The right wonderkid can be a game-changer for your Football Manager 26 save, providing your club with a level-changing star for free. Unfortunately, not every wonderkid works out, and so it’s important to understand when the high-potential youngster is a team legend in the making and when they’re a lotto ticket you’ll waste if you don’t cash in on time. If you find yourself with one or more young starlets on your squad and aren’t sure what to do with them, here’s what to consider when deciding whether to sell or not.
When To Hold On To Your Wonderkid
Some of the brightest stars of a Football Manager save often come from the academy. Even when the players aren’t real, there’s something special about seeing a youth prospect come through and raising “one of your own” from a ball of potential into a fully formed model of performance. Here are some signs you should keep your wonderkid close:
- They Have Elite Potential With You: An important thing new players often overlook is that not every player will reach their potential max. As in real life, some players underperform, and a big factor in this is your ability to develop them effectively. If you have a club with good coaching and facilities, your young players are ideally situated to develop, and holding is more appealing.
- They’re Before Their Prime: By their nature, any wonderkid is before his peak when discovered, but as you play season after season, they’ll begin moving into their peak window. Sometimes, even if a player ultimately projects a little below the level required for your plans, it can be worthwhile to hold on and loan out for a few years to let them move into their most valuable years before moving them on for maximum value.
- There’s A Hole In The Lineup For Them: This goes two-fold in value. First, having a hole plugged is obviously immediately beneficial to the club. It also helps them develop more effectively, as game time is valuable for young players trying to hit their ceilings.
- They Have Positive Personalities: Personalities can be important to player growth and development. A young player with high determination and a good personality is more likely to reach their highest potential than one who lacks these traits.
When To Sell On Your Wonderkid
Deciding that it’s time to sell on a wonderkid can be a bummer, but it’s an important play to make if the situation demands it. Keep an eye out for these indicators that it may be time to move on from a potential-heavy youngster for the good of the club:
- Their Ceiling Doesn’t Match Your Progression Targets: The term wonderkid can be relative, and in FM, this is important if you’re on a track for rapid progressions. A 16-year-old with Championship potential would be a great discovery for a National League team in real life, but if you plan to already be in the Premier League by his mid-20’s he’s just a future sale waiting to happen, so you may opt to cash in on a good offer now.
- They Don’t Fit How You Play: This trait is not gospel, as particularly young players can learn new roles, but if you’re on the fence about a wonderkid and they don’t have the tools to fit how you like to play, then move them on and invest their money in players who do.
- You Lack the Ability to Develop Them: It’s all well and good for a player to have buckets of potential, but if they’re being coached on a patchy training grounds by an assistant coach with a better eye for pie than for talent management, they’re probably not going to realize it. If your club is early in its development, with poor staff and facilities, you may squander that talent, making it better to cash in early while bigger sides’ eyes are still wide at what could be with the level of training you can’t offer.
- You’re in Financial Trouble: Financial balance is even more important than ever in the modern game, with many leagues now enforcing financial fair play rules. As Chelsea has shown in real life, academy sales are a wonderful way to balance the books and stay legal because they come with no purchase fee, making their sales straight profit in the balance books.
Buying and selling in Football Manager is an art, not a science, but with these tips in mind, you can make more informed calls about your young potential stars. Find your gems, sell the rest, and use that money to build around the academy hits.
