BEST FOOTBALL MANAGER 2022 LEFT WINGERS
BRIEF PROFILES ON SOME OF THE BEST YOUNG LEFT WINGERS IN FM22
We cover youth football and we love Football Manager. We’ve combined both to compile a list of the young left wingers that you should start scouting on your FM22 saves. These aren’t necessarrily “best”, but they’re interesting prospects for clubs across the spectrum of football. They’re players that we like in real-life that look good in FM22.
WHAT ROLES CAN LEFT-WINGERS PLAY IN FOOTBALL MANAGER 22?
The Left Wing is a versatile position that can strongly determine the shape of your attack. From the traditional Winger role to the Inside Forward that looks to score, the space exploiting Raumdeuter, and everything in between, there are plenty of options.
We will start with the Winger and Inverted Winger roles, which are very similar. The Winger aims to stay wide, beat his man and get crosses into the box, while on the attack duty they will aim to get closer to the by-line and take up more advanced positions on the wing. The Inverted Winger is fairly similar, although they will look to pick the ball up and drive inside, allowing a wing-back to overlap or for the Inverted Winger to spot passes or crosses inside. On attack duty, they will look to be more aggressive attack the defensive line, rather than look to run across it.
The Advanced Playmaker will act as your team’s primary creative fulcrum in the final third. Normally, they will be the only midfielder in your team with a designated ‘playmaker’ role. They look to receive in pockets of space between the lines, using technical and passing quality to break down the defence. On attack duty, they will dribble at defenders more often to mess with their shape.
OUR LISTS OF THE BEST YOUNG TALENTS
The Trequartista role is fairly similar to the Advanced Playmaker, although they commit themselves very heavily to the offensive side of the game, and will leave a lot of the defensive duty to others out of possession. So while he doesn’t get much defensive work done, they are player that your attacking unit revolves around.
As noted in the game, the Raumdeuter is literally the German word for ‘space investigator’. It’s self-explanatory, but basically, they are like a wide Trequartista that will roam and look for pockets to find the ball, especially in the penalty area. They will need to be sorted by your other players out of possession. However, they are different to the Trequartista in that they like to get on the end of play, not start it
The Wide Target Forward, a.k.a. the Mario Mandžukić at Juventus role, is another pretty self-explanatory one. They’ll park themselves out wide on a smaller full-back and become an outlet for your defence to play out to, before controlling the ball and moving it on to the team’s other attacking players.
Lastly, there is the ultra-attacking, and many players’ long-time favourite role in Football Manager, the Inside Forward. The Inside Forward is not hugely dissimilar to the Inverted Winger, but they will cross much less and instead look to be really aggressive with inside runs with and without the ball. While the Inverted Winger likes to pick up the ball out wide, the Inside Forward is happy to make runs to pick the ball up in the half-space. On the Support duty, they will look to play through balls from deep and take long shots, while on Attack duty they will more aggressive in attacking the box.
WHAT ATTRIBUTES ARE IMPORTANT FOR LEFT-WINGERS IN FM22?
There are three main categories of Left Winger in FM22: playmaking roles, attacking roles, and winger roles.
Let’s start with the playmaking roles: Trequartista and Advanced Playmaker. At a base level, these roles require your player to be have good dribbling, first touch, passing, technique, vision and decision-making, flair, composure and anticipation attributes. The Trequartista will require the same attributes, but also some acceleration and finishing for those late runs into the penalty area.
The winger roles, Winger and Inverted Winger are also quite similar. The Winger role requires acceleration, stamina, pace, and agility as baseline physical attributes, while crossing, dribbling, work rate, passing technique, first touch and off the ball movement are also crucial. Some flair will also be required if you are looking to play them on an Attack duty. The Inverted Winger requires all these things, but also decent long shots, composure, vision and decision-making for when they cut inside and attack central spaces.
Lastly, there are the attacking roles: Raumdeuter, Wide Target Forward and Inside Forward. However, they are all a little bit different. For example, the Wide Target Forward will require that your player firstly be tall enough, but also have good jumping reach, balance, stamina and strength as physical attributes to fulfil their role. Heading is another obvious prerequisite, but they’ll also need other more standard winger attributes like crossing, first touch, off the ball movement, work rate, etc.
The Inside Forward is not too dissimilar to the Inverted Winger, but with their added increase on attacking the penalty area, they trade the Inverted Winger’s need to be able to cross for finishing.
Lastly, there’s the Raumdeuter. The headline key attributes mental ones: anticipation, concentration, off the ball movement, work rate, decision-making and composure. They’ll need these to be able to follow the play and execute runs and actions with perfect timing to be most effective. Finishing, first touch, technique, work rate, acceleration, stamina and balance are also important.
WATCH: 5 YOUNG PLAYERS YOU SHOULD BUY IN FM22
LAST UPDATED: APRIL 5, 2022
OUR LATEST PLAYER PROFILES
JÉRÉMY DOKU
DATE OF BIRTH
27/05/2002 (19)
POSITIONS
LW, RW, ST
CLUB
Stade Rennais
NATIONALITY
Belgium
VALUE
€46M – €137M
There are not many players in the world as electrifying as Jérémy Doku. After joining Stade Rennais from Anderlecht in 2021, Doku has quickly established himself in France, where his speed and incredible dribbling quality has continued to stand out even at a higher level.
While he will set you back in the vicinity of €50 million, at just 19 years of age he has the potential to be a 10+ year player for your team. While pace, acceleration, flair dribbling and technique are the foundational elements of his game, he is also a hard-working player.
He will need to work on his finishing to reach the highest level for you, especially if you intend to play him as an inside forward, but he has plenty of time to grow.
KHVICHA KVARATSHKHELIA
DATE OF BIRTH
12/02/2001 (20)
POSITIONS
LW, RW
CLUB
Rubin Kazan
NATIONALITY
Georgia
VALUE
€4.2M – €12.5M
If you are looking for a project left winger, then Khvicha Kvaratshkelia at €10 million is both a very fun and sensible option. Rubin Kazan’s Georgian dribble god combines elite level dribbling and technical attributes alongside high level flair, agility and decent pace attributes to menace full-backs relentlessly.
His player traits are; ‘tries killer balls often’, ‘tries tricks’, ‘cuts inside from both wings’, and ‘runs with ball often’, so you can begin to understand the type of player he is. He is also strong on both feet.
While he lacks as a finisher, there is plenty of time for Khvicha to develop into a quality wide option for European level teams.
MYKHAYLO MUDRYK
DATE OF BIRTH
05/01/2001 (20)
POSITIONS
LW
CLUB
Shakhtar Donetsk
NATIONALITY
Ukraine
VALUE
€13.5M – €40M
For about half the price of a player like Jérémy Doku, there is Shakhtar Donetsk’s Mykhaylo Mudryk. While he starts the save just below the level of the Belgian, Mudryk has very similar qualities as a high volume dribbling wide player.
Good pace, acceleration, flair, dribbling and technique are important parts of his game as are the traits ‘cuts inside from both wings’ and ‘runs with ball often’. However, he would benefit on improving his finishing to make best use of his willingness to cut inside.
Having just signed a new contract, he will be unwilling to move at the start of your save, but he is a great low cost, high-upside option to consider for the future.
PEDRO NETO
DATE OF BIRTH
09/03/2000 (21)
POSITIONS
LW
CLUB
Wolves
NATIONALITY
Portugal
VALUE
€26M – €83M
After suffering a serious knee injury, Pedro Neto spends most of the first season unavailable. However, he is definitely a starting level player for European level teams, so keep an eye on him as he turns for the second season.
With his speed and technical quality, Pedro Neto is comfortable playing on either wing either coming inside from the right or playing as a more natural wide man on the left. Decent finishing and passing also make him an option as a goalscoring attacking midfielder or as a striker.
Likely to set you back €55 million, consider waiting until he gets a little closer to his 2025 contract expiry date before trying to sign him.
WHAT ARE FOOTBALL MANAGER WONDERKIDS?
Wonderkid is a cliché term that’s synonymous with Football Manager. They’re young prospects – usually aged 16 to 18 – that have elite-level potential in the game. Freddy Adu is a prominent example for older managers, while Youssoufa Moukoko is a current case. They’re the superstar youngsters that are must-buys on every save.
But it’s also subjective. A wonderkid at Accrington Stanley is completely different to a wonderkid at Manchester City. Essentially, the surroundings dictate the status.
WHAT MAKES A GOOD LEFT WINGER IN FOOTBALL MANAGER 2022?
A good left winger will be a player that can impact games from wider areas. They can be more of a goalscorer, dribbler, creator, or a mix of all three.
You will need a player that certainly technically gifted, but also intelligent and athletic. Again, team style is important, but a winger that can directly contribute with shot creation and goal scoring will be worth his weight in gold.
HOW TO FIND THE BEST LEFT WINGER IN FOOTBALL MANAGER 2022?
You can do so by utilising the player search tool, which enables you to specify the certain variables you’re looking for in your player – from age to specific attributes.
Make the most of your scouts, too. Send them to scout nations (rather than regions/contintents) for the best young centre-backs by defining their criteria – specifying under-23, four-start potential, etc. Alternatively, just scour the Scouted Football website!
HOW TO DEVELOP YOUNG LEFT WINGERS IN FOOTBALL MANAGER 2022?
As always, pathways are paramount. You have to make sure that your youngsters have access to meaningful minutes at the appropriate levels. If you have a first-team ready talent, phase him into the team gradually, during pre-season ideally.
If your prospect needs a bit more polishing, the loan system is a valuable tool. But pathways to senior level minutes are key. Assess your youngsters on a case-by-case basis, decide what they need, and enact your decision.
WHERE CAN I BUY FOOTBALL MANAGER 2022?
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Kylian Mbappé predominantly plays off the left wing, and he one of the very best players in Football Manager 2022. Neymar is still ranked highly, as are Liverpool’s Sadio Mané, Spurs’ Son Heung-min and City’s Raheem Sterling.
Vinícius Júnior has received a big upgrade since the winter break. There’s also Ansu Fati, plus Jadon Sancho and Federico Chiesa. Harvey Barnes is one that creeps under the radar a little bit too.
