Football Manager 2026 makes its long-awaited arrival on Tuesday, giving way to a fresh database full to the brim with tomorrow's talent, and Mirror Football has assembled the best in class
Dean Huijsen, new player of Real Madrid posing in his presentation at Valdebebas training ground
Real Madrid's Dean Huijsen is looking like one of the brightest talents in world football
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Football geeks across the globe will welcome the release of Football Manager 2026 after last year's game failed to launch. And with the latest iteration of the FM series comes a new class of wonderkids waiting to have their potential fulfilled.
One of the greatest joys in any Football Manager release is discovering and unlocking the best in the game's greatest gems. However, not all those touted for greatness don't always turn out to be the stars they're projected to be.
While some starlets perform way beyond their forecasts, many a prodigy fall way short of expectations year on year. Mirror Football has sourced those youngsters aged 21 and under with the highest potential ceiling on FM26 so you don't have to.
Football Manager 2026 Highest Potential
100. Stefanos Tzimas, 19 (Brighton) - 85
99. Mathys Tel, 20 (Tottenham) - 85
98. Marc Guiu, 19 (Chelsea) - 85
97. Paul Wanner, 19 (PSV) - 85
96. Geovany Quenda, 18 (Sporting CP) - 85
95. Roger Fernandes, 19 (Al-Ittihad) - 85
94. Jose Reyes, 17 (Real Madrid) - 85
93. Ian Subiabre, 18 (River Plate) - 85
92. Angelo, 20 (Al-Nassr) - 85
91. Alisson, 19 (Shakhtar Donetsk) - 85
90. Jeremy Monga, 15 (Leicester City) - 85
89. Pedro, 19 (Zenit St Petersburg) - 85
88. Kennet Eichhorn, 15 (Hertha Berlin) - 85
87. Marc Bernal, 18 (Barcelona) - 85
86. Luka Vuskovic, 18 (Tottenham) - 85
85. Finn Jeltsch, 18 (Stuttgart) - 85
84. Ferran Quetglas, 20 (Real Madrid) - 85
83. Lewis Hall, 20 (Newcastle) - 86
82. Tomas Parmo, 17 (Independiente) - 86
81. Valentin Barca, 20 (Strasbourg) - 86
80. Warren Zaire, Emery, 19 (PSG) - 86
Ethan Mbappe, Brother of French International Kylian Mbappe looks on prior to the UEFA Euro 2020 Championship Round of 16 match between France and Switzerland
Kylian Mbappe's younger brother, Ethan, is making waves at Lille
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79. Said El Mala, 18 (Cologne) - 86
78. Assane Diao, 19 (Como) - 86
77. Gabriel Carvalho, 17 (Al-Qadsiah) - 86
76. Yankuba Minteh, 20 (Brighton) - 86
75. Ethan Mbappe, 18 (Lille) - 86
74. Amir Ibragimov, 17 (Man United) - 86
73. Alvaro Montoro, 18 (Botafoga) - 86
72. Alejandro Gomes Rodriguez, 17 (Lyon) - 86
71. Djylian N'Guessan, 16 (Saint-Etienne), 86
70. Eliezer Mayenda, 20 (Sunderland) - 86
69. Pau Cubanes, 20 (Villarreal) - 86
68. Vitor Roque, 20 (Palmeiras) - 86
67. Santiago Castro, 20 (Bologna) - 87
66. Jaime Barroso, 17 (Real Madrid) - 87
65. Evan Ferguson, 20 (Brighton) - 87
64. Nathan De Cat, 16 (Anderlecht) - 87
63. Jesus Fortea, 18 (Real Madrid) - 87
62. Pau Cubarsi, 18 (Barcelona) - 87
61. Leny Yoro, 19 (Man United) - 87
60. Konstantinos Karetsas, 17 (Genk) - 87
Leny Yoro of Manchester United in action during a first team training session as part of their pre-season tour of the USA at Endeavor Health Performance Center
Leny Yoro has more than 100 senior games under his belt at just 19 years of age
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59. Valentin Carboni, 20 (Inter Milan) - 87
58. Dro, 17 (Barcelona) - 87
57. Ibrahim Mbaye, 17 (PSG) - 87
56. Tyler Dibling, 19 (Everton) - 87
55. Shea Lacey, 18 (Man United) - 87
54. Amara Diouf, 17 (Generation Foot) - 87
53. Darwin Guagua, 17 (Independiente del Valle) - 87
52. Malick Fofana, 20 (Lyon) - 87
51. Alejandro Garnacho, 21 (Chelsea) - 87
50. Niccolo Pisilli, 20 (Roma) - 87
49. Assan Ouedraogo, 19 (RB Leipzig) - 87
48. Kobbie Mainoo, 20 (Man United) - 87
47. Sverre Nypan, 18 (Man City/Middlesbrough) - 87
46. Sami Bouhoudane, 17 (PSV) - 88
45. Emre Unuvar, 17 (Ajax)
44. Francesco Camarda, 17 (AC Milan) - 88
43. Harry Gray, 16 (Leeds) - 88
Jayden Danns of Liverpool celebrates scoring his side's third goal during the Emirates FA Cup Third Round match between Liverpool and Accrington Stanley at Anfield
Liverpool's Jayden Danns has been a goal machine at youth level
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42. Jayden Danns, 19 (Liverpool) - 88
41. Mattia Liberali, 18 (Catanzaro) - 88
40. Toni Fernandez, 16 (Barcelona) - 88
39. Claudio Echeverri, 19 (Man City/Bayer Leverkusen) - 88
38. Facundo Buonanotte, 20 (Brighton/Chelsea) - 88
37. Ben Gannon Doak, 19 (Bournemouth) - 88
36. Roony Bardghji, 19 (Barcelona) - 88
35. Jay Robinson, 18 (Southampton) - 88
34. Mikey Moore, 17 (Tottenham) - 88
33. Rio Ngumoha, 16 (Liverpool) - 88
32. Gabriel Mec, 17 (Gremio) - 88
31. Tom Bischof, 20 (Bayern Munich) - 88
30. Joao Neves, 20 (PSG) - 88
29. Guille Fernandez, 17 (Barcelona) - 88
28. Archie Gray, 19 (Tottenham) - 88
27. Andres Chema, 20 (Stuttgart) - 88
26. Saba Kharebashvili, 16 (Dinamo Tbilisi) - 88
25. Myles Lewis-Skelly, 18 (Arsenal) - 88
Myles Lewis-Skelly after Arsenal's victory over Brighton
Arsenal's Myles Lewis-Skelly is growing into his role as a long-term star for the Gunners
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24. Willy Kambwala, 20 (Villarreal) - 89
23. Dean Huijsen, 20 (Real Madrid) - 88
22. Daulet Orynbasar, 16 (Kairat) - 89
21. Dastan Satpayev, 16 (Kairat) - 89
20. Francesco Esposito, 20 (Inter Milan) - 89
19. Lucas Bergvall, 19 (Tottenham) - 89
18. Gilberto Mora, 16 (Tijuana) - 89
17. Can Uzun, 19 (Eintracht Frankfurt) - 89
16. Desire Doue, 20 (PSG) - 89
15. Karim Alajbegovic, 17 (Red Bull Salzburg) - 89
14. Abdellah Ouazane, 16 (Ajax) - 89
13. Gavi, 20 (Barcelona) - 89
12. Rodrigo Mora, 18 (Porto) - 90
11. Kenan Yildiz, 20 (Juventus) - 90
10. Eli Kroupi, 19 (Bournemouth) - 90
9. Ayyoub Bouaddi, 17 (Lille) - 91
8. Ethan Nwaneri, 18 (Arsenal) - 91
7. Franco Mastantuono, 17 (Real Madrid) - 91
6. Luca Williams-Barnet, 16 (Tottenham) - 91
5. Estevao, 18 (Chelsea) - 92
4. Arda Guler, 20 (Real Madrid) - 92
3. Nico Paz, 20 (Como) - 93
2. Lamine Yamal, 15 (Barcelona) - 95
1. Endrick, 18 (Real Madrid) - 96
All ratings courtesy of FM Scout
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