FM 18 Wonderkids: 13 Best Young Players in Football Manager 18 to Watch Out For
2016-17 season of the world football saw many young players from FM17 wonderkids category to fulfil their potential and make their name of the biggest stage with AC Milan's Gianluigi Donnarumma, AS Monaco's Kylian Mbappe, Borussia Dortmund's Ousmane Dembele and Manchester United's Marcus Rashford among few.
FM 2018 doesn't release until 10 November 2017and it is still not known that which players would be considered as wonderkids, but that does not stop us from speculating a few names with huge potentials.
MOISE KEAN
Nationality: Italy
Club: Verona (on loan from Juventus)
Position: ST
Regarded as one of Italian football's most promising prospects, Moise Kean is a quick, tenacious, and strong forward, with good skills and an accurate shot. Naturally right-footed, his preferred role is in the centre as a main striker. He is known in particular for his great pace, ability in the air, offensive movement, and powerful physique, which enable him to hold up the ball with his back to goal or take advantage of openings in the opposition's defence; a hard-working player, he has also been praised for his defensive contribution off the ball.
CHRISTIAN FRUCHTL
Nationality: Germany
Club: Bayern Munich
Position: GK
Bayern Munich youth goalkeeper Christian Fruchtl has "incredible" attributes, according to sporting executive Matthias Sammer. Sammer also said 6-foot-2 tall Fruchtl, who turns 16 later this month, has a remarkable physique for his age and would benefit plenty by having Neuer at the club to guide him.
BILLY GILMOUR
Nationality: Scotland
Club: Chelsea
Position: Midfield
Amidst interest from Europe's biggest clubs including Barcelona, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Arsenal, Chelsea signed 16-year old Celtic wonderkid this year. Regarded as one of the best young players in Europe and already endorsed by Adidas, Gilmour can play anywhere in the field and has huge potential to reach the highest levels.
JOSE GOMES
Nationality: Portugal
Club: Benfica
Position: FW
Gomes made his professional debut with Benfica B in a 2016–17 LigaPro match against Cova da Piedade on 6 August 2016. 22 days later, he scored his first goal for the reserve team, in a 2–1 away win at Vizela. He debuted for the first-team, playing only 128 seconds, in a 2–1 win at Arouca in Primeira Liga on 9 September, becoming Benfica's third youngest player to debut for the main team.
JADON SANCHO
Nationality: England
Club: Borussia Dortmund
Position: FW
After scoring 20 goals in 35 games for Manchester City’s youth team in 2016/17 season, Sancho became the first English player to sign for Borussia Dortmund. Sancho was also named Player of the Tournament at Under-17 European Championships as he helped England reach the final with five goals and five assists.
RYAN SESSEGNON
Nationality: England
Club: Fulham
Position: LB
The youngest player ever included in the PFA Championship Team of the Year, Sessegnon was sought by various clubs in Europes's top 5 leagues and has received praises from pundits all over the world.
In February 2017, Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport ranked Sessegnon as one of the top 30 Under-20s players in Europe, while in May 2017, Sports Illustrated named him as the 19th best U20 player in world football. Fulham striker Neeskens Kebano called him "the future of English football", with fellow teammate Stefan Johansen saying it was "99% certain he will be one of the top left-backs in the world".
VINICIUS JUNIOR
Nationality: Brazil
Club: Flamengo (On contract with Real Madrid from 2018)
Position: FW
On 23 May 2017, Spanish club Real Madrid signed a contract to acquire Vinícius, effective after his 18th birthday on 12 July 2018 (as age 18 was the minimal age for international transfer).
In March 2017, Vinícius Jr. helped Brazil win the Under-17 South American Championship, scoring 7 goals and being named the tournament's best player.
Even just a few months into his senior career for Flamengo, Vinicius said he has learned of the pressures which come from representing such a big club - "For all I have seen in my short career so far I knew there would be a lot of pressure. I am playing for the best team in Brazil."
ABEL RUIZ
Nationality: Spain
Club: Barcelona
Position: FW
Ruiz made his debut for the Spain under-17 team on 25 October 2015, starting and scoring the first in a 2–0 2016 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualification win against Andorra. He was also named in the list for the finals in Azerbaijan, despite being one year younger than his teammates.
Ruiz finished the competition with four goals, being awarded the Silver Boot ; he was also included in the tournament's best eleven. During the 2017 edition in Croatia, he captained the side as Spain achieved his ninth title.
JANN-FIETE ARP
Nationality: Germany
Club: Hamburg
Position: ST
The only player to have scored two hat-tricks in one UEFA tournament at U-17 level, Jann-Fiete Arp captained Germany at the UEFA European Under-17 Championship in May. An out-and-out striker, Fiete Arp has all the qualities to be a goal machine.
DAN-AXEL ZAGADOU
Nationality: France
Club: Borussia Dortmund
Position: CB/LB
Trained at Paris Saint-Germain's academy, Zagadou moved to Borussia Dortmund in 2017 on the expiration of his contract. The France Under-18 captain, Zagadou is the latest in a long list of wonderkids to have moved from a Ligue 1 side to Dortmund in recent times, with Ousmane Dembele and Raphael Guerreiro having blossomed since moving from France to Dortmund.
PHIL FODEN
Nationality: England
Club: Manchester City
Position: CM
Here is what Pep Guordiola had to say about Foden's performance against Manchester United in the pre-season - "I don’t have words - I would like to have the right words to describe what I saw. You are the lucky guys who saw the first game, for the first team for Manchester City, of this guy. It’s a long time since I saw something like this. His performance was another level. He’s 17 years old, he’s a City player, he grew up in the academy, he loves the club, he’s a City fan and for us he’s a gift."
ALEXANDER ISAK
Nationality: Sweden
Club: Borussia Dortmund
Position: FW
On 23 January 2017, Isak signed for Borussia Dortmund on a long-term contract, lasting until the summer of 2022. The transfer fee was undisclosed, but reports suggested that it was set at €9 million, which would be the highest transfer sum ever paid for an Allsvenskan player. Before signing with Dortmund, Isak reportedly turned down a move to Real Madrid.
Isak was called up to the Sweden national team for the friendly matches against Ivory Coast on 8 January 2017 and Slovakia on 12 January. He made his debut against the Ivory Coast, coming on for Per Frick in the 62nd minute of a 1–2 loss. He started the second game against Slovakia, scoring the first goal in a 6–0 win in the 19th minute, becoming the youngest goalscorer ever in the history of the Sweden national team.
AMINE GOUIRI
Nationality: France
Club: Olympique Lyon
Position: ST
Joint top scorer with 8 goals at U-17 European Championship finals, Gouiri is a player to watch out for at FM18. With a playing style similar to Antoine Griezmann, it would be no surprise to see Gouiri plying his trade away from Lyon next season.
