. Also 19, he costs just £12 million but can rise from 75 to 87 over future seasons.
Name Club Age Rating PotentialTrent Alexander-Arnold Liverpool 2287 92Ruben Diaz Manchester City24 87 91Matthijs de Ligt Piemonte Calcio 21 85 90Theo Hernandez AC Milan 23 84 90Dayot Upamecano FC Bayern 2282 90Jules Kounde Sevilla 22 83 89Pau Torres Villarrael 24 8289Eder Militao Real Madrid 23 82 89Alessandro Bastoni Inter Milan23 80 89Alphonso Davies FC Bayern 208289FIFA 22 best young midfielders
No spot on this list for the ultra-talented likes of Federico Valverde (Real Madrid), Mason Mount (Chelsea), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United) or Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan) – but it’s worth noting that they too have potential ratings of 89. FC Bayern 18-year-old Jamal Masiala is another prodigious talent to narrowly miss out: he starts the game on 76 but can shoot all the way up to 88 with training and game time. You need serious wonga to sign any of these guys, as Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz is the only one with an asking price under £30 million.
Name Club Age Rating PotentialPhil Foden Manchester City 21 8492Kai Havertz Chelsea 22 84 92Frenkie de Jong Barcelona 24 87 92Pedri Barcelona 18 81 91Jadon Sancho Manchester United 21 87 91Ryan Gravenberch Ajax 19 78 90Florian Wirtz Bayer Leverkusen 18 78 89Jude Bellingham Dortmund 18 79 89Eduardo Camavinga Real Madrid 18 78 89Mason Greenwood Manchester United19 78 89FIFA 22 best young wingers
FIFA 22 features so many talented wingers that we’ve granted them their own separate category this year, and again some notable young names miss out: Rodrygo (Real Madrid), Pedro Goncalves (Sporting CP) and Takefusa Kubo (Mallorca, on loan from Real Madrid) all have potential OVRs of 88. From those who do make the top ten, Lyon wideman Cherki offers the most astonishing value: you can pinch him for a fee in the region of £7 million and weekly salary of around £10K. Get your bid in as soon as you launch career mode.
Name Club Age RatingPotentialFederico Chiesa Piemonte Calcio 23 83 91Ansu Fati Barcelona 18 76 90Ferran Torres Manchester City 21 8290Vinicius Jr Real Madrid 20 80 90Dejan Kulusevski Piemonte Calcio 2181 89Oyarzabal Real Sociedad 24 85 89Antony Ajax 21 79 88Rayan CherkiOL 17 73 88 Gabriel Martinelli Arsenal 20 76 88 Jeremy Doku Rennes 19 77 88FIFA 22 best young strikers
Yep, being under 24 still just about qualifies Richarlison and Gabriel Jesus as FIFA 22 wonderkids – although there are more affordable, better-value names to spend your career mode monies on. The two names in the middle are the ones to hone in on. Offer Sassaulo £9.5 million and you should be able to sign Raspadori for a weekly wage of £25K, while Hlozek’s initial salary at Sparta Prague is just £13,000 per week – although the Czech club wants £15 million for his signature. It’s still a no-brainer, particularly as (unlike Raspadori) he can also play at LM or RM.
NameClubAgeRatingPotentialKylian Mbappe Paris SG22 91 95Erling Haaland Dortmund20 88 93Joao Felix Atletico Madrid 2183 91Lautaro Martinez Inter Milan 23 85 89Giacomo Raspadori Sassuolo 21 74 88Adam Hlozek Sparta Prague 18 76 87Moise Kean Piemonte Calcio 21 79 87Victor Osimhen Napoli 22 80 87Richarlison Everton 24 8287Gabriel Jesus Manchester City24 83 87FIFA 22 guide | FIFA 22 review | FIFA 22 tips | FIFA 22 best teams | FIFA 22 ratings | FIFA 22 career mode | FIFA 22 best young players | FIFA 22 meta | FIFA 22 coins | FIFA 22 TOTY | FIFA 22 TOTS | FIFA 22 Icon Swaps | FIFA 22 Icons | FIFA 22 Heroes | FIFA 22 Captains | FIFA 22 Future Stars | FIFA 22 FUT Birthday | FIFA 22 OTW | FIFA 22 RTTK | FIFA 22 RTTF | FIFA 22 Rulebreakers | FIFA 22 Headliners | FIFA 22 Numbers Up | FIFA 22 Versus | FIFA 22 Prime Gaming | FIFA 22 Next Generation | FIFA 22 chemistry styles | FIFA 22 kits | FIFA 22 patch notes | FIFA 22 formations | FIFA 22 skill moves | FIFA 22 celebrations | FIFA 22 real managers | FIFA 22 stadiums | FIFA 22 leagues | FIFA 22 PS Plus | FIFA 23 features