FIFA 21 best young players: Career mode’s top strikers, midfielders, defenders and goalkeepers

Career Mode is one of the most popular game modes and also the most challenging in FIFA each year and that has not changed for FIFA 21.

This year’s management mode has the option to make transfers more realistic – so you won’t see Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo moving to Man City in the first window – meaning that finding hidden gems and unearthing wonderkids is even more important than in the past.

The new player growth and player development improvements in FIFA 21 Career Mode mean that you can guide and shape your youth players into superstars exactly they way you want, giving them new roles and even new positions that best suit your tactics and their strengths.

To help get you started on your Career Mode journey, Goal has compiled a list of the best young players in FIFA 21. These are the players aged 20 or under who have the highest potential rating in the game and are divided by position in the lists below.

All players are listed by their main position, but any position they can play is shown. For example, Mason Greenwood is listed as a midfielder as his primary position is RM, but he can also play as ST. The new player growth options also mean that you could easily train him to be a RW, CF or even LM in the Squad Hub

This list of best young players includes every player with a high potential rating, nt just superstars like Erling Haaland or Joao Felix, but also lesser-known players that may be available at lower prices and may even be willing to move to teams in lower leagues.

All players need the right training and lots of gametime to ensure they develop properly and reach their full potential. Substitutes and reserve players will not improve as well if they do not get minutes.

PO. = Position(s)

CR = Current Rating

PR = Potential Rating

VA. = Value

*Clubs listed are the clubs the players are assigned to in FIFA 21 Career Mode, while ages shown are the age at the start of Career Mode

Name	Age	Club	PO.	CR	PR	VA.
M Vandevoordt	18	Genk	GK	68	87	£1.4m
L Chevalier	18	Lille	GK	61	83	£430k
N Mantl	20	Unterhaching	GK	69	83	£1.8m
C Fruchtl	20	Bayern Munich II	GK	66	83	£1.1m
Fortuna	18	Espanyol	GK	62	82	£475k
F Jorgensen	18	Villarreal	GK	62	82	£475k
M Carnesecchi	20	Atalanta	GK	66	82	£1.1m
G Bazunu	18	Man City	GK	60	82	£360k
Diogo Costa	20	Porto	GK	70	82	£2.3m
J Olschowsky	18	Borussia M’gladbach	GK	63	81	£560k
S Bajic	18	Saint-Etienne	GK	62	81	£475k
Ivan Martinez	18	Osasuna	GK	60	81	£360k
K Scherpen	20	Ajax	GK	67	81	£1.3m
I Meslier	20	Leeds	GK	69	81	£1.4m
L Plogmann	20	Werder Bremen	GK	64	81	£765k
L Kasten	19	Wolfsburg	GK	62	80	£500k
A Trubin	18	Shakhtar Donetsk	GK	63	80	£565k
Altube	20	Real Madrid	GK	63	80	£600k
M Kovar	20	Man Utd	GK	64	80	£765k
J Blazquez	19	Atletico Talleres	GK	63	80	£600k
M Roffo	20	Boca Juniors	GK	64	80	£765k
R Majecki	20	Monaco	GK	68	80	£1.2m

This year’s crop of goalkeepers is not as highly-regarded as previous years, mainly because AC Milan‘s Gianluigi Donnarumma is now 21 and a little too old for this list of the best young players.

However, the best young goalkeepers in FIFA 21 are probably much more affordable as a result, with Porto’s Diogo Costa the most expensive on the list at just over £2 million. 

Genk’s Maarten Vandervoordt has the highest potential of any young goalkeeper in FIFA 21 and can reach an overall rating of 87. Man City’s Gavin Bazunu is on loan at Rochdale at the start of the game, but is relatively inexpensive at under £400k.

Name	Age	Club	PO.	CR	PR	VA.
M De Ligt	20	Piemonte Calcio	CB	85	92	£44.6m
A Davies	19	Bayern Munich	LB, LM, RM	81	89	£20.3m
Nuno Mendes	18	Sporting CP	LWB, LM	72	87	£5.4m
W Saliba	19	Arsenal	CB	74	87	£9m
O Kabak	20	Schalke	CB	77	87	£11.7m
B Arrey-Mbi	17	Bayern Munich II	CB, LB	60	86	£385k
L Netz	17	Hertha BSC	LB, LM	63	86	£675k
J Frimpong	19	Celtic	RB, RWB	70	86	£3.2m
Eduardo Quaresma	18	Sporting CP	CB	72	86	£5.4m
S Dest	19	Barcelona	RB	75	86	£9m
J Gvardiol	18	RB Leipzig	CB, LB	69	86	£1.8m
L Stergiou	18	St Gallen	CB	67	86	£1.4m
J Todibo	20	Barcelona	CB	75	86	£9.5m
R Ait Nouri	19	Angers	LB	71	86	£4.2m
R James	20	Chelsea	RB, CDM	77	86	£11.3m
O Wijndal	20	AZ Alkmaar	LB	77	86	£11.3m
O Rekik	18	Hertha BSC	CB	63	85	£700k
T Kouassi	18	Bayern Munich	CB, CDM	71	85	£4.1m
M Kana	17	Anderlecht	CM, CDM, CM	65	85	£900k
Nuno Tavares	20	Benfica	LB	72	85	£5m
M Kumbulla	20	Roma	CB	75	85	£9m
Tomas Tavares	20	Benfica	CB	73	85	£5.9m
Eric Garcia	19	Man City	CB	72	85	£5m
N Perez	20	Atletico Madrid	CB	75	85	£9m
B Williams	19	Man Utd	LB, LWB	75	85	£8.6m
N Williams	19	Liverpool	RB	67	85	£1.4m
J Vagnoman	19	Hamburg	RB, LM, LB	69	85	£1.9m
C Riad	17	Barcelona	CB	59	84	£300k
L Pirola	18	Inter	CB	63	84	£700k
K Hoever	18	Wolves	RB, CB	63	84	£700k
N Katterbach	19	Koln	LB	70	84	£3.2m
L Cacace	19	Sint-Truidense	LB, LWB	73	84	£5.4m
P Schuurs	20	Ajax	CB	75	84	£8.6m
Alex Centelles	20	Valencia	LB	74	84	£7.2m
Z Vanheusden	20	Standard Liege	CB	73	84	£5.9m
T Malacia	20	Feyenoord	LB	75	84	£8.6m
E Ndicka	20	Eintracht Frankfurt	CB, LB	74	84	£7.7m
E Ampadu	19	Chelsea	CB, CDM	67	84	£1.4m

It should come as no surprise that Juventus defender Matthijs de Ligt is the highest-rated young defender in FIFA 21 and also the defensive wonderkid with the highest potential. Due to rights issues, Juventus are known as Piemonte Calcio in the game, featuring a new badge as well as new kits.

Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies has the highest potential of all full-backs in the game and can reach an 89 overall score from his initial 81 rating. Davies’ phenomenal speed should also be a huge asset and he is valued at over £20m at the start of the game.

Bayern’s reserve side have one of the highest-potential yet affordable players in Bright Arrey-Mbi, who can play in the middle or on the left of defence and is available for less than half a million. His value is low because his initial rating is also low, but this could make him affordable and attractive for teams looking to build for the future and sides that may be able to play him immediately.

Name	Age	Club	PO.	CR	PR	VA.
J Sancho	20	Borussia Dortmund	RM, LM, CAM	87	93	£62.6m
S Tonali	20	AC Milan	CDM, CM	77	91	£16.7m
M Greenwood	18	Man Utd	RM, ST	77	89	£13.1m
T Almada	19	Velez Sarsfield	CAM, CM, LW	73	89	£7.7m
Ferran Torres	20	Man City	RM, LM, CF	81	89	£23.9m
T Kubo	19	Real Madrid	RM, CM, CAM	75	89	£13.1m
F Wirtz	17	Bayer Leverkusen	CAM, RM	68	88	£1.6m
J Bellingham	17	Borussia Dortmund	CM, LM, RM	69	88	£1.9m
Pedri	17	Barcelona	LM, CAM	72	88	£5.4m
R Cherki	16	Lyon	CAM, RM, LM	67	88	£1.5m
E Camavinga	17	Rennes	CM	76	88	£10.8m
M Ihattaren	18	PSV	CAM, RM, CM	77	88	£12.6m
B Saka	18	Arsenal	LM, LWB, RW	75	88	£10.8m
A Urzi	20	Atletico Banfield	LM, CM, RM	73	88	£8.1m
Riqui Puig	20	Barcelona	CM, CAM	75	88	£11.3m
M Diaby	20	Bayer Leverkusen	LM	81	88	£22.5m
P Foden	20	Man City	CAM, CM	79	88	£17.6
F Pellistri	18	Penarol	RM, RW	71	87	£4.4m
M Caqueret	20	Lyon	CM, CDM	75	87	£10.8m
A Hlozek	17	Sparta Praha	RM, ST, LM	74	87	£8.6m
R Gravenberch	18	Ajax	CM, CDM	71	87	£4.3m
G Reyna	17	Borussia Dortmund	LM, CAM	68	87	£1.7m
B Kamara	20	Marseille	CDM, CB	79	87	£15.3m
D Szoboszlai	19	Red Bull Salzburg	CAM, LM	75	87	£10.4m
N Madueke	18	PSV	RM, ST	70	86	£3.3m
A Vranckx	17	Mechelen	CM, CDM	66	86	£1.2m
Gustavo Assuncao	20	Familiaco	CDM	74	86	£8.6m
Tete	20	Shakhtar Donetsk	RM, CAM	75	86	£10.4m
M Solomon	20	Shakhtar Donetsk	RM, LM, CAM	73	86	£6.8m
B Gilmour	19	Chelsea	CM, CAM	71	86	£4.5m
G Tsitaishvili	19	Dynamo Kyiv	RM, LM	72	86	£5.9m
D McNeil	20	Burnley	LM	78	86	£14m
D Caicedo	20	Deportivo Cali	RM	68	86	£1.8m
N Zaniolo	20	Roma	CAM, RM	76	86	£11.3m
R Sessegnon	20	Spurs	LM, LW, LB	75	86	£10.4m
Florentino	20	Benfica	CDM, CM	76	86	£10.4m
Romario Baro	20	Porto	RM, CAM	73	85	£6.3m
Y Demir	17	Rapid Wien	CAM, RW	64	85	£880k
Marcos Antonio	20	Shakhtar Donetsk	CM	72	85	£5.4m
M Daramy	18	Kobenhavn	RM, ST, LM	67	85	£1.4m
Y Verschaeren	18	Anderlecht	CAM, RW, LW	72	85	£5m
X Simons	17	PSG	CM	65	85	£990k
M Kudus	19	Ajax	CAM, CM	75	85	£9.5m
M Longstaff	20	Newcastle	CM, CDM	72	85	£5.4m
R Matondo	19	Schalke	LM, ST, RM	70	85	£3.4m
O Kokcu	19	Feyenoord	CAM, CM	75	85	£9.5m
H Traore	20	Sassuolo	CAM, CM	71	85	£4.5m
E Smith Rowe	19	Arsenal	CAM, RM, RW	69	85	£2.1m
Paulinho	19	Bayer Leverkusen	CAM, RM	74	85	£8.6m
Joe Willock	20	Arsenal	CAM, CM	71	85	£4.5m

After being in the middle of one of the biggest transfer sagas in the summer, Jadon Sancho remains at Borussia Dortmund, meaning that he is sure to be an attractive option for teams with big budgets in real life and in FIFA 21.

The English youngster is already one of the best wide players in the game with an 87 rating, but can get even better and reach the same rating as Lionel Messi – 93.

New AC Milan midfielder Sandro Tonali also has huge potential, but the Serie A side may not be willing to sell him so soon after signing him.

Bundesliga duo Jude Bellingham and Florian Wirtz are probably more achievable signings due to their age and values at the beginning of the game. Bellingham might not be available straight away, but could be an affordable option during the second transfer window.

Name	Age	Club	PO.	CR	PR	VA.
Joao Felix	20	Atletico Madrid	CF, ST	81	93	£28.8m
Vinicius Jr	19	Real Madrid	LW	80	93	£24.8m
E Haaland	19	Borussia Dortmund	ST	84	92	£40.5m
Trincao	20	Barcelona	RW, LW, CAM	78	91	£18m
Ansu Fati	17	Barcelona	LW, RW	76	90	£13.5m
Rodrygo	19	Real Madrid	RW, LW	79	90	£18.9m
Antony	20	Ajax	RW, LW	78	88	£15.3m
J Doku	18	Anderlecht	RW, LW	71	88	£4.4m
J David	20	Lille	ST, CF, CAM	77	88	£14m
Luis Henrique	18	Marseille	RW	67	87	£1.7m
Evanilson	20	Porto	ST	73	87	£8.1m
Joelson Fernandes	17	Sporting CP	RW, LW	69	87	£1.9m
Reinier	18	Real Madrid	CF, CAM	71	87	£4.4m
K Adeyemi	18	Red Bull Salzburg	ST, LW	69	87	£2m
D Kulusevski	20	Juventus	RW, CAM	77	87	£13.1m
M Boadu	19	AZ Alkmaar	ST	75	87	£10.4m
S Esposito	17	SPAL	ST	66	86	£1.2m
G Plata	19	Sporting CP	RW	74	86	£9m
Rafael Camacho	20	Sporting CP	RW	73	86	£6.8m
C Hudson-Odoi	19	Chelsea	RW, LW	74	86	£9m
A Isak	20	Real Sociedad	ST	79	86	£16.2m
Brahim	20	Real Madrid	LW	74	86	£9m
Fabio Silva	17	Wolves	ST	69	85	£1.9m
Gabriel Martinelli	19	Arsenal	LW, LM, ST	74	85	£8.6m
H Elliott	17	Liverpool	RW	65	85	£990k
P De la Vega	19	Atletico Lanus	RW, LW	71	85	£4.5m
T Parrott	18	Spurs	ST	65	85	£990k
B Mbeumo	20	Brentford	RW, ST	74	85	£8.6m

Along with Sancho, Joao Felix and Vinicius Jr have the highest potential in FIFA 21. All three players can reach 93 overall, but Felix and Vinicius are valued at less than £25m at the beginning of the game.

Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland can become a 92-rated striker but his initial rating of 84 overall means he will cost at least £40m to sign in Career Mode.

Anderlecht’s Jeremy Doku and Luis Henrique of Marseille start with lower ratings initially, but are both capable of becoming two of the best wingers in the game. They are priced at less than £2m initially, making them affordable options. The new player growth options also mean that you could retrain them to play through the middle rather than out wide, turning them into dangerous striking options.