It's not enough in FIFA 21's Career Mode to just sign the likes of Messi and Ronaldo. For a start, you probably don't have the budget. Secondly, where's the development?
Unearthing little-known gems and working with your squad to improve them is part of the satisfaction when it comes to this mode in the game. But while scouting networks cost money, it's much easier to just scour our list of the top wonderkids on the game...
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Goalkeepers
While Gianluigi Donnarumma of AC Milan has long been the worst-kept secret in keeping, he's now 21. They grow up so fast, don't they?
That means that young Gigio is no longer classified as a wonderkid - but this lot most definitely are. Manchester City talent Gavin Bazunu is particularly talented while Maarten Vandevoordt is 18, 6'1 and destined to replace Thibault Courtois in the Belgium net in years to come.
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Lucas Chevalier of Lille is perhaps the best pick if you're on a budget - he'll cost under half a million - while Nico Mantl is currently playing in the German third division. He probably won't take much convincing of your project to swap that tier for your club.
Shoutouts too for Jan Olschowsky of Borussia Monchengladbach, Stefan Bajic of Saint-Etienne and Ilian Meslier of Leeds United. All solid wonderkids but not quite good enough to break into our top 125.
Central defenders
OK, no surprise to see Matthijs De Ligt right at the top of the pile for defenders. Arsenal's William Saliba down as the centre-back with the second-most potential on FIFA 21 is a high compliment to the French youngster, too.
Moroccan defender Chadi Riad is our pick if you're feeling thrifty, while Perr Schurrs won't need much improvement all at to become a top defender. Interesting to see Ethan Ampadu of Chelsea - and RB Leipzig last season - down too. He feels like he's been a wonderkid for years now.
Tanguy Kouassi is a big talent too. Bayern Munich snapped him up from Paris Saint-Germain over the summer and though he's showing promise as a top defender, he has all the tools to become a defensive midfielder in years to come, with great physicality and good tackling.
Full backs
It's a wonder that there are right-backs on this list who aren't English, right?
The budget options for each side is Ki-Jana Hoever at right-back and Luca Netz on the left. Both will develop into very good full-backs and will set you back under £2m combined.
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But if you're going Hollywood, you can't go much better than Sergino Dest on the right and Alphonso Davies on the left. Both are pacey, love to get forward and North American - think of the marketing possibilities - but you'll have to negotiate with Barcelona and Bayern respectively.
Thinking English, check out Reece James and Brandon Williams, coming to a defence near you in 2026.
Central midfielders
Some of these are attack-minded centre-mids, while others are defensive-minded. It all depends on what you're building at your club, really, as to which you sign.
Frankly, we can't believe that Marco Kana is still going so cheaply. You can sign him for under a million on FIFA 21 despite his exploits on Football Manager last year. Pair him up with Xavi Simons of PSG, who's a creative spark in the centre and you have yourself a cost-effective choice - you may need another midfielder in there, though.
Unsurprisingly, the most expensive name in there is future Pirlo himself Sandro Tonali. The Milan metronome also has a One To Watch card out on FUT for FIFA 21's launch week, so look out for that.
Right wingers
It's no surprise to see so many talented creative players on this edition of FIFA, but the 2021 edition has more young right-wingers than a Young Conservatives get-together.
Naturally, it's led by Manchester United target Jadon Sancho, who's already a world star. New United youngster Facundo Pellestri is on the list along with fellow Red Devil Mason Greenwood, so it doesn't look like Sancho's heading to Old Trafford on your Career Mode any time soon.
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Liverpool teen Harvey Elliot is the cheapest wonderkid right-winger on Career Mode this time around, closely followed by Mohamed Daramy and Joelson Fernandes, who Arsenal tracked in the summer.
In terms of wingers who can hack it on both sides, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Pedro De La Vega are solid options, too.
Left wingers
Another position, another North American star. Borussia Dortmund's Gio Reyna is a snip at just over £1m on Career Mode - take advantage of that.
Meanwhile, Arsenal's Bukayo Saka is probably capable of playing any position on the game. Ryan Sessegnon is a good option too if you're looking for an old-school left-winger or converting one into a wing-back, while both Barcelona and Real Madrid have two left-wing wonderkids each.
Nice to see Dwight McNeil on here, too. Not enough Burnley players in wonderkid lists for our liking at FFT and Dwight's a top player.
Attacking midfielders
You can tell someone who plays FIFA more than they watch football - they will call any playmaker, no.10 or attacking midfielder a "cam".
This year's most exciting young talents in attacking midfield feature a range of players, most of which simply haven't found their best position somewhere else on the field, really. That's perhaps best surmised by the most expensive pick, Phil Foden. Is he a No.10? A right-winger? A central midfielder for City? Who cares, he's quality.
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Yusuf Demir is our austerity pick this time around - he's another no.10-come-right-winger - while Rayan Cherki is essentially the French Jude Bellingham. We have no idea what he'll become but he'll probably be world-class.
Other interesting picks include Italian schemer Nicolo Zaniolo and Hungarian youngster Dominik Szoboszlai. At 20 and 19 respectively, they're two of the most well-known players on the list and both would probably slot into your starting XI right now, let alone in three years' time.
Forwards
Generally, top strikers aren't playing at the top level as teenagers - Luis Suarez, Harry Kane, Robert Lewandowski - or they're converted from wide positions - Thierry Henry, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Cristiano Ronaldo. Looking at the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Marcus Rashford, it's rare for wonderkids to lead the line alone.
Still, there are some top wonderkid forwards this season. Troy Parrott is a bargain at under a million, while Erling Haaland is on the other end of the spectrum. Our pick? Karim Adeyemi. Give him minutes up top, but use him on the left-wing too when you need goals from a more experienced source.
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