9 Football Manager 2026 Centre-Back Wonderkids You Should Know Before the New Release
The most recent version of Sports Interactive’s renowned football management simulator, Football Manager 26 Beta, has finally arrived, and we can already feel ourselves wasting endless hours to it.
The entire information has been made public, and as usual, we’ve started with the wonderkids.
Which young centre backs are the best in the game, though? These nine center-backs under 21 who have an FMScout rating of 85 or higher are ranked from lowest to highest potential.
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9) Luka Vuskovic (18 yrs)
Club: (Tottenham)
Rating: (86)
Taking a look at the Croatian young star, he appears authentic. In this regard, Vuskovic was loaned out by Spurs to Hamburger SV of the Bundesliga, where he is already making waves as one of the future great centre backs in European football.
He recently moved to London from his boyhood club, Hajduk Split, in the virtual world, and you are free to plot his next developmental stage anyway you see suitable. But he’s simply too gifted to be benched.
8) Joane Gadou (18 yrs)
Club: (RB Salzburg)
Rating: (86)
Currently a relatively unknown name, we don’t think that will last for very long.
Gadou has enormous potential and is ranked among the top 2007-born prospects in The Guardian’s Next Generation series, along with Franco Mastantuono, Willian Estevao, Kendry Paez, and the previously mentioned Vuskovic.
If you are in charge of a top-tier European team, get in there early. We absolutely anticipate that the France Under-19 international will quickly surpass the Austrian Bundesliga, much like players like Sadio Mane, Benjamin Sesko, Dominik Szoboszlai, and Erling Haaland.
7) Jorrel Hato (19 yrs)
Club: (Chelsea)
Rating: (86)
There were several highly regarded young defenders that joined the Premier League in the summer besides Leoni. Here at WANDERLUSTSPORT, we’ve been raving about Hato for a while.
It has long been assumed that he will leave Ajax and join a significant European powerhouse. The competition to sign Hato was won by Chelsea.
Enzo Maresca has been patient in gradually integrating the Netherlands international thus far, but as the months go by, we anticipate seeing more and more of him.
The young player is a valuable defensive option because he can play centre back or left back just as well.
6) Matteo Palma (17 yrs)
Club: (Udinese)
Rating: (86)
Palma is eligible to play for Germany, Italy, and Cameroon; it will be intriguing to watch how his career develops.
The 17-year-old joined Udinese’s youth divisions from Hertha Berlin a few years ago, although he has only made a few appearances for the team.
It will undoubtedly not be long before he begins to demand more first-team opportunities in Kosta Runjaic’s team.
5) Giovanni Leoni (18 yrs)
Club: (Liverpool)
Rating: (86)
Following Leoni’s incredible breakout season at Parma last season, Liverpool moved quickly in the summer to improve their backline with another eye-catching prospect from Serie A.
It was particularly devastating to see the Italian rising star’s debut for the Reds cut short with a horrific ACL injury because he looked like a Rolls-Royce in the making.
Leoni can be a key player in your FM save, but we don’t anticipate seeing him return for Arne Slot’s team anytime soon.
4) Willy Kambwala (21 yrs)
Club: (Villarreal)
Rating: (88)
The high rating for Kambwala is somewhat unexpected. After leaving Manchester United last season, the defender most definitely didn’t get the same immediate boost that players like Scott McTominay and Antony experienced.
Only 12 La Liga starts were given to Kambwala by Villarreal manager Marcelino, and 32 minutes into his home debut, he received a straight red card.
Additionally, he hasn’t played a minute in 2025–2026 due to a hamstring tear. However, he is accessible and fit in Football Manager, and his potential is endless.
3) Pau Cubarsi (18 yrs)
Club: (Barcelona)
Rating: (89)
Reaching Cubarsi’s ranking was one of the easiest tasks for Sports Interactive’s research and scouting crew.
Seldom have we witnessed a young centre back appear so calm, transitioning to senior football with such ease at such a young age.
Even though he only turned 18 earlier this year, he has already made close to 100 appearances for Spain and Barcelona.
Regardless his age, he is already among the top centre backs in the world of football.
2) Leny Yoro (19 yrs)
Club: (Man Utd)Â
Rating: (89)
Yoro has been put into the most disorganised and dysfunctional Manchester United team in a generation, and it has been a baptism of fire at Old Trafford.
Surprisingly, in the 17 Premier League games he has started for the Red Devils, he has only won four.
However, the promise is undeniable, and the outcomes will undoubtedly materialise.
Although it’s yet unclear how Yoro fits into Ruben Amorim’s revolution, he is undoubtedly a crucial component of any prosperous future on Football Manager.
1) Dean Huijsen (20 yrs)
Club: (Real Madrid)
Rating: (91)
It was soon clear that Bournemouth would not be able to keep Huijsen for very long. Before Real Madrid signed him, he spent just one season on the south coast. In 2025, Huijsen would have been a striking example of the ideal ball-playing centre-back. Playing out from the back is a generational ability.
