Stats suggest 10 breakthrough stars to buy on Football Manager 2020
Starting to go stir crazy in self-isolation? Football Manager (FM) have delievered on that front. The popular football manager game has made FM20 free for everyone to download and play until 3PM (GMT) on March 25th. Discover you are the next Pep Guardiola in that time and you will have the option to purchase the game outright to continue playing after that.
Looking for value and future stars, we have your back. There is more to football management that buying ready-made stars like Paul Pogba and Neymar. Some clubs don't have the budget for big name players and it's about finding value in the market for players with high ceilings.
Here are our 10 breakthrough stars of the 2019/20 campaign, with help from Football Manager to compare their playing stats (on a scale out of 20) with our statistically calculated WhoScored strengths and weaknesses to help you make informed decisions about who to buy from the off.
Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich) - 7.54 rating / FM Valuation £6.5M
Alphonso Davies has been nothing short of a revelation for Bayern Munich this season, excelling at left-back for the Bundesliga giants despite transfering from MLS as a winger. Davies has returned six assists across league and European competition in 21 starts in 2019/20.
The 19-year-old is a real workhorse down the left flank for Bayern and that's emphasised by his FM stats. Acceleration (16), natural fitness (15), pace (17) and stamina (14) are among his best rated base attributes. With that in mind, it's no surprise he has a WhoScored strength of 'dribbling'. On FM his best trait with the ball at his feet is crossing (12) and that dovetails nicely with a WhoScored strength of 'key passes'. If it's an attacking, versatile, left-back you after, look no further.
Trincao (Braga) - 7.28 rating / FM Valuation £3M
Trincao is currently at Braga, but not for much longer after Barcelona agreed a deal for the 20-year-old in January. It might not be a deal you can get done straight away but certainly one to watch out for on FM given his competition for places will be Leo Messi next season. Already a full Portugal international, Trincao's career looks set to take off over the next year.
Trincao boosts no further than eight WhoScored strengths, with six of those very strong. One of those is crossing and he rates highly from wide areas on FM (12) too. His vision (14), dribbling (15) and finishing (13) are also exemplary for someone of his age and that too is reflected by WhoScored strengths of 'key passes', 'dribbling' and 'finishing'. He might cost more than his £3M valuation but if you can prise him from Barcelona's hands then it looks like you have a real talent for the foreseeable future.
Predrag Rajkovic (Reims) - 7.03 rating / FM Valuation £4.1M
Signed from Maccabi Tel Aviv in the summer, Predrag Rajkovic has done what few goalkeepers manage and make the headlines for all the right reasons. The 24-year-old has been immense in goal for Reims and is currently the goalkeeper in the WhoScored Team of the Season in Ligue 1, having notably saved four of the five penalties he has faced.
Rajkovic unsurprisingly has a statistically calculated strength of 'penalty saving', as well as rating well for both saving close range and long shots. The Reims goalkeeper has also demonstrated great reflexes and his performances are part of the reason why the club have the best defensive record in Ligue 1 this season (21 goals conceded). His base stats on FM20 align with our strengths, also. He rates 16/20 for both bravery and command of area, which part explains his strength of saving close range efforts. Furthermore, his reflexes are 13 out of 20 to begin with on the game with room to grow.
Dejan Kulusevski (Parma) - 7.07 rating / FM Valuation £12M
It took just a few months for Juventus to decide they want to snap up Dejan Kulusevski after some dazzling early season form on loan at Serie A side Parma. The Sweden international has impressively scored five times and registered seven assists in 23 league appearances for the Italian side in his breakthrough season.
Illustrated by the fact Kulusevski has registered the most assists of players aged 21 and under in Serie A this season, his ability to pick a pass it what makes him stand out. 'Key passes' and 'through balls' are his WhoScored strengths and vision is his standout attribute on FM (17/20). As a consequence of attempting balls few would, it does mean that his pass accuracy is just 79.2%, though FM rate him 15/20 in that regard. One real criticism would be the rate at which he loses possession, highlighted by a Serie A-high return of 3.5 unsuccessful touches per game. All in all, however, FM have awarded him very solid base attributes across the board.
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Gaetano Castrovilli (Fiorentina) - 7.06 rating / FM Valuation £11.5M
A two-year loan stint in Serie B did Gaetano Castrovilli's career wonders, as he has slotted straight into the Fiorentina first-team picture this season. The 23-year-old was so impressive for the Viola that you have to think he had an outside shot of making the European Championship this summer before it was pushed back 12 months.
Castrovilli is a throwback to Moussa Dembele at Tottenham in the way he bulldoozes his way through midfield, seemingly impossible to stop (legally) when in full flight. Only Jeremie Boga (166) has attempted more dribbles than Castrovilli (103) and the Fiorentina midfielder has completion rate of 73.8%. It's unsurprising he has a WhoScored strength of dribbling, which is also his best attribute on FM (17/20).
Cody Gakpo (PSV Eindhoven) - 7.13 rating / FM Valuation £5.5M
After being eased into first-team action last season with 14 substitute appearances to his name and just two starts, more trust has been placed in 20-year-old Cody Gakpo in 19/20. He has made 25 appearances in the Eredivisie, 14 of which have come by start, and returned seven goals and six assists in that time. Excluding substitute appearances, his WhoScored rating increases to 7.47.
He impressively has seven WhoScored strengths to his name. With a conversion rate of 18.4% in the league this season, notable given he is not a first-team regular just yet, one of his statistically strengths is 'finishing'. He is more than just a goal scorer, with additional strengths of 'crossing' and 'key passes' to his name and that is reflected in his FM profile, where has rates 14/20 for crossing and 12/20 for technique and vision.
Mounir Chouiar (Dijon) - 7.30 rating / FM Valuation £1.7M
In just his first top-flight season, Mounir Chouiar has done his reputation no harm for French side Dijon. The 21-year-old has scored four goals from 20 league appearances but it's his work in general play that has been most impressive, with a notable return of three WhoScored Man of the Match awards.
For instance, only Neymar (6) average more successful dribbles per game (3.5) than the Dijon winger in Ligue 1 this season. Chouiar also returns 2.2 key passes per game and is particurly effective from set-pieces, with only Marseille's Dimitri Payet (2.1) creating more chances per game from deadball situations than the Dijon starlet (1.6). He unsurprisingly has statistically calculated WhoScored strengths in all three areas of 'dribbling', 'key passes' and 'taking set-pieces'. These key areas are also reflected by his FM stats with dribbling (15), vision (13) and free-kick taking (16), respectively, among his best attributes.
Victor Osimhen (Lille) - 7.14 rating / FM Valuation £8M
A return of 13 goals from Victor Osimhen in his first season at Lille suggests astute business from the French side last summer. He has already been linked with big money moves to the Premier League as a result of his form in front of goal. Even though he has four assists to his name, scoring goals is really what Osimhen is all about. Give him enough chances and he will score plenty.
His statistically calculated strengths are 'finishing' and 'aerial duels' and they are also among his best attributes on FM20. He rates 15/20 for finishing and 14/20 for heading, as well as 14/20 for jumping reach. He lives off playing off the shoulder of the last defender but that may leave you frustrated at times, as he has been flagged offside more times than any other player in Ligue 1 this season (33). It means he has a statistically calculated weakness of 'offside awareness'.
Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund) - 7.75 rating / FM Valuation £35.5M
Few match the definition of a breakthrough star more than Erling Haaland this season. The 19-year-old has remarkably scored 40 goals in 34 games in all competitions in 19/20 and snubbed Manchester United to join Borussia Dortmund in January. The teenager isn't expected to remain at Dortmund for much longer, either, after starting life in Germany with a hat-trick on debut and 12 goals in his first 11 appearances for the club.
His conversion rate in the Bundesliga and in European competition this season is staggeringly 47.5%, scoring 19 goals from 40 shots across the two competitions. With that scoring rate in mind, it's unsurprising to note FM rate Haaland's finishing ability 18/20. For someone so tall, he is as quick as they come rating 18/20 for pace. His second WhoScored strength is aerial duels and his base attributes in that regard are 12/20 for heading and 15/20 for jumping reach. He will certainly take up most of your budget but he's worth breaking the bank for if you can.
