FIFA 22: Best young players to pick in Career Mode

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Key notes

  • As we all know, Career Mode is still one of the most popular game modes in FIFA.
  • Building your own team is really exciting and rewarding for most players involved.
  • However, the key to success is investing in the future of the team, in young players.
  • We've compiled a list of the top 40 youth prospects, divided by position on the pitch.
fifa 22 best players

Besides FUT, Career Mode still remains one of the most popular game modes in FIFA, especially if we take into consideration the new player development and training options in this year’s game.

As a result, if you want to improve your chances of always being successful, finding the best young players in FIFA 22 and developing them at your club is more important than ever.

In order to help get you started on your Career Mode journey, we’ve put together a small list of the best young players in FIFA 22, ten for each section of the pitch.

All of these players are aged 20 or under and have the highest potential rating in the game, so picking them will prove to be a win-win situation.

Who are the best young players in FIFA 22?

Before we begin, know that all players are listed by their main position, but any other position they can also play is shown as well.

As you would have expected, all players need the right training and lots of game time to ensure they develop properly and reach their full potential.

Substitutes and reserve players will not improve as much if they do not get minutes on the pitch. Makes sense, right?

We are going to start from the bottom of the field and work our way up, listing the top ten candidates for each section, divided between goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders, and strikers.

Top 10 young goalkeepers

As many predicted, Gianluigi Donnarumma has been the best young goalkeeper in FIFA for the past few seasons. However, now he’s now 22 years old costs more than £100 million in Career Mode.

Yes, you guessed it. This actually means that you will have to look elsewhere for a long-term solution between the posts, even if you are a superclub that can compete with other top clubs for the world’s best players.

As of right now, Maarten Vandevoort, from Genk, is the best young goalkeeper in FIFA 22. He can reach an overall rating of 87 and can be bought for relatively cheap at the start of the game.

The second-listed young goalkeeper, Chatzigavriel is also a promising prospect and you can actually get him for free because his current team is not even in the game.

But even if he can be brought to the club free of charge, it will take a while for him to reach his full potential, because as you can see, his current rating is only 58.

#NameAgeClubPositionCurrent RatingPredicted RatingValue
1M Vandevoordt19GenkGK7187$5m
2C Chatzigavriel17FreeGK5884Free
3G Mamardashvili20ValenciaGK7583$12.2m
4D Alemdar18RennesGK6883$2.8m
5Joan Garcia20EspanyolGK6783$2.8m
6K Tzolakis18OlympiacosGK6783$2.7m
7B Verbruggen18AnderlechtGK6583$1.9m
8G Bazunu19Man CityGK6483$1.4m
9E Green20Saint-EtienneGK7281$5.1m
10Ayesa20Real Sociedad BGK6781$2.4m

Top 10 young defenders

Here’s a fun fact you might like to know: Alphonso Davies is not only one of the fastest players in the game, he’s also the best young defender in the latest FIFA title.

The Bayern Munich left-back is extremely versatile and can also play in left midfield, helping you better exploit the wings with his awesome pace.

However, his price tag may put off a lot of teams, as some surely won’t be able to afford to buy him.

Luckily, there are a lot of good alternatives available, so all you really have to do is imagine what kind of team you want to grow, and purchase accordingly.

Just remember that this is an important choice you are making, as these players will be the last line of defense and you want someone who will go to whatever lengths to make sure the opposing team won’t score.

#NameAgeClubPositionCurrent RatingPredicted RatingValue
1A Davies20Bayern MunichLB, LM8289$66m
2Nuno Mendes19PSGLWB, LB, LM7888$34m
3J Gvardiol19RB LeipzigCB, LB7587$14.7m
4W Fofana20LeicesterCB7886$33.9m
5Eric Garcia20BarcelonaCB7786$25.2m
6Goncalo Inacio19Sporting CPCB7686$17.5m
7J Timber20AjaxCB, RB7586$13.4m
8L Stergiou19St GallenCB6786$2.9m
9S Dest20BarcelonaRB, RM7685$18.1m
10J Bogle20Sheffield UtdRWB, RB7485$10.4m

Top 10 young midfielders

Barcelona has the best young midfielder in FIFA 22, which comes as no surprise to anyone, with Pedri already being a high-rated star even before he reaches his full potential.

Don’t be afraid to use him constantly, because FIFA 22 will not punish you for pushing him every single game, and more minutes on the pitch will actually help him reach his predicted rating of 91 even quicker.

Before deciding what midfielder you want in your starting 11, or as a substitute, you must know that a lot of the best young midfielders in FIFA 22 are quite expensive, as they already have high ratings.

However, there are some players available for less than £10m, but they haven’t made our lists because they are not among the top 10 ones.

This doesn’t mean that you are going to have a hard time finding them in the game, you just have to know what you are looking for.

#NameAgeClubPositionCurrent RatingPredicted RatingValue
1Pedri18BarcelonaCM8191$63.2m
2R Gravenberch19AjaxCM, CDM7890$38.7m
3J Bellingham18Borussia DortmundCM, LM7989$43.3m
4F Wirtz18Bayer LeverkusenCAM, CM7889$34.6m
5M Greenwood19Man UtdRM, ST7889$35.7m
6E Camavinga18Real MadridCM, CDM7889$34.6m
7B Saka19ArsenalRM, LM, LB8088$53.3m
8N Madueke19PSVRM, ST7788$26.9m
9J Musiala18Bayern MunichLM, CAM7688$20.5m
10Gabriel Martinelli20ArsenalLM, LW7688$21.1m

Top 10 young attackers

Again, it comes as no surprise to anyone that first place in this ranking is held by Erling Haaland. The young Borussia Dortmund player has been an absolute sensation and he is still twenty years old.

Not only is he the best young forward in FIFA 22, but he can also become the best player in the game if you train him accordingly.

His potential rating of 93 is Lionel Messi’s current rating in the game, meaning Haaland can become one of the game’s greatest ever.

The catch is that he’s valued at over £161m, so it might not be the best choice in Career Mode unless you’re managing a club with a lot of available capital.

However, the second player listed in our top 10, which is Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr. is not a bad choice at all, and he’s over $100m cheaper than Haaland.

It doesn’t really matter who you pick, as long as your choice fits perfectly into the puzzle that is your team’s game style and pace.

#NameAgeClubPO.CRPRVA.
1E Haaland20Borussia DortmundST8893$161.3m
2Vinicius Jr20Real MadridLW8090$54.5m
3A Fati18BarcelonaLW7690$20.5m
4Rodrygo20Real MadridRW7988$45.1m
5J Doku19RennesRW, RM7788$26.9m
6R Cherki17LyonRW, LW7388$8.1m
7C Hudson-Odoi20ChelseaRW, LW7787$26.9m
8A Hlozek18Sparta PrahaST, LM, RM7487$11.7m
9H Elliott18LiverpoolRW, CM7387$8.1m
10Kayky18Man CityRW6687$3.1m

These aren’t the only youth players that are worth looking at, we just listed the top 10 out of every area of the pitch.

There are a lot of other choices so make sure you are thorough in your search before you have one of these young players sign a contract with your team.

You can even make good use of your scouts and they too can come back with some unexpected results, costing you a lot less than these well-known players.

As we mentioned before, it all comes down to your personal choice, so don’t be afraid to experiment and build the best team ever.

Out of all the choices we listed in this article, which player is your absolute favorite? Let us know in the comments section below.