9 Football Manager centre-back wonderkids you need to know before FM26 release
The Football Manager 26 Beta has finally arrived, and we can already feel ourselves losing countless hours to the latest edition of Sports Interactive’s iconic football management simulator.
The full database has been revealed, and – as ever – we’ve gone straight to the wonderkids. But who are the highest-rated young centre-backs in the game?
Ranked from the lowest to highest potential, here are the nine centre-backs under the age of 21 who possess a rating of 85 or above on FMScout.
=9. Luka Vuskovic (18, Tottenham) – 86
The teenage Croatian looks the real deal.
In this realm, Spurs have loaned out Vuskovic to Bundesliga side Hamburger SV, where he’s already turning heads as one of European football’s next top centre-backs.
In the virtual world, he’s just arrived in London from boyhood club Hajduk Split, and you can plot the next phase of his development as you see fit. He’s far too talented to sit on the bench, though.
=9. Matteo Palma (17, Udinese) – 86
Eligible to play for Italy, Germany and Cameroon, it’ll be interesting to see the path Palma’s career takes.
The 17-year-old only has a couple of appearances under his belt for Udinese, having joined their youth ranks from Hertha Berlin a few years back.
It’s surely only a matter of time before he starts knocking on the door for more first-team opportunities in Kosta Runjaic’s squad.
=9. Joane Gadou (18, RB Salzburg) – 86
A relatively unknown name right now, we don’t expect that to be the case much longer.
Listed alongside the likes of Franco Mastantuono, Willian Estevao, Kendry Paez and the aforementioned Vuskovic as one of the best 2007-born talents in The Guardian’s Next Generation series, Gadou possesses immense potential.
Get in there early if you’re managing an elite European side.
We fully expect the France Under-19 international to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Erling Haaland, Dominik Szoboszlai, Benjamin Sesko and Sadio Mane in swiftly outgrowing the Austrian Bundesliga.
=9. Giovanni Leoni (18, Liverpool) – 86
Another head-turning talent from Serie A, Liverpool acted swiftly in the summer to bolster their backline off the back of Leoni’s superb breakout campaign at Parma last term.
The Italian rising star looked a Rolls-Royce in the making on his debut for the Reds, so it was especially gutting to see it cut short with a horror ACL injury.
We don’t expect to see Leoni making his return for Arne Slot’s side any time soon, but he can play a starring role in your FM save.
=9. Jorrel Hato (19, Chelsea) – 86
Leoni wasn’t the only highly-rated young defender to arrive in the Premier League in the summer.
We’ve been banging the Hato drum for quite some time here at Planet Football. It’s long felt inevitable that he’d fly the Ajax nest and join a major European powerhouse.
Chelsea won the race for Hato’s signature. So far, Enzo Maresca has been patient in bedding the Netherlands international in slowly, but we expect to see more and more of him as the months progress.
The youngster’s ability to slot in just as ably at left-back or centre-back makes him worth his weight in gold as a defensive option.
4. Willy Kambwala (21, Villarreal) – 88
It’s something of a surprise to see Kambwala rated so highly. The defender certainly didn’t quite enjoy the same instant glow-up enjoyed by the likes of Scott McTominay and Antony after leaving Manchester United last season.
Villarreal manager Marcelino only handed Kambwala 12 La Liga starts, while he was shown a straight red card just 32 minutes into his home debut.
And he’s yet to play a minute in 2025-26 after suffering a hamstring tear. But he’s fit and available in Football Manager and the sky’s the limit on what he can achieve.
=2. Leny Yoro (19, Man Utd) – 89
It’s been a baptism of fire for Yoro at Old Trafford, thrown into the most chaotic, dysfunctional Manchester United side in a generation.
Unbelievably, he’s won just four of the 17 Premier League games he’s started for the Red Devils. But the potential is unquestionable and the results will surely come.
The jury remains out on Ruben Amorim’s revolution and where exactly Yoro fits into that, but on Football Manager he’s surely a key pillar in any successful future.
=2. Pau Cubarsi (18, Barcelona) – 89
Sports Interactive’s research and scouting team can’t have had many easier jobs than coming to Cubarsi’s rating.
Seldom have we seen a young centre-back look so composed, adapting to senior football so seamlessly, at such a young age.
He only turned 18 earlier this year and already he’s approaching a hundred appearances for Barcelona and Spain. Already one of the best centre-backs in world football, regardless of age.
1. Dean Huijsen (20, Real Madrid) – 91
It quickly became apparent that Bournemouth wouldn’t be able to hold onto Huijsen for long.
He lasted just a season on the south coast before getting snapped up by Real Madrid.
If you could have designed the perfect ball-playing centre-back for football in 2025, they’d look remarkably like Huijsen. A generational talent in playing out from the back.
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