Best Youth Academies in Football Manager 2024: Top 100 Wonderkids Factories on FM24

Club Brugge / Belgium

Training Facilities

State of Art

Youth Facilities

State of Art

Junior Coaching

Good

Youth Recruitment

Excellent

Division: Jupiler Pro
Transfer Budget: €18.5Mill

Real Madrid / Spain

Training Facilities

Superb

Youth Facilities

Superb

Junior Coaching

Excellent

Youth Recruitment

Excellent

Division: La Liga
Transfer Budget: €25Mill

Manchester United / England

Training Facilities

Excellent

Youth Facilities

Excellent

Junior Coaching

Excellent

Youth Recruitment

Excellent

Under Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Manchester United changed directions back to focusing on developing youth and signing promising talents for the future. The summer of 2019 saw 7 new promising talents enter the gates of Aon Training Complex including youngsters from France and Holland, who where wanted by bigger clubs.

Looking back on the history, Manchester United has really been a leading force when developing home grown talents. From the class of ’92 featuring the one with the most club appearances, Ryan Giggs, to current Premier League players Dwight McNeil and Marcus Rashford. Marcus Rashford put himself in the history books in January 2020 becoming the fourth-youngest player in history to make 200 appearances for Manchester United!

In Football Manager, Manchester United has the training and youth facilities to expect a wide range of newgens coming through the annual youth intake and if you manage to develop all the under-21 talents that’s currently coming through, the club is destined for restoring their glory.

Ones To Watch – Under 21 Football Talents

• Kobbie Mainoo – 19.04.2005 – DM/M/AMC – €12.5-18.5M
• Shea Lacey – 14.04.2007 – ST – €22-33M
• Jayce Fitzgerald – 09-05.2007 – DRC – €15.5-23M
• Jack Fletcher – 19.03.2007 – M/AMC – €17-20M
• Harry Amass – 16.03.2007 – D/WBL – €27-34M

Division: Premier League
Transfer Budget: €6.99Mill

AFC Ajax / Holland

Training Facilities

Superb

Youth Facilities

Excellent

Junior Coaching

Excellent

Youth Recruitment

Excellent

AFC Ajax has done a remarkable job of producing players for the top five European leagues. In February 2023, CIES Football Observatory ranked Ajax as the fourth best club to produce players between 15 and 21 based on their total estimated transfer value of their youth graduates.

Their records of departing 22 players to one of the major European leagues tells us their the best stepping stone club in Europe by March 2020.

From their ranks Dutch legends and fantastic players who have taken the world with storm has been pushed out on a regular basis. From Rinus Michels, Johan Cruyff, Ruud Krol and the Total Football era, to Frank Rijkaard, Dennis Bergkamp, Marco van Basten, Frank de Boer, Edgar Davids and Patrick Kluivert, to more rising heroes in Matthijs de Ligt, Justin Kluivert and Donny van den Beek.

A lot of expectations lies on the shoulders of De Toekomst graduates. We all expect to see tactical and technical gifted players emerge every season. It’s truly remarkable what they manage to achieve! Perhaps the key lies in a persistant training philosophy, playing identity and spending focus and money on youth development and forming the players from a young age into the identity of the club as the football philosophy goes all the way back to the Under-7 teams; the Ajax TIPS Model.

Ones To Watch – Under 21 Football Talents

• Skye Vink – 01.07.2006 – ST – €5-6M
• Amourricho van Axel Dongen – 29.09.2004 – AML
• Ethan Butera – 16.04.2006 – DC – €7-9M
• Gabriel Misehouy – 18.07.2005 – M/AMC – €14.5-18M
• Jorrel Hato – 07.03.2006 – DLC – €75M
• Lucas Jetten – 07.06.2007 – DL (DC(WBL) – €8-11M

Division: Eredivisie
Transfer Budget: €35Mill

KRC Genk / Belgium

To the East of Brussel, close to the border of Germany, we find the Limburg region with the former Jupiler Pro league champions KRC Genk. Famed for developing Kevin de Bruyne into the current world’s best playmaker, one of the top 10 goalkeepers in the world Thibaut Courtois, Leicester’s N’Golo Kante, Wilfred Ndidi, as well as Atletico Madrid starlet Yannick Carrasco and Liverpool’s Divock Origi.

Include great footballers who have used KRC Genk as their stepping stone, such as Kalidou Koulibaly who’s one of the most wanted defenders in world football today, Wesley Sonck, Steven Defour, Didier Zokora and Christian Benteke who have had two spells for the club as a youngster before later kicking off his career at Aston Villa and Liverpool.

Training Facilities

Superb

Youth Facilities

Superb

Junior Coaching

Excellent

Youth Recruitment

Excellent

Their records has managed to increase the interest for players in Scandinavia and outside Europe, such as African and South American players to use the club as their stepping stone for Premier League football or reaching the top level of football.

Latest players to emerge from the Genk academy is goalkeeper Maarten Vandevoordt, who received his first team debut December 7th 2019 against Cercle Brugge and three days later becoming the youngest ever Champions League goalkeeper debutant (17) against Napoli, and Luca Oyen.

Ones To Watch – Under 21 Football Talents

• Luca Oyen – 14.03.2003 – AMLC/ST – €350K-3.5M
• Bilal el Khannouss – 10.05.2004 – M/AMLC – €21-31M
• Christopher Bonsu Baah – 14.12.2004 – AMRL – €425K-3.5M
• Lino Decresson – 14.03.2007 – ST – €6-7M
• Tijn van Ingeldom – 05.03.2007 – GK – €450K-4.4M

Division: Jupiler Pro
Transfer Budget: € 5Mill

PSV / Holland

Training Facilities

Superb

Youth Facilities

Superb

Junior Coaching

Excellent

Youth Recruitment

Excellent

While AFC Ajax has lead the way of producing some of the best Dutch footballers in Europe, PSV has acted like a stepping stone for a range of players who have taken the international level. Kevin Strootman, who later moved to AS Roma, Jaap Stam (Manchester United), Ruud van Nistelrooy who scored 62 goals in 67 appearances for PSV and was thereby signed by Manchester United, Ibrahim Afellay who was caught by Barcelona and Ronald Koeman who went from Groningen through Ajax before ending up at Barcelona, as well as Arjen Robben (Chelsea), are just some of the names profitted from the training setup of PSV.

PSV might not have developed the biggest wonderkids in Netherlands throughout the history, but the club has started to reach the same level as Ajax and Feyenoord in recent years with more and more Dutch wonderkids coming through. Here I’m mainly thinking about the club’s 2005 and 2006 generation.
The latest starlet to emerge is definitely Cody Gakpo – now at Liverpool, or Donyell Malen (Borussia Dortmund)!

Within the youth ranks, PSV got a number of promising talents to watch for the future… So check out the PSV Academy to identify the next Dutch starlets!

Ones To Watch – Under 21 Football Talents

• Tygo Land – 11.01.2006 – DM/MC – €12-17.5M
• Jevon Simons – 31.07.2005 – AMRC – €10.5-15.5M
• Jason van Duiven – 24.02.2005 – ST – €21-31M
• Isaac Babadi – 05.04.2005 – M/AMC (AMRL) – €20-30M

Division: Eredivisie
Transfer Budget: €15Mill

Sporting / Portugal

Training Facilities

State of Art

Youth Facilities

Superb

Junior Coaching

Excellent

Youth Recruitment

Excellent

The youth academy of Sporting Lisbon can be labeled as a world class institution. Three times award winner of the prestigious Ballon D’Or, Cristiano Ronaldo, together with a long range of Portuguese international susperstars such as Nani, Luis Figo, Paulo Futre, Simão Sabrosa, Luis Boa Morte and Ricardo Quaresma are just some of the fortunate players who have received their football education at the Sporting Clube de Portugal Youth and Academy.

In fact, eight of eleven players who started for Portugal in the Euro 2016 final was a product of Sporting CP.

Sporting Lisbon is the only club in the world that has developed and trained two FIFA World Players of the year, Luis Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Diogo Matos, Head of Youth academy, Sporting Clube de Portugal, 2012¹

Much of the credit must go to former youth recruitment director Aurelio Pereira who has overseen the development of Portuguese icons like Figo, Paulo Futre, Simão Sabrosa, João Moutinho, Cedric, Ricardo Quaresma and Nani.

In the youth teams of the Portuguese national teams, Sporting competes against Benfica and Porto to have the most players called-up but for the Portuguese U19 and U18 there are only two. However, the future is looking bright as they have some amazing talents coming through for the Portuguese U16 national team with João Simões and Geovany Quenda as two of their stars.

We are a small country but we produce the world’s best.

Bruno de Carvalho, President, Sporting Clube de Portugal, 2016¹

Ones To Watch – Under 21 Football Talents

• Gabriel Silva – 09.04.2007 – ST (AMR) – €2.5-4.5M
• Afonso Moreira – 19.03.2005 – AML – €15.5-19.5M
• Guilherme Santos – 06.02.2005 – M/AMC – €160K-1.6M
• Dário Essugo – 14.03.2005 – DM/MC – €5-7M
• João Simões – 06.01.2007 – AMC (MC) – €150K-1.5M

Division: Liga Portugal
Transfer Budget: €8Mill

RB Salzburg / Austria

Training Facilities

Superb

Youth Facilities

Superb

Junior Coaching

Excellent

Youth Recruitment

Exceptional

RB Salzburg has really come to everyone’s attention the past years. Here we must accredit the purchase of Erling Braut Haaaland, his goal scoring records and their fine achievements in Champions League and Europa League for the past two seasons. Under the tutelage of up and coming American manager, Jesse Marsch, a host of under-21 talents was been given a chance for the first team (average age 24). Since then, RB Salzburg has continues their focus on signing Under-21 talents with lots of unfulfilled potential and requires trust and attention to finally break through on the international scene.

In difference to Benfica or Tottenham, the club have become famous for swooping up talents with their exceptional scouting range and knowledge of Red Bull GmbH and their ownership of football clubs such as RB Leipzig. Players like Sadio Mané, Naby Keita, Stefan Lainer, Martin Hinteregger, Valentino Lazaro, Xaver Schlager and most recently Takumi Minamino, the club has used scouting as a tool to improve their finances by scouring after talents who have for a number of reasons not been able to reach the highest level, develop them and sell for quite a turnover.

RB Salzburg is one the top 10 clubs in Europe who focuses a great deal on youth development and have even a club vision of signing under 20 players for the first team, as well as maintaining the best youth system in the country.

In the process of developing players, RB Salzburg is fortunate to have FC Liefering who competes in the Austrian 2.Liga as a farm club, which enables them to send players out on loan to. Their facilities are of equal quality of RB Salzburg. Scouting them can help you find wonderkids newgens in the future as well.

For the 2023-24 season, the RB Salzburg squad is packed with players of 25 different foreigners. Some would argue it affects the development of Austrian talents, but I beg to differ as they will be able to develop their skills by competing against better players on a daily basis.

Read more about why Red Bull Salzburg is one of the best run club in the modern world of football.

Ones To Watch – Under 21 Talents

• Oscar Gloukh – 01.04.2004 – AMC – €19-23M
• Leandro Morgalla – 13.09.2004 – DC – €7.5-9M
• Dijon Kameri – 20.04.2004 – AMC – 13-19M
• Karim Konaté – 21.03.2004 – ST – €19-23M
• Lucas Gourna-Douath – 05.08.2003 – DM/MC – €16-19M

Division: Bundesliga
Transfer Budget: €7Mill

Barcelona / Spain

Training Facilities

Superb

Youth Facilities

Superb

Junior Coaching

Exceptional

Youth Recruitment

Exceptional

I’m not lying if I say no other clubs have produced as many players for the European top leagues than Barcelona over the past 20 years.

Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi, Pedro, Cesc Fabregas, Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets… I could have gone on and on. For 4 decades, hundreds of children from all over the world including local Spanish footballers have been inaugurated into the La Masia Academy. Over 40 players have reached the first team, and despite some criticism for purchasing foreign kids under the age of 16 and moving them from Africa or South America to Barcelona, the academy is run with a clear philosophy of educating the players not only as footballers but also as humans.

The players needs to get good grades in order to play matches for the Juvenile squads and follows a strict schedule to develop into future footballers.

This eye of a needle has both bare the fruits and become the curse for FC Barcelona. In recent years, after Josep Maria Bartomeu became the president, the club has moved further away from what brought success 10 years ago under the managerial tenure of Josep Guardiola which has forced many of the most promising talents of La Masia to seek first team opportunity else where. Perhaps this will all change under the new President, Jon Laporta, and Xavi coming back taking the managerial seat.

We all know the FC Barcelona’s training and youth facilities can help the club become self-sustaining with world class players in the years to come as long as they dare to put faith in the youth.

Now it’s the time to find back to their roots … focusing their money and trust on the La Masia academy to get out of their financial crisis.

Division: La Liga
Transfer Budget: €2.49M

Ones To Watch – Under 21 Talents

• Lamine Yamal – 13.07.2007 – AMR – €40-51M
• Noah Darvich – 25.09.2006 – M/AMC – €17-23M
• Hector Fort – 02.08.2006 – D/WBR – €9-11M
• Marc Bernal – 25.05.2007 – DM/MC – €14K-150K
• Marc Guiu – 04.01.2006 – ST – €7.5-12M

Liverpool / England

Training Facilities

State of Art

Youth Facilities

State of Art

Junior Coaching

Excellent

Youth Recruitment

Excellent

Liverpool opened their state-of-the-art training facilities in 1998 and enabled the Reds to professionalize their focus on youth development. A long list of English international superstars has come through the Liverpool Academy. Alexander Trent-Arnold, Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman, Steven Gerrard and Michael Owen is probably the most famous, but they have also produced players that has managed to break thorugh within the Premier League for other teams, such as Jack Harrison (Everton), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle) or Tom Ince (Watford).

In the past years, Liverpool has bear fruits from their extensive scouting network and enrolling wonderful talents within their youth academy from a young age. Lots of these amazing talents that have been bought from Scotland, Wales and from other English football clubs are on the verge of breaking through for the first team. The excitement of Ben Doak, Harvey Elliott, Kaide Gordon and Stefan Bajceticis evident for all Reds fans as the future is looking so bright!

Ones To Watch – Under 21 Football Talents

• Kaide Gordon – 05.10.2004 – AMRL – €18-21M
• Stefan Bajcetic – 22.10.2004 – DC/DM – €23-34M
• Ben Doak – 11.11.2005 – AMR – €35-52M
• Bobby Clark – 07.02.2005 – MC/AMLC – €140K-1.4M

Division: Premier League
Transfer Budget: €74.6Mill

Chelsea / England

Training Facilities

State of Art

Youth Facilities

State of Art

Junior Coaching

Exceptional

Youth Recruitment

Excellent

A number of English legends has come through the Chelsea academy over the past 40 years. Even though the biggest legends are John Terry, Graeme Le Saux and Ian Pearce, Chelsea have served the Premier League with some great players in recent years. Declan Rice, Dominik Solanke, Eddie Nketiah and Domingos Quina are just a few players who have come through the academy.

The youth recruitment policy of Chelsea has both been applauded and criticized for the past years. Their focus on swooping up under-18 talents from around the globe has definitely raised some eyebrows. Even though the club received a transfer ban in May 2019 for transferring and registering overseas players under 18, the transfer ban is now lifted by FIFA.

Looking back of the past 5 years, Chelsea have had a large pool of players and been smart using their affiliate clubs and network to loan out their breakthrough players. Now it’s starting to bear fruits. Callum Hudson-Odoi, Levi Colwill, Mason Mount, Fikayo Tomori and Reece James have all been loaned out and got necessary experience on an higher level than the reserve leagues before being brought back.

This summer a number of potential wonderkids was brought in that might give Chelsea an edge over their opponents as they are likely to be sold for huge fees. Their rebuild process has resulted in having one of the youngest squads in Premier League at 23.1.

Future is definitely looking bright for Chelsea and their youth development program.

Ones To Watch – Under 21 Football Talents

• Leo Castledine – 20.08.2005 – MC/AMRC – €6.5-9.5M
• Jimmy Jay-Morgan – 21.01.2006 – ST – €18-22M
• Travis Akomeah – 01.06.2006 – DC – €5.5-8M
• Kiano Dyer – 21.11.2006 – DM/MC – €425K-8M
• Michael Golding – 23.05.2006 – DM/MC – €4.3-6M

Division: Premier League
Transfer Budget: €6.99Mill

Benfica / Portugal

Training Facilities

State of Art

Youth Facilities

State of Art

Junior Coaching

Excellent

Youth Recruitment

Exceptional

Sport Lisboa e Benfica is one of the clubs with a long and proud history in producing top class Portuguese players. The Benfica youth academy, also known as the Seixal after the region it is located, features a State of the Art Training facilities and has served Europe with a range of talents, while also leading the club to become the most successful club in Portugal with 83 trophies in their 117 year long history. They won the Portuguese league last time in 2018-19.

Current Salernitana manager Paulo Sousa, Manchester City’s star Bernardo Silva and Paris SG’s Renato Sanches are some of the graduates of the Seixal academy, while former Ballon D’Or and two times European Golden Boot winner Eusebio stands out as their biggest star of all time. He too can also be described as a Benfica product since he entered the gates of Estádio da Luz at the age of 18. Other former talents who have been part of the youth academy of Benfica at some point are; Rui Costa, Angel di Maria, Andre Gomes and profilic striker Nuno Gomes.

The current Benfica squad is bolstered with talents. From Portuguese international Antonio Silva to recent break through wonderkids João Neves, Rafael Luís, Joâo Rêgo and João Veloso who is destined for a great career and which we will hear lots more in the future!

Benfica’s training and youth facilities can only be described as phenomenal. With an exceptional youth recruitment and excellent junior coaching it has the best foundation for receiving a wealth of promising talents at the annual youth intake, while also being able to develop them into future world class players with state of the art youth facilities and a large pool of 5 star coaches and backroom staff in the likes of head of youth development Pedro Mil Homens, manager Roger Schmidt and the coaches Javi Garcia, Luis Tralhão and Pedro Valido.

There you have it! Benfica has the best youth facilities in FM24 and could be labelled as the best youth academy in the world!

In FM24, Benfica will constantly produce wonderkids and their current youth team is filled with both well-known and hidden wonderkids!

Division: Liga Portugal
Transfer Budget: €12Mill

Ones To Watch – Under 21 Football Talents

• Rafael Luís – 18.02.2005 – DM/MC – €7.5-11.5M
• João Neves – 27.09.2004 – DM/M/AMC – €70-100M
• João Veloso – 26.06.2005 – M/AMC – €13.5-20M
• Tiago Parente – 12.06.2006 – D/WBL – €700K-9.4M
• Goncalo Moreira – 03.01.2006 – AMRL – €700K-5M
• Tiago Freitas – 17.08.2006 – M/AMC – €375K-3.5M