Best FIFA 23 wonderkids: The top 10 young players for Career Mode potential
FIFA 23 may be nearing the end of its shelf life but in Career Mode you can keep things as fresh as Day One.
While Ultimate Team may be growing stale for some, Career Mode can be timeless and provide new challenges even at this late stage into the game, with the aim of pushing a team (perhaps already existing or completely created thanks to the new additions) to glory.
But, whether you are starting at Real Madrid or Fake Madrid, who should you be signing? Unlike other game modes, in Career Mode it is vital to pay close attention to a player’s age.
A 90-rated player may be a great acquisition on Ultimate Team where they are essentially ageless (providing they start in a good condition), but that same man might not be worth splashing the cash for on Career Mode if there isn’t too long left on his career.
Instead, you’ll be wanting to fill your squad with youth, building it up for however long your Career Mode journey lasts. Of course, the Youth Academy will play its part, but what of the actual players already in the game, and the potential team you could build with them?
We’ve taken a took at the best young players, aged 21 or under at the start of FIFA 23 Career Mode, with the highest potential overall. There are some obvious names, but also a couple of perhaps surprising gems.
Player potential overalls are not set in stone and will vary depending on how often, and well, you use your wonderkids.
10. Destiny Udogie
Age at start of Career Mode: 19
Initial FIFA 23 rating: 76
Potential FIFA 23 rating: 89
On loan at Udinese from Tottenham, you would have to wait a year to sign Destiny Udogie, but he’d still be classed as a wonderkid by the time the second season comes around. A teenager at the start of Career Mode, Udogie has an initial overall of 76 and can grow to 89, capable of playing as a LWB and LM.
9. Tommaso Baldanzi
Age at start of Career Mode: 19
Initial FIFA 23 rating: 75
Potential FIFA 23 rating: 89
The main name on this list that you may not have heard of unless you’re well-versed in your FIFA wonderkids, Tommaso Baldanzi is a CAM or CF plying his trade with Empoli in Serie A. He may be worth converting out to a winger with decent dribbling and pace for his initial overall, standing at just 5′ 7. Of course, he’s on this list for his potential which is 89.
8. Gavi
Age at start of Career Mode: 18
Initial FIFA 23 rating: 80
Potential FIFA 23 rating: 89
One half of Barcelona’s future, Gavi turns 18 just as the first season on Career Mode starts and is a respectable 80 overall, with the ability to play at both CM and LW. You’re probably better off keeping him as a central midfielder and honing those skills as he has the potential to grow to 89 overall.
7. Youssoufa Moukoko
Age at start of Career Mode: 17
Initial FIFA 23 rating: 76
Potential FIFA 23 rating: 89
Unless something goes wrong (and it has happened) Youssoufa Moukoko will be a wonderkid for a few more years, as we move onto EA Sports FC. The German is still only 17 at the start of FIFA 23 Career mode and has a rating that mimics that at just 76 — an overall you’d expect for a wonderkid. But it’s all about the potential, and Moukoko can be 89 overall.
6. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
Age at start of Career Mode: 21
Initial FIFA 23 rating: 81
Potential FIFA 23 rating: 90
Just about sneaking in as a wonderkid, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia turns 22 midway through the first season, but he’s still very much one of the best young players. A name not many will have heard of before the season started, you’d now be hard pushed to find a football fan who doesn’t know Kvaradona. As the season went on, Kvaratskhelia would have become a much-recommended player for Career Mode and it’s easy to see why.
5. Bukayo Saka
Age at start of Career Mode: 20
Initial FIFA 23 rating: 85
Potential FIFA 23 rating: 90
Bukayo Saka turns 21 just a few weeks into the new season but he’s still a wonderkid, a Star Boy if you will. Starting with an overall of 84, Saka has the potential to grow to 90 and can of course be converted to play left wing if you’d rather him on his stronger foot.
4. Florian Wirtz
Age at start of Career Mode: 19
Initial FIFA 23 rating: 83
Potential FIFA 23 rating: 91
Florian Wirtz missed the start of the season due to injury but there is still a lot of potential for the German who, remember, has only just turned 20 in real life. In FIFA, it’s not until the end of the first season that Wirtz is no longer a teenager and by then you could already have him on his way to reaching his potential overall of 91.
3. Jude Bellingham
Age at start of Career Mode: 19
Initial FIFA 23 rating: 85
Potential FIFA 23 rating: 91
Another player who is a teenager for all of the first Career Mode season is Jude Bellingham, who doesn’t turn 20 until just before you officially end the campaign and roll over into the next one. Of course, Bellingham is already one of the best midfielders on the game but just imagine how good he’ll be as his overall grows.
2. Pedri
Age at start of Career Mode: 19
Initial FIFA 23 rating: 85
Potential FIFA 23 rating: 92
Starting Career Mode as a teenager, you only get a few months before Pedri turns 20 but there’s still another two years before he’s no longer considered a wonderkid. Not that he’s a hidden gem though. The Spaniard was boosted to an overall of 85 after his start to life as a senior player at Barcelona, which means he will only grow by seven overall to reach his potential of 92, but that’s still a very high number.
1. Jamal Musiala
Age at start of Career Mode: 19
Initial FIFA 23 rating: 84
Potential FIFA 23 rating: 92
If you’re an Ultimate Team player, there’s a chance you have already played with Jamal Musiala’s 97-rated Team of the Season card. He’s not quite that on Career Mode, but the German still reaches a pretty decent level. Now with a starting overall of 84 at the latest update due to his fine season, Musiala has the potential to rise to 92 overall, becoming one of the best players in the game.
