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FIFA 20 best young players: Career mode’s top strikers, midfielders, defenders and goalkeepers

Goal takes a look at the potential abilities of some of the world’s best wonderkids in Career Mode on the latest version of the football game

Career Mode has been revamped and upgraded for FIFA 20, with the player database also getting a refresh for the launch of the new game.

This will give FIFA fans the chance to start a new career with their favourite team, turning them into league and continental champions thanks to clever moves on the transfer market and astute management to develop young players into superstars.

Goal has compiled a list of the best young players in FIFA 20, selecting those aged 20 or under who have the highest potential rating. The lists below are sorted by potential and current ability and also divided by position.

Each player is listed by their primary position, but all the positions they can play in are shown. This means that Chelsea’s Ethan Ampadu, currently on loan at RB Leipzig, is in the defenders section but can play both centre-back and as a defensive midfielder.

Every player with a high potential rating is shown here, including many lesser-known stars who may be willing to move to smaller clubs if you are playing a long career by starting outside the top flight. Players will need plenty of gametime to develop and reach their full potential. Substitutes and reserves are unlikely to improve if they are not playing.

PO. = Position(s)

CR = Current Rating

PR = Potential Rating

VA. = Value

*Clubs listed are the clubs the players are assigned to in FIFA 20 Career Mode, while ages shown are the age at the start of Career Mode

FIFA 20: Best Young Goalkeepers

Name Age Club PO. CR PR VA.
G Donnarumma 20 AC Milan GK 85 92 £35.6m
A Lafont 20 Fiorentina GK 79 88 £13.2m
A Lunin 20 Real Madrid GK 76 88 £9.7m
Luis Maximiano 20 Sporting CP GK 72 84 £4.1m
A Plizzari 19 AC Milan GK 66 84 £1m
G Bazunu 17 Man City GK 59 84 £250k
Diogo Costa 19 Porto GK 70 83 £2.5m
K Grabara 20 Liverpool GK 67 83 £1.3m
M Vandevoort 17 Genk GK 63 83 £550k
A Muric 20 Man City GK 67 82 £1.2m
C Fruchtl 19 Bayern Munich II GK 65 82 £850k
G Couke 20 Genk GK 65 82 £850k
C Olses 18 Racing Club GK 62 82 £450k
M Roffo 19 Boca Juniors GK 62 82 £500k
L Chevalier 17 Lille GK 59 82 £261k
M Svilar 19 Benfica GK 68 81 £1.2m
K Scherpen 19 Ajax GK 67 81 £1.2m
I Meslier 19 Lorient GK 66 81 £1m
M Carnesecchi 19 Atalanta GK 65 81 £850k
Inaki Pena 20 Barcelona GK 64 81 £725k
L Plogmann 19 Werder Bremen GK 63 81 £575k
J Schendelaar 18 AZ Alkmaar GK 65 80 £800k
L Ureta 20 O’Higgins GK 63 80 £600k
N Shinton 18 Club Brugge GK 62 80 £450k
J Pourtau 19 Estudiantes GK 62 80 £500k
S Bajic 17 Saint-Etienne GK 60 80 £300k
Dani Martin 20 Real Betis GK 69 79 £1.2m
G Poussin 20 Bordeaux GK 66 79 £925k
R Vodisek 20 Genoa GK 66 79 £925k
R Majecki 19 Legia Warsaw GK 66 79 £900k
Moha Ramos 19 Birmingham GK 64 79 £750k
Joao Virginia 19 Everton GK 63 79 £600k
A Akbulut 18 Trabzonspor GK 63 79 £575k
A Trubin 17 Shakhtar Donetsk GK 59 79 £250k
L Unbehaun 18 Borussia Dortmund GK 59 79 £250k
P Dahlberg 20 Watford GK 68 78 £1m
G Couke 20 Genk GK 67 78 £950k
J Markovic 17 Slavia Praha GK 65 78 £675k
M Travers 20 Bournemouth GK 64 78 £775k
C Sanchez 19 Sporting Gijon GK 63 78 £600k
R Hoffmann 20 Bayern Munich GK 63 78 £600k
D Horkas 20 Dinamo Zagreb GK 62 78 £525k
M Bulka 19 PSG GK 60 78 £350k
K Klaesson 18 Valerenga GK 60 78 £325k
E Balcombe 19 Brentford GK 60 78 £350k
S Laiton 19 Auxerre GK 60 78 £350k
L Ntumba 18 Dijon GK 58 78 £200k
L Ingolotti 19 Aldosivi GK 58 78 £200k
T Vettorel 18 Cittadella GK 58 78 £200k
J Blazquez 19 Talleres GK 58 78 £200k
L Kasten 19 Wolfsburg GK 58 78 £200k

Gianluigi Donnarumma starts FIFA 20 as an excellent shot-stopper but can develop into the world’s best after a few years. His potential rating of 92 is higher than the best current ability of any other goalkeeper in the game, with Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak rated 91 in this year’s version.

Porto’s Diogo Costa had been one of the best bargains at the goalkeeper position as he could become 86 rated at the launch of FIFA 20, but recent database updates have seen him receive a downgrade to his potential ability, meaning 83 overall is his target potential. An excellent option could be Manchester City’s Gavin Bazunu, who may be available to teams outside the top division due to his low current ability and age.

FIFA 20: Best Young Defenders

Name Age Club PO. CR PR VA.
M de Ligt 19 Juventus CB 85 93 £41.8m
T Alexander-Arnold 20 Liverpool RB 83 89 £26.4m
I Konate 20 RB Leipzig CB 79 88 £15m
D Upamecano 20 RB Leipzig CB 77 88 £11.9m
W Saliba 18 Arsenal CB 74 88 £3.9m
D Zagadou 20 Borussia Dortmund CB, LB 79 86 £13.6m
A Hakimi 20 Real Madrid LB, RB 79 86 £13.2m
J Kounde 20 Sevilla CB 77 86 £9.7m
E N’Dicka 19 Eintracht Frankfurt CB 76 86 £9.2m
B Kamara 19 Marseille CB 75 86 £8.8m
R James 19 Chelsea RB, CDM 73 86 £5.7m
J Todibo 19 Barcelona CB, CDM 71 86 £4m
B Badiashile 18 Monaco CB 70 86 £3.1m
E Ampadu 18 Chelsea CB, CDM 67 86 £1.2m
N Armini 18 Lazio CB 66 86 £1.1m
Diogo Dalot 20 Man Utd RB, LB, RM 75 85 £8.4m
P Retsos 20 Bayer Leverkusen CB, RB, LB 75 85 £8.4m
Z Vanheusden 19 Standard Liege CB 74 85 £7.7m
O Kabak 19 Schalke CB 74 85 £7m
M Aarons 19 Norwich RB 72 85 £4.4m
Nuno Tavares 19 Benfica LB, RB 70 85 £3m
N Cozza 20 Montpellier CB, LWB 69 85 £1.8m
Montero 20 Atletico Madrid CB 68 85 £1.6m
J Panzo 18 Monaco LB, CB 66 85 £1.1m
H El Kababri 19 Anderlecht RB 65 85 £900k
A Zagre 17 PSG LB, CM 62 85 £550k
K Hoever 17 Liverpool RB, CB 62 85 £550k
M Sarr 20 Nice CB, LB 76 84 £8.8m
T Tomiyasu 20 Bologna CB, CDM 73 84 £5.3m
A Bastoni 20 Inter CB 72 84 £4.3m
D Maresic 19 Sturm Graz CB 72 84 £4.2m
N Perez 19 Atletico Madrid CB 70 84 £3m
J Bogle 18 Derby RB 69 84 £1.7m
L Kelly 20 Bournemouth LB, CB 68 84 £1.6m
S van der Berg 17 Liverpool CB 66 84 £1m
J Vagnoman 18 Hamburg LB, LM, RB 65 84 £900k
O Solet 19 Lyon CB 65 84 £925k
Diogo Leite 20 Porto CB 72 83 £4.2m
C Dagba 20 PSG RB, RWB 72 83 £4.1m
K Ruegg 20 Zurich RB, CDM 72 83 £4.1m
Emerson 20 Real Betis RB 71 83 £3.3m
Ruben Vinagre 20 Wolves LWB 70 83 £2.7m
Diogo Queiros 20 Porto CB 68 83 £1.6m
M Salisu 20 Real Valladolid CB 68 83 £1.6m
L Mbe Soh 18 PSG CB 67 83 £1.2m
L Itter 20 Freiburg LB 67 83 £1.3m
J Beyer 19 Borussia M’gladbach RB, CB 67 83 £1.3m
Eric Garcia 18 Man City CB 66 83 £1.1m
C Cuesta 20 Genk CB 66 83 £1.1m
I Diveev 19 CSKA Moscow CB 66 83 £1.1m
Apa 19 Real Valladolid RB, RM 66 83 £1.1m
Nuno Mendes 17 Sporting CP LB 64 83 £700k

New Piemonte Calcio signing Matthijs de Ligt has a current and potential ability to match his real-life price tag and is unlikely to be put up for sale by the Old Lady in FIFA 20 Career Mode.

The Serie A side is referred to Piemonte Calcio in FIFA 20 due to an exclusive naming rights deal the club has with EA Sports’ rivals Konami for Pro Evolution Soccer. 

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RB Leipzig centre-back pairing Ibahima Konate and Dayot Upamecano may be more willing to move clubs in Career Mode, while Dan-Axel Zagadou’s versatility makes the Borussia Dortmund defender an interesting target.

Bayer Leverkusen’s Panagiotis Retsos is similarly appealing as he can play anywhere across the backline, but is the same price as Manchester United’s Diogo Dalot and may be out of some club’s budgets. Benfica’s Nuno Tavares is a more affordable option with a value of £3 million.

Monaco’s Jonathan Panzo has received a boost to his current and potential ratings since the release of FIFA 20 and can now reach an overall rating of 85. He is on loan at Cercle Brugge during the first season of Career Mode, but could be a bargain buy during the next transfer window.

FIFA 20: Best Young Midfielders

Name Age Club PO. CR PR VA.
K Havertz 20 Bayer Leverkusen CAM, RM 84 92 £40.5m
J Sancho 19 Borussia Dortmund RM, LM 84 92 £39.2m
S Tonali 19 Brescia CDM, CM 75 90 £11.4m
E Camavinga 16 Rennes CM 70 90 £3.1m
P Foden 19 Man City CAM, CM 76 89 £14.5m
Pedri 16 Las Palmas LM, RM, CAM 72 89 £5.4m
A Urzi 19 Banfield LM 71 89 £5.2m
Kangin Lee 18 Valencia CAM, LM, RM 76 88 £11m
A Maier 20 Hertha Berlin CM, CDM 76 88 £11.9m
N Zaniolo 19 Roma CAM, CM, RW 74 88 £10.6m
M Ihatteren 17 PSV CAM 73 88 £7.2m
T Almada 18 Velez Sarsfield CAM, LW, ST 72 88 £5.7m
T Kubo 18 Real Madrid RM, CF, CAM 70 88 £3.2m
E Palacios 20 River Plate CM, RM, CAM 77 87 £12.3m
D Rice 20 West Ham CDM, CB, CM 77 87 £11m
Ferran Torres 19 Valencia RM 75 87 £10.1m
A Davies 18 Bayern Munich LM, RM 72 87 £5.7m
Y Verschaeren 17 Anderlecht CAM, RM, LM 72 87 £5.3m
Riqui Puig 19 Barcelona CM 71 87 £4.4m
A Hlozek 16 Sparta Praha LM, ST, RM 70 87 £3.1m
C Pulisic 20 Chelsea RM, LM 79 86 £15.8m
F Valverde 20 Real Madrid CM, LM, CDM 77 86 £11.9m
T Adams 20 RB Leipzig CDM, RWB 76 86 £9.7m
W McKennie 20 Schalke CM, CB, CAM 76 86 £11m
A Mac Allister 20 Brighton CAM, CM 75 86 £11.3m
M Guendouzi 20 Arsenal CM, CDM 75 86 £10.1m
R Sessegnon 19 Spurs LM, LW, LB 75 86 £9.7m
Florentino 19 Benfica CDM, CM 75 86 £8.8m
G Chakvetadze 19 Gent LM, CAM 74 86 £8.8m
M Mount 20 Chelsea CAM, CM 74 86 £8.8m
Paulinho 18 Bayer Leverkusen RM 71 86 £4.3m
D Szoboszlai 18 Red Bull Salzburg CAM, RM, CM 71 86 £4.3m
G Maroni 20 Sampdoria CAM, LW, ST 71 86 £4.4m
H Traore 19 Empoli CAM, CM 70 86 £3.3m
C Ferreira 19 River Plate CM, CAM 70 86 £3.3m
M Gibbs-White 19 Arsenal Wolves 70 86 £3.3m
A Gomes 18 Man Utd CAM, CM, LW 68 86 £1.6m
P Pomykal 19 Dallas CAM, CM, RM 68 86 £1.7m
J Sands 18 New York City FC CDM, CB 66 86 £1.1m
Gelson Fernandes 20 Benfica CM 76 85 £10.6m
S Chukwueze 20 Villarreal RM, CF, RW 76 85 £10.6m
K Diatta 20 Club Brugge LM, RM, ST 75 85 £9.7m
J Larsen 20 Borussia Dortmund LM 75 85 £9.7m
I Hagi 20 Genk CAM, LW, RW 74 85 £8.4m
H Wolf 20 RB Leipzig CAM 74 85 £8.4m
M Diaby 19 Bayer Leverkusen LM 74 85 £8.4m
D McNeil 19 Burnley LM 73 85 £6.2m
M Shaparenko 20 Dynamo Kyiv CM, CDM, CAM 73 85 £6.2m
Jota 20 Benfica LM, RM, CF 72 85 £5.3m
Tete 19 Shakhtar Donetsk LM, CAM 72 85 £5.3m
D Lainez 19 Real Betis RM, LM, CAM 72 85 £5.3m
A Palaversa 19 Man City CM, CDM, CAM 71 85 £4.4m
Fernando 20 Shakhtar Donetsk LM 71 85 £4.4m
Miguel Luis 20 Sporting CP CM 70 85 £3.4m
B Soumare 20 Lille CM, CDM 70 85 £3.4m
R Vargas 20 Augsburg RM, LM 70 85 £3.4m
A Almendra 19 Boca Juniors CM, CDM 69 85 £2m
Sergio Gomez 18 Borussia Dortmund CAM, CM, LM 68 85 £1.6m
M Pellegrini 19 Estudiantes LM, CM, RW 68 85 £1.7m
Daniel Braganca 20 Sporting CP CM 68 85 £1.7m
R Gravenberch 17 Ajax CM, CDM 67 85 £1.3m
M Caqueret 19 Lyon CM, CDM 67 85 £1.4m
Y Adli 18 Bordeaux CM, CAM 66 85 £1.2m
R Matondo 18 Schalke RM, LM 65 85 £1.2m
Marcos Antonio 19 Shakhtar Donetsk CM 65 85 £1m
L Agoume 17 Inter CM 63 85 £700k
A Perea 18 Atletico Nacional CDM, CM 62 85 £550k

The Bundesliga’s top two young players are also FIFA 20’s best midfield prospects. Both Kai Havertz and Jadon Sancho can reach 92 overall, but have pricetags to match their high ceiling and clubs will need to break the bank to sign them.

Thiago Almada was linked to Man City in real life as one of South America’s most exciting young players. He will also be hugely in demand in FIFA 20 as the 18-year-old midfielder can also play up front and on the wing and is valued at less than £6m at the start of Career Mode.

Rennes’ Eduardo Camavinga is a new addition to the FIFA 20 database, having turned 16 in November. The French teenager has one of the highest potential ratings of any player in the game and is worth over £3m at the start of the game despite his age.

FIFA 20: Best Young Forwards

Name Age Club PO. CR PR VA.
K Mbappe 20 PSG ST, RW 89 95 £82.3m
Joao Felix 19 Atletico Madrid CF, ST 80 93 £24.6m
Vinicius Jr 18 Real Madrid LW 79 92 £19.8m
Rodrygo 18 Real Madrid LW, RW, ST 77 90 £12.3m
Ansu Fati 16 Barcelona LW, RW 71 90 £4.2m
E Haland 18 Red Bull Salzburg ST 78 89 £14.9m
M Boadu 18 AZ Alkmaar ST 74 88 £10.4m
C Hudson-Odoi 18 Chelsea RW, LW 73 88 £7m
P De la Vega 18 Lanus RW 70 88 £3.2m
Moise Kean 18 Everton ST 76 87 £12.8m
V Osimhen 20 Lille ST 76 87 £12.2m
J David 19 Gent CF, ST, CAM 73 87 £7.5m
M Greenwood 17 Man Utd CF, RW, ST 67 87 £1.3m
S Esposito 16 Inter ST 65 87 £1.1m
Rafael Leao 20 Lille ST 75 86 £10.1m
J Kluivert 20 Roma LW, RW 75 86 £10.1m
Brahim 19 Real Madrid LW, RW 73 86 £6.6m
Gabriel Martinelli 18 Arsenal LW, LM, ST 71 86 £4.4m
A Pinamonti 20 Inter ST 71 86 £4.4m
G Plata 18 Sporting CP LW, RW 70 86 £3.2m
J Hurtado 19 Boca Juniors ST 70 86 £3.4m
Fabio Silva 16 Porto ST 70 86 £3.2m
J Carranza 19 Banfield ST 68 86 £1.7m
A Gouiri 19 Lyon ST 68 86 £1.7m
P Pellegri 18 Monaco ST 67 86 £1.4m
B Saka 17 Arsenal LW, RW 66 86 £1.1m
J Doku 17 Anderlecht RW 66 86 £1.1m
M Odegaard 20 Real Madrid RW, CAM 78 85 £12.8m
C Stengs 20 AZ Alkmaar RW 74 85 £8.4m
M Cunha 74 RB Leipzig ST, CAM 74 85 £8.4m
R Nelson 19 Arsenal RW, LW 72 85 £5.3m
T Weah 19 Lille ST, LM 69 85 £2m
M Barrow 20 Atalanta ST 69 85 £2m
A Kutucu 19 Schalke ST, CF, RW 68 85 £1.7m
J Arp 19 Bayern Munich ST, LM 67 85 £1.4m
J Alvarez 19 River Plate ST 67 85 £1.4m
A Marin 18 Dinamo Zagreb LW, RW, CAM 66 85 £1.2m
R Brewster 19 Liverpool ST 65 85 £1m
E Smith Rowe 18 Arsenal LW, RW, CAM 65 85 £975k
R Piccoli 18 Atalanta ST 64 85 £900k
T Parrott 17 Spurs ST 64 85 £875k
Mollejo 18 Atletico Madrid RW 64 85 £900k
F Amuzu 19 Anderlecht LW 70 84 £3.3m
Abel Ruiz 19 Barcelona ST, LW 68 84 £1.7m
J Sargent 18 Werder Bremen ST 67 84 £1.4m
E Nketiah 20 Arsenal ST 67 84 £1.4m
D Jastrzembski 19 Hertha Berlin LW, LM, CAM 66 84 £1.2m
W Guebbels 17 Monaco ST 64 84 £800k
A Idah 18 Norwich ST 63 84 £750k
A Isak 19 Real Sociedad ST 74 83 £7.7m
C Gakpo 20 PSV RW, LW 72 83 £5m
A Olsen 19 Bologna RW, ST 72 83 £4.5m
B Mbeumo 19 Brentford RW, ST, RM 71 83 £3.7m
S Wamangituka 19 Stuttgart ST 70 83 £3m
M Romero 20 PSV ST 69 83 £2.2m
I Aliseda 19 Defensa y Justica LW, RW, ST 69 83 £2m
S Plaza 20 Real Valladolid ST, LW 69 83 £2.1m
A Barreal 18 Velez Sarsfield RW, LW 68 83 £1.7m
H Evjen 19 Bodo/Glimt RW 68 83 £1.7m
L Nmecha 20 Wolfsburg ST, RM, LM 67 83 £1.5m
Pedro Neto 19 Wolves CF, RW, ST 66 83 £1.3m
J Ferreira 18 Dallas ST, RW 66 83 £1.2m
L Traore 18 Ajax ST 66 83 £1.2m
L Foster 18 Monaco ST 65 83 £1m
T Chong 19 Man Utd RW, LW, RM 65 83 £1m
E Smith Rowe 18 Arsenal LW, RW, CAM 65 83 £1m
Sergio Camello 18 Atletico Madrid ST 65 83 £1m
L Pintor 18 Lyon ST, LW 64 83 £850k
G Middleton 19 Rangers LW 64 83 £900k
Rafael Camacho 19 Sporting CP RW, LW 64 83 £900k
D Sikan 18 Shakhtar Donetsk ST 63 83 £700k

Once again, Kylian Mbappe is one of the best players in the game and has the potential ability to match. He’s rated 89 overall at the start of Career Mode, so will be expensive or almost impossible to buy for nearly every club.

Joao Felix is a new arrival at Atletico Madrid and thus they will not be willing to sell him during the first transfer window, but Manchester United’s Mason Greenwood may be available for a reasonable fee and can be developed into one of the best strikers in FIFA 20.

When FIFA 20 was launched, Erling Haaland was a Career Mode bargain and had an asking price of less than £2m, but recent database changes have seen his current and potential ability improve massively and he’s now worth almost £13m.

There is great value to be had in many of the strikers with 86 potential ability, especially if you are willing to throw them in at the deep end early in the game despite their relatively low current ratings. 

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