FM17 Wonderkids: 10 Best Young Central Defenders in Football Manager 17 to Watch Out For

As I mentioned in my post FM17 Wonderkids: 10 Best Young Goalkeepers in Football Manager 17 to Watch Out For, Football Manager is meant to build the team from the very root level by buying the best young talent, also known as the Wonderkids (under the age of 21).

Here, I have brought a list of best 10 young central defenders to buy on FM17 who have the highest potential:

Nationality: Spain

Club: Eintracht Frankfurt (on loan from Real Madrid)

Estimated Value (In Euros): 7 mil

Jesús Vallejo Lázaro is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Eintracht Frankfurt on loan from Real Madrid as a central defender. On 31 July 2015, Vallejo signed a six-year contract with Real Madrid for a rumoured €6 million fee, being immediately loaned back to Zaragoza for one year. He was loaned to Eintracht Frankfurt on 12 July 2016.

Nationality: Denmark

Club: Borussia Monchengladbach (on loan from Chelsea)

Estimated Value (In Euros): 15 mil

Andreas Bødtker Christensen is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a defenderfor German club Borussia Mönchengladbach on loan from English club Chelsea. On 8 June 2015, Christensen made his senior international debut for Denmark in a 2–1 home friendly win against Montenegro at the Viborg Stadion, as a 69th-minute substitute for Pierre-Emile Højbjerg. On 24 March 2016, Christensen made his first Denmark start in a 2-1 victory over Iceland, playing the full 90 minutes.

Nationality: Italy

Club: Novara (on loan from Juventus)

Estimated Value (In Euros): 525K

Filippo Romagna is an Italian football player who plays as centre-back for Italian Serie B club Novara, on loan from Juventus. Romagna has represented his country at various age groups. On 19 October 2013, He was first called up and played for Italy U17 against Ukraine U17. With the Italy U19 he took part at the 2016 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, playing five games in the tournament, Italy finishing the competition as a runners-up.

Nationality: England

Club: Arsenal

Estimated Value (In Euros): 3.5 mil

Robert Samuel "Rob" Holding is an English footballer who plays for Arsenal and England U21s. On 22 July 2016 Holding joined Arsenal for an undisclosed fee. Following injuries to centre-backs Per Mertesacker and Gabriel Paulista, he was called upon to make his Arsenal debut in the 2016-17 season opener against Liverpool, which Arsenal lost 3–4.

Nationality: Spain

Club: Sporting Gijon

Estimated Value (In Euros): 7.4 mil

Jorge Meré Pérez is a Spanish footballer who plays for Sporting de Gijón as a central defender. Meré contributed with 25 league appearances during the 2015–16 campaign, overcoming Bernardo Espinosa, Igor Lichnovsky and Ognjen Vranješ as his side avoided relegation in the last matchday. In May 2016, aged only 19, Meré was called up to the Spain squad for the first time for an international friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Nationality: Netherlands

Club: Manchester United

Estimated Value (In Euros): 12.75 mil

Timothy Fosu "Tim" Fosu-Mensah is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder, centre-back or full-back for English club Manchester United. He is the brother of North Ferriby United player Alfons Fosu-Mensah. Fosu-Mensah has played for Manchester United's youth teams in a variety of positions, including centre-back, left-back and central midfield. He made his professional debut at left-back on 28 February 2016 in a 3–2 Premier League win at home to Arsenal, coming on as a 55th-minute substitute for Marcos Rojo.

Nationality: Uruguay

Club: Las Palmas

Estimated Value (In Euros): 5 mil

Paolo Mauricio Lemos Merladett is an Uruguayan footballer who plays as a central defender for Spanish club UD Las Palmas. On 28 January 2016, Lemos was loaned to Las Palmas by Ruben Kazan, with a buyout clause. He made his debut in the competition on 20 February, coming on as a second-half substitute for Jonathan Viera in a 1–2 home loss against FC Barcelona. On 6 May 2016, after appearing in nine matches for the Amarillos, Lemos signed a permanent five-year deal with the club.

Nationality: England

Club: Liverpool

Estimated Value (In Euros): 6.7 mil

Joseph Dave "Joe" Gomez is an English professional footballer who plays for Premier League club Liverpool. Gomez prefers to play as a centre-back but can also play as a full-back on either side. Gomez has been described as a complete footballer and composed ball-playing centre back with his style of play being compared to that of Rio Ferdinand whom he idolised growing up. Gomez is also noted for his athleticism and strength; he is able to produce powerful and dangerous runs up-field on the counter-attack and in defence is rarely physically dominated by an opponent.

Nationality: Netherlands

Club: Ajax

Estimated Value (In Euros): 3.8 mil

Jaïro Riedewald is a Dutch footballer who plays as a defender for Eredivisie side Ajax. Riedewald received his first call up to the senior Netherlands team in August 2015. On September 6, He made his official debut for Oranje against Turkey.

Nationality: Netherlands

Club: Ajax

Estimated Value (In Euros): 150K

Matthijs de Ligt is a Dutch professional football player who plays for AFC Ajax in the Dutch Eredivisie as a defender. On 21 September, De Ligt made his debut in the first team of Ajax by playing in a cup game against Willem II, after 25 minutes De Ligt scored out of a corner. this made him the 2nd youngest goalscorer ever behind Clarence Seedorf. On 24 October 2016, Ajax announced through Twitter that De Ligt was promoted to the senior squad.

• 10 Best Young Goalkeepers in Football Manager 17 to Watch Out For
• 10 Best Young Full-Backs in Football Manager 17 to Watch Out For