As you struggle through your FIFA 22 Career Mode, you'll want to keep an eagle eye on the transfer market and see if you can snap up some of the best young players in the game, who are commonly referred to as 'wonderkids' by the fans.

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It's worth noting that buying a prominent wonderkid – a term that is generally applied to players under the age of 21 who have high potential – will often be quite expensive. Erling Haaland, for example, is far too famous to be a bargain buy. If you're trying to do this the affordable way, see our separate guide on the best cheap players in the game.

But if it's the very best young players that you want to buy, and you've got some deep pockets, keep on reading and we'll enlighten you about the best wonderkids in FIFA 22 Career Mode.

FIFA 22 Wonderkids: Our top picks to get you started

Before we get knee-deep in FIFA 22 stats, let's kick things off with some tailored tips – we're already a few months into our Career Mode, and there are a couple of young players that are serving us well already. Below are our genuine recommendations.

Belgian winger Jérémy Doku (19 years old) starts off with an overall rating of 77 and a potential rating of 88 – that's the maximum you can get out of him if you train him up and play him regularly on match days. He starts the game with a pace rating of 92, which makes him highly playable down the flanks from the off. His estimated transfer price is £23,000,000 in Career Mode, so he won't cost too much to get hold of. What's not to like?

At the higher end of the financial spectrum, it's impossible to argue with the excellence of 21-year-old Erling Haaland. Although his price tag is a hefty £137,500,000 from day one, he is brilliant from the beginning – he starts the game with an overall score of 88 and has the potential to go up to 93. As you'll see further down this article, he pops up regularly when you're judging players by stats!

And here's one final tip: if you want to splurge on wonderkids at the start of your Career Mode, you should tick yes to the 'financial takeover' option during the mode's set-up menu. This will mean you can start your career with a nice big injection of cash to get you going in the transfer market.

Jeremy Doku has blistering pace from the start in FIFA 22.
Jeremy Doku has blistering pace from the start in FIFA 22. Getty

Best young strikers in FIFA 22 Career Mode

If you're looking for a striker in FIFA 22 that is young, fun and ready to run, you'll want to snap up one of the players below fairly early on in your Career Mode. These are the players younger than 22 who have the best stats in the game, so they'll only get more expensive and harder to buy as you progress!

  • Erling Haaland - ST, age 21, overall 88, potential 93
  • Joao Felix - CF, age 21, overall 83, potential 91
  • Giacomo Raspadori - ST, age 21, overall 74, potential 88
  • Adam Jlozek - ST, age 19, overall 76, potential 87
  • Moise Kean - ST, age 21, overall 79, potential 87
  • Dane Scarlett - ST, age 17, overall 63, potential 86

Note: Kylian Mbappe is 22 years old now, so he's not technically a wonderkid anymore. But with an overall rating of 91 and a potential score of 95, he'd still be a great pick.

Best young midfielders in FIFA 22 Career Mode

Midfielders are the core of your team, and buying yourself a few wonderkids in this area will always be a wise investment. These are the young players that will grow into the best midfield in the game, so you'll want to install them in your set-up sooner rather than later.

  • Phil Foden - CAM, age 21, overall 84, potential 92
  • Pedri - CM, age 18, overall 81, potential 91
  • Jadon Sancho - RM, age 21, overall 87, potential 91
  • Ryan Gravenberch - CM, age 19, overall 78, potential 90
  • Ansu Fati - LW, age 18, overall 76, potential 90
  • Vinicius Jr - LW, age 21, overall 80, potential 90

Best young defenders in FIFA 22 Career Mode

The best offence is a good defence – is that right? Whether or not that phrase is correct, you should always factor a handful of solid defenders into your Career Mode squad. If you're looking for the best young defenders in FIFA 22, these are the ones to look out for.

  • Alphonso Davies - LB, age 20, overall 82, potential 89
  • Nuno Mendes - LWB, age 19, overall 78, potential 88
  • Josko Gvardiol - CB, age 19, overall 75, potential 87
  • Pedro Porro - RWB, age 21, overall 80, potential 87
  • Goncalo Inacio - CB, age 20, overall 76, potential 86
  • Jurrien Timber - CB, age 20, overall 75, potential 86

Best young goalkeepers in FIFA 22 Career Mode

You can't go wrong with a great goalie. The man between the sticks can make or break your team, and investing in a young option could pay off down the line – if you're currently playing an older keeper who might retire soon, it's time to start training up a successor. These would all be great choices.

  • Maarten Vandevoordt - GK, age 19, overall 71, potential 87
  • Lautaro Morales - GK, age 21, overall 72, potential 85
  • Illan Meslier - GK, age 21, overall 77, potential 85
  • Diogo Costa - GK, age 21, overall 73, potential 85
  • Charis Chatzigavriel - GK, age 17, overall 58, potential 84
  • Giorgi Mamardashvili - GK, age 20, overall 75, potential 83

Best young players in FIFA 22 Career Mode overall

The best of the bunch. The crème de la crème. If you're looking for the very best young players in FIFA 22, you'll want to know which footballers in the game have the best overall rating. This is the list of talented fellas you'd do very well to sign:

  • Erling Haaland - ST, age 21, overall 88, potential 93
  • Jadon Sancho - RM, age 21, overall 87, potential 91
  • Phil Foden - CAM, age 21, overall 84, potential 92
  • Joao Felix - CF, age 21, overall 83, potential 91
  • Alexander Isak - ST, age 21, overall 82, potential 86
  • Ferran Torres - RW, age 21, overall 82, potential 90

Best young players in FIFA 22 Career Mode by potential

A slightly different stat here: these are the young players with the highest potential rating in FIFA 22. They may not be perfect now, but they'll rise up to be superstars if you play them enough and help them develop.

  • Erling Haaland - ST, age 21, overall 88, potential 93
  • Phil Foden - CAM, age 21, overall 84, potential 92
  • Pedri - CAM, age 21, overall 81, potential 91
  • Joao Felix - CF, age 21, overall 83, potential 91
  • Jadon Sancho - RM, age 21, overall 87, potential 91
  • Ryan Gravenberch - CM, age 19, overall 78, potential 90

Hidden gems with the biggest potential growth in FIFA 22

And here's one final thing to think about: it's not just about nabbing the players with the highest scores, especially if you're working from a club that doesn't have much budget to work with. It's also worth considering players that have huge leaps between their current rating and their biggest potential rating – these hidden gems might not be great to start with, but they could go a long way!

  • Chris Brady - GK, age 17, overall 51, potential 77 (growth of 26)
  • Fred Emmings - GK, age 17, 48, potential 73 (growth of 25)
  • Osvaldo Cisneros - CAM, age 17, overall 49, potential 74 (growth of 25)
  • Ben Chrisene - CM, age 17, overall 51, potential 76 (growth of 25)
  • Aidan Denholm - RW, age 17, overall 52, potential 77 (growth of 25)
  • Antwoine Hackford - ST, age 17, overall 59, potential 84 (growth of 25)

With so many top young players to choose from, you'll surely have a stunning FIFA 22 career mode before long – it'll be stuffed to the brim with wonderkids, and the world will be your oyster. Enjoy!

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