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There are a lot of incredibly talented young players in Football Manager 2014, here’s a look at some of the best young strikers in the game though, young forward minded players can really add something to your squad, either straight from season one or at some point further down the line if they’re brought through properly. All players listed here are 21 or under at the start of the game.
Gabriel Barbosa
Football Manager has always been full of incredibly talented Brazilians, and Football Manager 2014 is no different with Santos striker Gabriel Barbosa standing out strongly as one of the series’ new heroes. Barbosa looks to be an incredibly promising player in real life, and at the start of Football Manager 2014 he’s yet to even turn 17 yet and still looks an incredibly promising young player. He’s very young so will have to be well nurtured to be brought through right and reach his full potential, if you’re able to get Gabriel Barbosa to reach anywhere near his full potential in the game though then you’ll certainly have a serious talent on your hands with this one.
Moussa Dembélé
Not to be confused with the Belgian Tottenham player of the same name who also previously played for Fulham, Fulham’s French forward Moussa Dembélé is definitely a player to take a good look at in Football Manager 2014. He’s extremely young and will take a good few years to fully develop, Moussa Dembélé is a striker with much potential though and a young player that’s well worth snapping up if you can persuade Fulham to part company with him. Fulham have had a serious goals shortage this season and Moussa Dembélé has been one of the players called up to the main squad to try and change that, so far he is yet to find the back of the net for Fulham in reality though but if you sign him for your side in Football Manager 2014 then you may just find that he ends up scoring a good number of goals for you.
John Guidetti
In the 2011–2012 season John Guidetti was lighting up the Eredivisie with Feyenoord, the 2012-2013 season was then a complete write off for the player though as he returned to Manchester City and was then not utilised. In reality the 2013-2014 season has again not been a great one for Guidetti and it’ll be interesting to see what the future holds for the player, in Football Manager it is certainly still possible to get Guidetti finding the form that made him such a force for Feyenoord though, and as he’s only 21 at the start of play there’s still hope that you can help him improve further as a player and make good use of him for a top level team. He’s not a guaranteed success story, he’s certainly worth taking a punt on though as a low cost, low risk signing that could potentially be a real diamond in the rough.
Angelo Henriquez
19 years old at the start of the game, Angelo Henriquez is a young Chilean talent that can definitely add something to your squad in Football Manager and develop to become a valued member of the first team. Henriquez is on loan at Real Zaragoza for the first season of the game, he’s definitely worth keeping tabs on though and if you’re managing Manchester United then this is definitely not a striker to be overlooked. Henriquez may not be your first choice forward to begin with, give him time though, develop him properly and you could well find that you have an incredibly hot property on your hands with this one.
Romelu Lukaku
It varies from game to game whether or not you can successfully prize Romelu Lukaku away from Chelsea, if you can do though then he is certainly an incredibly powerful young striker that is well worth investing in. Two years running Lukaku has performed exceptionally well in the English Premier League, first with West Brom and then with Everton; showcasing a fantastic goalscoring talent with a wonderful eye for goal and a great turn of pace that has been the cause of much defensive pain for many clubs in England the past couple of years. Lukaku seems unfancied for whatever reason at Chelsea, which seems strange given their lack of a real consistent goalscorer, nonetheless Chelsea’s loss can be your gain though and if you sign Romelu Lukaku in Football Manager 2014 then the young Belgian international will no doubt be banging in the goals for both club and country for many years to come.
Aleksandar Mitrovic
Anderlecht is most definitely a club with a strong eye for spotting a young attacking talent, and having previously brought Romelu Lukaku through the ranks the club now has another very exciting young prospect on its hands in the form of Aleksandar Mitrovic. Mitrovic was brought to the club for a relatively low fee of €5 million, he’s already establishing himself as a Serbian international though and has taken well to the Jupiler Pro League with a good haul of goals in his first season in Belgium. Much like Romelu Lukaku, Mitrovic is a player that could before long find himself in the process of a big money move elsewhere, for now the teenage striker plays for Anderlecht though and a very good job he’s done there, too.
Alvaro Morata
Alvaro Morata will probably be sold by Real Madrid this summer in reality and is for most top level clubs a fairly realistic target in Football Manager 2014 as well. If you’re managing an elite club then Morata probably won’t be your first choice striker, he’s nonetheless well worth having around though and shouldn’t have too steep a price tag either. Morata’s wage demands probably won’t be that high and he’s unlikely to break the bank, so if you’re in need of a decent striker to add bulk and options to your squad then you can definitely do a lot worse than Alvaro Morata.
Neymar
Neymar has been a superstar of Football Manager for some years now and that’s definitely not something that has changed with Football Manager 2014 as he’s still an absolute beast on the left wing and also up top as a striker. He was a big money signing for Barcelona in the summer so unless you’re managing them then you may find it a bit hard to get your hands on him early on in the game, having seen Gareth Bale sold on to Manchester United for £24 million in one save just one season on from him becoming the most expensive footballer of all time anything is definitely possible in the game though and it’s therefore still worth keeping an eye on how he progresses at Barcelona. The chances of being able to sign Neymar are probably pretty slim unless your transfer budget is absolutely monstrous, every save in the game has its quirks though and if you keep an eye on Neymar in the game then you may just get lucky.
Jesé Rodríguez
Much like fellow Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata, Jesé Rodríguez is likely to demand a fairly reasonable wage, unlike with Morata though Real Madrid will require a considerafble amount of money to be persuaded to let him go. Jesé is a speedy striker that plays with a good amount of flair; he has strong dribbling ability, excellent technique, and could potentially bring a lot to your team in Football Manager 2014. He has poor strength and there’s no denying that there are certain weaknesses in his game, if you sign him the good stats are likely to outweigh the bad or you though and you’re probably going to be fairly content with the contributions that Jesé makes to your team.
Timo Werner
Stuttgart’s Timo Werner is an absolute monster of a player in Football Manager 2014, a speedy striker that can certainly add a huge amount to your team and help turn your club into a real world footballing power. There are so many fantastic young players in Germany right now and Timo Werner is most definitely one of them. Werner has started coming through the ranks at Stuttgart this season, become an Under-19 international, and it’s surely only a matter of time now before he steps it up a gear and showcases his fantastic talent on an even greater stage.
James Wilson
He may only be 17 years old when you first fire up FM 2014 and you may not have heard of him until quite recently, James Wilson is a quite brilliant player in the game though and another Manchester United academy prospect that seemingly will have a bright future ahead of him in football. Having achieved a decent degree of success with this striker even in season one, Wilson is a player to look after within the game, a striker well worth snapping up if you can and one that’s definitely worth utilising when managing Manchester United. You might want to send him out on loan in order to get the very best out of Wilson, even if you keep hold of him at a top level club he can still do a job when called upon though and if he’s not already a player on your radar then you should certainly seek to scout this player and you’ll probably then begin to appreciate that this really is a player worth getting excited about.
Richairo Zivkovic
Whenever starting any new game of Football Manager 2014, my first port of call is always FC Groningen’s Richairo Zivkovic. He’s cheap and incredible of fantastic greatness, and if ever I miss out on the player I always feel as though I’ve missed a trick. It doesn’t really matter what sort of team you’re managing, most reasonably sized clubs will have a budget big enough for Richairo Zivkovic, and if you give him a few loan moves to help gain him match practise then Richairo Zivkovic should develop strongly and provide you with an absolute superstar by the time he enters his twenties. Zivkovic is without doubt one of Football Manager 2014’s biggest bargains and if you don’t already look to sign this young striker every save then you should certainly look to start doing so as soon as possible.
UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.
