You must use Football Manager Editor for this guide. Whether it is live editor or the in game editor. It must be used to set up training and youth facilities to the max, set up your affilate clubs, and most importantly, the money to keep these wonderkids in your main club. For your junior clubs it is not about the money but rather controlling the playing time that your prospects get.

The reason why live editor is required is that you can alter the duration of loan contracts and potential on regens that you want to keep. The live editor can be used to reset morale, happiness, and fatigue, even the contract type (useful for best young prospects to avoid rival poaching). The purpose of the live editor was not to cheat, so do not use the live editor to alter the players abilities except for the determination stat of a veteran player that you plan on using just for tutoring.

You will be evaulating regens of your clubs and rival clubs. The use of live editor is a must as it will be a time saver.

The live editor allows you to see the potential and current ability of a player as a number, not with stars. (The star rating is based on potential and reputation. A young player does not have a big reputation to start with.)

If the player has a high current ability and it is a position of need, try to "Approach to Sign" as quickly as possible. For the ones that do not have high current ability, scout them first and if their recommendation is less than 4 stars, do not sign. You must do this as soon as youth intake day happens, as some clubs sign their best intake on precontract deals ASAP.


Also watch out for players that have casual personality trait - terminate their trial regardless of their potential and DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME with them. Most of these players have low potential to begin with. The ones with high potential often end up as failed wonderkids for various reasons. Let another major club deal with them if they are willing and more often than not, they will end up being cut at 19 or 20.

The trial contracts should be terminated on:

• Players that have very low current ability and potential (anything 100 or less)
  
• Players that play in positions that are not of important need in and/or do not fit your tactics
  
• Players with casual personalities
  
• Players with slack personalities

On the last thing - if a player with slack personality plays a position of need, use a short term contract and give him a mentor ASAP. If his personality changes following the tutor, extend the contract, otherwise just part ways.
A player with a slack personality is potential for failure without the proper tutor.

The importance of having mulitple head coach profiles is to control the playing time of your prospects in your "minor league" clubs. Most reserve head coaches WILL NOT utilize subs during their game (exception: sending off of a defender/goalkeepr and injury), and loaning them out to a club that you do not control does not guarantee that they will play them. I started this guide with one junior club, but ended up adding a second as the game progressed and some my prospects that had not yet cracked with the senior club needed better challenges.
This first junior club is set up with mostly 16 and 17 year old players. With my senior club being in Brazil and the fact players must be 18 or older to transfer to another nation for any reason, I went with this third division club, cleaned house, and loaned in all my prospects. Prospects from other team are only loaned in to fill in gaps in the roster on a short term basis.First you must use scouting to report about a team that you are affiliated with.
From there you make the loan offers. If the player rejects the bid, try again until he eventually accepts. It may take two or three attempts. The senior club need to have him loan listed as well or he may reject the bid.

Eventually that player will outgrow that junior club and needs a bigger challenge. If he was at least 18 years old, I tried to get him on a loan to a second junior club playing in Portugal in the top flight or the second division (I picked a yo-yo club on purpose).

• For the Primera Liga and Brazil Second Division, players need to have current ability at least 100.
  
• For Portugal Second Division/National Championship and Brazil Third Division, players need to have current ability at least 60.
  
• For Brazil State Championship the current ability needs to be at least 60.
  
• For Brazil Serie A, players need to have a current ability at least 125.

The next section will cover when it is time to promote to the senior team.

Some factors that you need to think when a player is ready for the senior club include:

• Current ability of 125 or greater (if in Brazil Serie A)
  
• Is he on a full time contract (applies in Brazil)
  
• Can he provide a valuable rotation or backup for your first choice player
  
• Can he make that first choice player expendable within 3 seasons

If you have answered "yes" to all four questions, it is time to promote him to the senior club and recall him from loan.

These players should only be recalled from loan if:

• He is 18 or about to turn 18 during any UEFA transfer window
  
• Current ability at least 100
  
• Is needed to provide cover for the senior team due to injury/suspension/international duty

Most of the players on my senior team have current ability of 125 or greater. The ones that don't are about to go on loan or are retiring senior players that I have tried to get into coaching my teams. Some of the senior players are signed just for mentoring.

At this point you will use senior player that are at least 24 years old and first team regulars to mentor the players that are now fringe players on your senior team. This is the best time to do the mentoring as it can take as long as 6 months and you cannot mentor a player while he is on loan. By waiting until he is ready for the senior team, you are weeding out the players that have proven to be a disappointment (please note some players are late bloomers) and the failed wonderkids.

When you are going with tutoring, look for veteran players with high determination that DO NOT have a casual personality.
This video by the YouTube user FootballManager-YouthDevelopment is very useful.

Players with casual personality will fail. Do not waste your time with them.

Sometimes, parting ways is necessary and is part of the game. It may be a very difficult decision for some, and a no brainer for others.

For players under the age of 21, parting ways always should be considered:

• If another younger player has beaten him to a backup spot on the senior roster
  
• Has failed to gain a current ability of at least 100
  
• Contract is about to expire
  
• Player has requested it

Do not give up on the current ability until the player has turned 21 in the case of injury or other factor beyond your control.

For players between the ages of 21-23, parting ways should be considered:

• Contract is about to expire
  
• Ability is at least 125 but is down deep in the depth chart

It is never the fault of the player that he had to leave. It is in the best interest of the player to find him another club that he can quickly fit in a first team role. The live editor is useful in changing the release clause so he can be attractive to other clubs, or getting rid of that clause completely.

This is not the easiest thing to do. Each player develops at a different rate. Some develop quickly, but others are late bloomers.
This kid turned 16 with a current ability at 105/200.

There are some factors that will help you determine which stats to go for:

• Determination
  
• Ambition
  
• Professionalism

As you notice in the first screenshot, this player had high determination right off the bat. By the time he turned 16, he broke into my first team mostly playing in the lower priority state championships. I had not made a decision on whether to send him on loan or keep him for squad rotation purposes and tutor him at this point. At the intake his ability was 97, by the time he broke into the first team, his ability was 105.

September 2022 intake of Douglas
December 2024 version of Douglas
This kid went from 87 to 134 in the span of two seasons. An injury at the start of 2025 season has prevented the media from labeling him as a wonderkid, but his current ability is at the point where that status can be used. He is alread squad rotation on a team that lacks midfielders.
In June 2025, Douglas had a current ability of 135 and gained the Wonderkid rating at the age of 18. His first team minutes had been limited this season due to injury but is a rotation player.

In that same intake in September 2022 had a player named Doriva that played several positions and had a current ability of 94.

In March 2025, his current ability was at 135, the media had labeled him as a wonderkid. Like Douglas he had an injury at the start of the season that set back his progress, but he got a little bit more playing time due to all the bookings and injuries that put him in the lineup.

If you had noticed in all the screenshots, all three players had very high determination stats, and were fairly professional players with high ambition. Pick up an pattern here?

Both Douglas and Doriva got tutoring as they started getting in the first team as fringe players and eventually became rotation. Luis Felippe had not received the tutoring as I could not find a free transfer veteran defender to do the tutoring.

Now I will give you two screenshots of a player that was in the same 2022 intake that had not yet broken into the first team and had the opportunity to become a wonderkid.

In the September 2022 intake I had a goalkeeper named Makelele that had a current ability of 73 during the intake.

In March 2025, his current ability was just at 94 even though he had regular playing time while out on loan at PAY.

The reason why he did not develop as quickly? While he had decent determination, he lacked the personality and ambition. While he did not have the casual or slack personality that I avoid whenever possible, he was partially set back due to injuries that he had suffered.

Below is a 32 minute video explaining my process for the senior team.

The hardest transition is for a player to make that transition from a major Wonderkid to a World Class player. It usually is at the age of 24 or 25 before the media makes that move and the player has to have an current ability that is at least 180.

The player will need to make the move from a Brazil Serie A league to the top clubs that play in the UEFA Champions League on an annual basis. While selling your best player may be hard on your club fan base, in reality it is the best option for your player.

There are a few things that I briefly mentioned when it was time to part ways with your player, but four of the biggest things to consider?

• Has that player requested the move to the bigger club?
  
• Is the player value at least 10M?
  
• Do you have backup players that are younger and just as good as that player?
  
• Is that player going into the final two years of his contract and has refused an extension?

If the answer is yes to any of these questions, it is time to make the move to the bigger club, preferably a club that is going to take part in the UEFA Champions League. Here is a few reasons why:

• Current ability for such clubs have to be at least 140 to break into the first team
  
• The major clubs will not buy players unless they are convinced he will be a first team regular for them
  
• Better odds of breaking into the international scene at a future date
  
• These clubs are subject to foriegn player rules. Some nations are much more lax regarding foriegn players than others. Clubs based in the UK have to deal with work permits that are based on a combination of senior international appearances AND international ranking.

If an European club has an interest in a player they will openly admit it. It will come down to who is willing to be the highest bidder for your star. As an result, counteroffer the hell out of their bids until they finally accept. If your affiliates have first option to buy more often than not they will hold off an bid until a rival makes their move. Do not rush in accepting the first offer that they give you.


This was the player that I had in my first Wonderkid Academy class. I sold him to Real Madrid at the age of 18 for $5M when they met his release clause and I had another player ready to replace him in the starting XI. He spent some time at their minor league club Castilla before breaking into the first team as a Wonderkid. He eventually made his international debut by the time he turned 21 and had a rating of 200 at the age of 24. There were a few noticable stats that Wonderkids often have (explained in the previous section).


This kid joined my Wonderkid Academy as a September 2019 regen and broke into the first team quickly. I bought him into my Londrina club at the age of 18 by finalizing his transfer deal while he was still 17. To clear a spot for him in my first team I sold my starting striker and he quickly developed into a wonderkid. However by the age of 20, he was getting unsettled, refused a contract extension, and it was clear that selling him was the only option. However, the January 2025 window failed to produce a bid for the kid despite my GM helping me out. At the time of the screenshot, his ability was at 170. He joined my team when the ability was at 135.