Best wonderkids in Football Manager 26

There are few more satisfying experiences in Football Manager than nurturing a wonderkid into a world class talent.

Of course, there are hundreds of high-potential players who just need the right manager and environment to harness them, but there are a handful of players who look destined for the top no matter what.

Here are some of the best wonderkids to look out for in Football Manager 26.

Goalkeepers

While there don't appear to be many goalkeepers of the calibre of Gianluigi Donnarumma, Jan Oblak or Marc-Andre ter Stegen as with years past, Real Madrid's Ferran Quetglas looks to be the one to watch.

There are a handful of other high-potential stoppers from around Europe, with AZ Alkmaar boasting Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro and Quenten Attigah, with Tommaso Martinelli, Alessandro Nunziante, Dennis Seiman, Guillaume Restes worth scouting, as well as Chelsea's Mike Penders and Brentford's Julian Eyestone.

Defenders

Centre-backs

It's hard to believe he's still only 20 years old, but Dean Huijsen is classed as a wonderkid as one of the most exciting young centre-backs in FM26, alongside former Manchester United man Willy Kambwala at Villarreal.

Pau Cubarsi and Leny Yoro also have plenty of potential, but will be extremely tough to prise away from their clubs.

If you're interested in snapping up a defender early in the game, you may want to take a look at Matteo Palma, Rav van den Berg or Joane Gadou.

Full-backs

Although they're both perhaps more comfortable in midfield, Nico O'Reilly and Myles Lewis-Skelly have done their best work at left-back so far. Lewis Hall showed plenty of promise at Chelsea with Newcastle comfortable parting with £30m for the full-back having made just 12 Premier League appearances. Rico Lewis and Jesus Fortea also have plenty of potential.

Dinamo Tbilisi's Saba Kharebashvili is one of the top defensive prospects in the game and well worth scouting.

Midfielders

Defensive midfielders

There's no shortage of exciting young midfielders to watch in FM26.

As far as deeper-lying midfielders go, Chema Andres appears to be one of the top midfield prospects in the game following his graduation from Real Madrid's academy to Stuttgart over the summer, with Marc Bernal worth keeping an eye on, as well as Kennet Eichhorn, Nathan De Cat and Brighton's Jack Hinshelwood.

Central midfielders

A little further up the pitch, though also comfortable in a deeper role, Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille has bags of potential, as do Abdellah Ouazane, Guille Fernandez, Tom Bischof, Sverre Nypan, Assan Ouedraogo, Kobbie Mainoo, Warren Zaire-Emery, Kees Smit, Rodrigo Mendroza.

Joao Neves and Gavi look like the finished article but their age sees them still classed as wonderkids, while Archie Gray's potential ability remains high.

Niccolo Pisilli and Tom Bischof, are also worth monitoring.

Attacking midfielders

Here's where most of your elite young talent is hiding on FM26. Como's Nico Paz is one of the hottest prospects in the game, while Arda Guler and Franco Mastantuono look destined for the top but won't be leaving their clubs in a hurry.

Luca Barnett-Williams and Lucas Bergvall at Tottenham also have bags of potential, as does Rodrigo Moray.

Can Uzun, Gilberto Mora, Facundo Buonanotte, Claudio Echeverri, Toni Fernandez, Dro, Konstantinos Karetsas and Luis Guilherme are also highly rated prospects.

Wingers

There are countless high-potential wingers on FM26, including Barcelona's Lamine Yamal, who's already one of the best players in the game, and Estevao, following his move to Chelsea.

The versatile Kenan Yildiz can play all across the front line and is destined for the top on FM26 with Alejandro Garnacho still a top prospect despite his banishment from Manchester United.

There's also Ethan Nwaneri, Desire Doue, Yankuba Minteh worth watching, as well as Kerim Alajbegovic, Gabriel Mec, Rio Ngumoha, Mikey Moore, Jay Robinson, Malick Fofana, Said El Mala, Assana Diao, Jeremy Monga, Jamie Gittens, Julian Duranville, and Diego Moreira.

Forwards

Endrick remains one of Football Manager's highest-potential players, and while most of the game's top prospects are a little deeper on the pitch, the likes of Eli Junior Kroupi, Francesco Pio Esposito, Dastan Satpayev, Sami Bouhoudane, Francesco Camarda, Harry Gray, Jayden Danns, Evan Ferguson, Santiago Castro, Vitor Roque and Mathys Tel all have plenty of potential.