Wonderkids are some of the most important players in Football Manager 2024. The best wonderkids in FM24 can transform your team instantly, while others can be purchased to improve your squad over time as they develop and become some of the world’s best players.

In this article, we have put together a list of the top-rated Centre-Back wonderkids in Football Manager 2024. These are some of the best wonderkid Centre-Backs in the game, providing you with a list of players who are ready to slot straight into your top-tier teams and others you can purchase to replace ageing players.

This article is the second in a number of FM24 wonderkid guides, aiming to show you the best young players in FM24 as well as some cheap FM24 wonderkids that you can sign for teams of any level. We have already covered wonderkid Goalkeepers, which you can find here.

But first, what is a wonderkid?

Wonderkids in Football Manager 2024

Wonderkids are best classified as rising stars in Football Manager 2024. They are potential talents in Football Manager 2024 who, while not guaranteed to become world-beaters, can become some of the best players in the game.

Although the existence of dynamic potential in Football Manager 2024 can be a limiting factor to the growth of these top youth talents in FM24, the right training and exposure to match experience can still make them very strong.

Understanding dynamic potential in Football Manager 2024

Dynamic potential in Football Manager 2024 is a mechanic integrated into the game in order to give a sense of randomness across multiple save files. 

In previous Football Manager games, the potential ability (PA) of the top-rated youth players in Football Manager was locked to a value between 0 and 200. With dynamic potential, the PA of these players can exist within ranges that are randomised upon the start of a game.

The ranges are as follows:

• 10 (170-200)
• 95 (160-190)
• 9 (150-180)
• 85 (140-170)
• 8 (130-160)
• 75 (120-150)
• 7 (110-140)

This continues all the way down to -1 in the same fashion. Because of this dynamic potential, some of these young talents in Football Manager 2024 aren’t guaranteed to be elite in every save file, so make sure you scout players before buying and keep a tracker on wonderkids in your Football Manager 2024 game

The best wonderkid Centre-Backs in Football Manager 2024

Castello Lukeba

Kicking off our list of the best wonderkid Centre-Backs in Football Manager 2024 is RB Leipzig’s French Centre-Back, Castello Lukeba. 

Signed in the Summer from Olympique Lyonnais, at just 20 years of age, Lukeba is already one of the best Centre-Backs in Football Manager 2024. This is reflected in his valuation, however, as he will set you back a whopping £76-£90m.

Lukeba is a versatile Centre-Back, capable of playing in a two of a three. When played in a three, he is equally adept at both the Wide Centre-Back role and as the central player with a Cover duty.

Giorgio Scalvini

Heading over to Italy we now look at one of the most famous wonderkids in recent years, Atalanta’s Giorgio Scalvini. Atalanta have produced some of the best young talents in Football Manager for years, and 2024 is no different thanks to Scalvini.

In Football Manager 2024, Scalvini is now expected to start every game for Atalanta and because of that his current ability (CA) has been raised to 145. 

Much like Lukeva, Scalvini is adept at playing in a two or a three and plays in a three already at Atalanta. However, unlike Lukeba, Scalvini is right-footed, meaning you could create an elite defence by signing both players.

Pau Cubarsí

Up next in our list of top-rated Centre-Back youth talents in Football Manager 2024 is Barcelona’s Pau Cubarsi. 

Available for just £13-£15.5m, Pau Cubarsi is one of the biggest FM24 wonderkid bargains considering his PA range of 150.180.

Cubarsi isn’t quite ready for the first team yet, but some brief minutes in comfortable wins or cup games against lower-level opposition could see him improve in no time. Loan him out when he is old enough and then get him into your team straight afterwards.

Levi Colwill

Next up in our list of the best teenage Centre-Back players in FM24 is Chelsea’s Levi Colwill, who enjoyed a breakout season while on loan at Brighton in the 22-23 season.

Thanks to that, his CA is now 141 and combined with his PA of 170, he has a valuation of £56-£70m. 

One of the best wonderkid Centre-Backs on the game, Colwill’s offensive stats, particularly the 11 Off the Ball attribute, also makes him an effective player at both Left BAck, or, if you wish to train him as such, Defensive Midfield.

Leny Yoro

Continuing our trend of finding the best under-21 players in Football Manager 2024, we have Lille’s Leny Yoro. 

Yoro has already broken into the Lille first team despite being just 17, and this is reflected within his 119 CA and PA range of 150-180. Unfortunately, this is also reflected in his value, as he will be valued between £27-£33m at the start of your save.

Despite this high valuation, you should look to sign Yoro quickly, as all of the top teams in Europe will be interested in him early on in your save. This is because signing him early can also mean that he ends up being home-grown for your club, leading to more favourable ruling when it comes to registration for continental competitions. 

Martin Vitik

The final Centre-Back in our list of the top-rated FM24 Centre-BAck wonderkids is Martin Vitik. 

Valued at just £7.6-£9m, Vitik isn’t the finished article, but that does qualify him as a cheap wonderkid in FM24 — which is more than we can say about other players on this list!

Despite not being the finished article, Vitik is still good enough to come on as a substitute for your team or start in games against weaker opposition. As long as you provide him with game time, he will quickly grow.