Most virtual managers look forward to discovering young wonderkids who’ll develop into world-class talents, but finding these high-potential young players is challenging, and finding them quickly is even harder. Here’s the fastest way to find wonderkids for your team in Football Manager 24.
The Fastest Way to Find Wonderkids in Football Manager 24
What is a Wonderkid in Football Manager 24?
If you’ve never heard of the term “wonderkid” before, it’s pretty much exactly what it sounds like: a young footballer with very high potential. Think of Lionel Messi in the early 2000s when he was quickly ascending through Barcelona’s youth system or Cristiano Ronaldo’s sudden impact at Sporting CP. Generally speaking, a wonderkid is a high-potential player between the ages of 15 and 21. These are the crown jewels of the footballing market. Discovering and signing them before they ascend to football greatness is the dream of scouts and sporting departments all over the world. But how do you find them? And how do you find them efficiently? We have the answer here.
Check Youth National Teams to Find Wonderkids Early
Yes, I know what you’re thinking: playing on a youth national team isn’t necessarily a prerequisite to being a wonderkid. You’d be correct in coming to that conclusion. However, reading deeper into the details is the key to differentiating the average youth national team mainstay from the cream of the crop.
When perusing through youth national team rosters, the key is to identify players competing at higher levels than their age group. For instance, if a player is 15 years old, is based in a top-level nation, and is playing at the U-18 level, it’s fair to say that this player is well beyond his years in terms of ability. It should be noted that having a high current ability doesn’t necessarily correlate with having massive potential. However, it’s been discovered through various bits of FM-related research that players with high potential progress at a much faster rate than those with lower potential.
Check Media Descriptions in Player Search
Not to burst anyone’s bubble, but the term “wonderkid,” as it’s come to be known, isn’t anything that coaches, managers, or scouts use to a serious degree. Instead, it’s a term used by the media to build up hype around a young player whom many have high hopes for. Football Manager 24 recognizes this and uses it as such: a media term. And this term can be searched!
To see whom the media has classified as a wonderkid, do the following steps:
- Click on Scouting.
- Hover over Players.
- Click on Players in Range.
Once you’ve selected these options, you’ll see a large list of players. To sort out who among them are wonderkids, do the following:
- Next to the number of Players Found, click the views drop-down.
- Hover over Custom.
- Select Customize Current View.
- Click on the Filter drop-down and select General.
- From the listed options, select Media Description.
After you’ve done these steps, the list of players can be sorted depending on the media description. It’s in alphabetical order, so sort them by media description and look for players designated as Wonderkids. Now you have a list of everyone the media has identified as football’s next generation without any extensive scouting.
This is how to quickly find wonderkids in Football Manager 24. For the actual development of these wonderkids, be sure to check out our guide on how to quickly develop young players and other useful guides in our Football Manager 24 guides hub.
