FOOTBALL MANAGER 2022 FREE AGENTS
SOME OF THE BEST OUT OF CONTRACT PLAYERS TO SIGN IN FM22
We cover youth football and we love Football Manager. On this page, we’ve compiled some of the best free agents that may be of interest to you – from Hamza Barry and Han Kwang-son, to Boubacar Kamara and André Onana – as well as a few tips on how to find even more.
OUR LISTS OF THE BEST YOUNG TALENTS
WATCH: 5 YOUNG PLAYERS YOU SHOULD SIGN IN FM22
CLICK BELOW TO SCROLL TO SPECIFIC PROFILES
LAST UPDATED: FEBRUARY 25, 2022
HAMZA BARRY
POSITIONS
CM, DM
DATE OF BIRTH
15/10/1994 (26)
CLUB
Unattached
NATIONALITY
The Gambia
SUITABLE FOR
Leading second division clubs in big countries, or decent sides in mid-level leagues
Hamza Barry’s career has seen him do a whirlwind tour of Europe after leaving the Gambia: Malta, Cyprus, Israel, and Croatia. Next, it’s time for him to do a job for your team.
Hamza is a versatile all-rounder. He can play the ball well with both feet, he is strong technically, has decent mental attributes, and he’s quick too.
You will want to play him in some sort of playmaking role, either as a deep-lying playmaker as a defensive midfielder or centre-midfielder, or as an advanced playmaker in centre-midfield or an attacking midfield role.
At 26 and with little room to improve, he will not be a long-term solution, but he will be a great acquisition for a team looking for a short-term boost to aid with a promotion push. And with that promotion, you should be able to sell him on for a nice little profit as well.
DANILHO DOEKHI
DATE OF BIRTH
30/06/1998 (23)
POSITIONS
CB
CLUB
Vitesse
NATIONALITY
Netherlands
SUITABLE FOR
Good clubs in mid-level leagues, or smaller teams in the elite leagues
Danilo Doekhi has played well over 100 competitive games for Vitesse in the Eredivisie and European competition since joining from AFC Ajax in 2018. The nephew and cousins of the great Bogarde family, he’s even assumed the club captaincy this season.
The 23-year-old is available on a free transfer in 2022, as his contract runs down – that means he could be available at a cut price in the first summer of your save. With a physical presence on the pitch, solid defensive nous and clear leadership qualities, Doekhi would be a good pick-up for quite a few clubs in a wide range of leagues.
If you’re managing a team like AZ Alkmaar in the Eredivisie, he would able to bridge that gap pretty comfortably; he would also be worth a punt if you’re in charge of a smaller club in one of the elite leagues, particularly in Serie A or even La Liga.
FERDI KADIOGLU
DATE OF BIRTH
07/10/1999 (21)
POSITIONS
Versatile attacker
CLUB
Fenerbahçe SK
NATIONALITY
Netherlands/Turkey
SUITABLE FOR
Strong teams in mid-level leagues, or weaker teams in elite-level leagues
A favourite of the Football Manager bargain hunters since 2017, when he was playing with NEC Nijmegen in the Eredivisie and Eerste Divisie, Ferdi Kadıoğlu will be known to many of you, we’d be safe to assume?
If you aren’t familiar with him, then he was a tricky and creative attacker in Dutch football that made a relatively high-profile move to the homeland of his parents, Turkey, joining Fenerbahçe in 2018.
Prior to this season, Kadıoğlu was somewhat of a bit-part player in Istanbul. This season has seen him reinvent himself a little bit as a full-back comfortable playing on either side, able to offer speed and directness down the wings – something which is reflected in his FM profile.
He’d be a worthwhile pick-up for bigger clubs in smaller leagues, or weaker sides in the elite leagues.
BOUBACAR KAMARA
DATE OF BIRTH
23/11/1999 (21)
POSITIONS
CB, DM, CM
CLUB
Olympique Marseille
NATIONALITY
France
SUITABLE FOR
European-level teams in top-five leagues (Bundesliga, Premier League, Serie A)
Boubacar Kamara has been around for quite a while now. He’s been a fixture of Olympique Marseille’s first-team since the 2018/19 season, gradually migrating from centre-back into a midfield role.
That’s where his future should lie, both in game and in real life. He lacks the size (height, mainly) to be a top-level centre-back but his on-ball and defensive skillsets fit a defensive midfield role really well. He’s a strong ball-winner that can cover a lot of space, both defensively and in possession. His right-side bias may be a bit problematic but he has the range of passing to make up for it, as well as the intelligence.
Mirroring his situation in real life, Kamara is guaranteed to “explore his options” at the end of his OM contract in 2022. He’d be a really good pick-up for a lot of clubs in almost every top-five league. There’ll be big competition.
HAN KWANG SONG
DATE OF BIRTH
11/09/1998 (22)
POSITIONS
ST
CLUB
Unattached
NATIONALITY
North Korea
SUITABLE FOR
Good second division or mid-level league clubs (Austria, Belgium, Netherlands)
Han Kwang Song’s career that started with promise in Serie A with Cagliari, before a move to Juventus, has recently stalled. International sanctions on North Koreans working abroad have ruined his career prospects, so much so that Juventus and Al-Duhail both came under scrutiny from the UN when the Italian giants sold him to the Qatari club.
These same sanctions meant that Al-Duhail were eventually forced to release Han, who has been a free agent ever since. And so, in Football Manager, the North Korean attacker is free to sign when you begin your save, and fulfill an attacking role straight away.
The 22-year-old is strong in the key attacking categories: dribbling, finishing and first touch. And he is quick enough to play as an advanced forward too. He’s an ideal pick-up for a second division club: he has room to grow too as you move up the league.
MAGNUS KOFOD ANDERSEN
DATE OF BIRTH
10/05/1999 (22)
POSITIONS
DM, CM
CLUB
FC Nordsjælland
NATIONALITY
Denmark
SUITABLE FOR
Possession-based teams looking to control tempo
Club captain and one-club man, Magnus Kofod Andersen is another product of the excellent FC Nordsjælland academy in Denmark. Like Andreas Skov Olsen and Mikkel Damsgaard before him, the 22-year-old will be the next FCN product to make a well-deserved move.
If you could assemble the perfect deep-lying midfielder for a possession-based team, they would turn out very similar to Kofod. He is the prototypical number six in many ways: technical, intelligent and adequately mobile. From a Football Manager perspective, he also has some excellent player traits – he can dictate tempo, controlling the speed at which your team plays, and is more than capable of spreading the ball around with his passing.
A top-five league is probably too big a jump, especially with his athletic limitations, but Kofod is a great fit for a possession-based team in pretty much every other league.
RANDAL KOLO MUANI
DATE OF BIRTH
05/12/1998 (22)
POSITIONS
ST, LW, RW
CLUB
FC Nantes
NATIONALITY
France
SUITABLE FOR
Lower-to-mid table teams in major European leagues
If you’re a battling team in need of a versatile and athletic forward player, Randal Kolo Muani will probably be a good fit for your side. The Nantes striker has a balanced attacking skillset at 1.87m tall, giving you a range of options for deploying him.
Up front he would be suited to playing as a complete forward, allowing you to take advantage of his strong physical capability, while also not wasting what is a fundamentally strong technical skillset as well – especially his dribbling, first touch and technique. His strong right foot would make him a dynamic option on the left wing, driving inside with and without the ball.
He could be an affordable option for a financially strong second-tier club, and would be a superb player at that level with good sell-on potential as you move up into the first division and look to add more quality to your attack.
NOUSSAIR MAZRAOUI
DATE OF BIRTH
14/11/1997 (23)
POSITIONS
RB
CLUB
AFC Ajax
NATIONALITY
Morocco
SUITABLE FOR
Competitive European-level teams in Europe’s top-five leagues
Ajax’s Noussair Mazraoui is a great player to target for any team that can get him. He has strong mental attributes and a well-rounded technical game with his first touch and passing being the standouts.
While his physicals could use some work, his upside is enormous, and his usefulness as a squad member is even greater than that. The Moroccan can play in nearly any position on the pitch except for up front and on the left wing, making him one of the game’s most versatile players.
While his wages will not be cheap – expect to pay upwards of €2.5 million per season to sign him – he will return that both in his performances, but also in major resale value. He’d be a shrewd signing for Champions League calibre clubs in any of the top-five leagues, not least the likes of Serie A and La Liga.
EDDIE NKETIAH
DATE OF BIRTH
30/05/1999 (22)
POSITIONS
ST
CLUB
Arsenal
NATIONALITY
England
SUITABLE FOR
Competitive European-level teams in Europe’s top-five leagues
While he certainly will not blossom into a world-beater, Eddie Nketiah is a solid free agent player to sign to fill out a squad and provide depth and genuine goalscoring ability.
He has a strong ‘holy trinity’ (dribbling, finishing, first touch) and top quality physical attributes for an advanced forward that can look to stretch the defensive lines. This is also aided by strong off the ball and work rate attributes, making him an intelligent and ardent runner. It would be worthwhile training Nketiah to break the offside trap and make best use of these qualities, playing in an high tempo tactic that looks to move the ball quickly and exploit space behind the defence.
Beware though, he won’t be “free” for English clubs – you will have to pay a compensation fee. His wage packet is likely be pretty hefty as well.
ANDRÉ ONANA
DATE OF BIRTH
02/04/1996 (25)
POSITIONS
GK
CLUB
AFC Ajax
NATIONALITY
Cameroon
SUITABLE FOR
European-level elite-league clubs looking for a long-term goalkeeper
The man between the sticks for a exceptional AFC Ajax side for much of the past five years, André Onana is a high-level goalkeeper with a very desirable skillset.
Not only is he a very good shot-stopper that excels at crucial moments, he is very much a modern goalkeeper. He’s a dynamic athlete, adept at coming off his line to prevent danger from developing, and talented with his feet and hands in dsitrbution. His ‘tries to play out of trouble’ playe trait is another cool quirk of his FM skillset.
You could chance your arm at the start of your saves to see whether Ajax are willing to cut their losses with a cut-price deal, but you should definitely be preparing to offer him a big role and contract once 2022 rolls around. He’d be a very good pick-up for any top-five league club looking for a long-term goalkeeper, especially if you want to play with a high line and built out of the back.
TORBEN RHEIN
DATE OF BIRTH
25/06/1999
POSITIONS
CM, AM
CLUB
FC Bayern München
NATIONALITY
Germany
SUITABLE FOR
Second-tier clubs in Germany, or stronger sides in Austria & Switzerland top-flights
Thorben Rhein‘s top value estimate comes in at a little over our price cap of €5 million, but we’ve included him because of that all important expiring contract. If he runs it down, you can steal a gem from Bayern München’s pocket.
An established starter for Bayern’s B team in the Regionalliga, Rhein is a very technical number 8/10. Almost perfectly two-footed, the 18-year-old is an intelligent and creative link player between lines. The ‘shoots from distance’ trait can be problematic, but he has the skills to be a threat from range.
He would be an excellent pick-up capable of playing regular minutes for any club in Germany, Austria and Switzerland – except for the likes of Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig, perhaps. If you’re managing in the 2. Bundesliga, try to Niklas Dorsch him. Make him the lynchpin of your push to Germany’s top division.
XAVI SIMONS
DATE OF BIRTH
21/04/2003 (18)
POSITIONS
DM, CM AM
CLUB
Paris Saint-Germain
NATIONALITY
Netherlands
SUITABLE FOR
Stronger sides in mid-level leagues, like the Eredivisie and Pro League
We’ve been hearing about Xavi Simons for years, but is he actually good? The answer is yes. Not as good as the hyperbole unfairly whipped up around him some years ago, but he is a legitimate talent.
Now starring as a fluid playmaking striker in the UEFA Youth League for Paris Saint-Germain in real-life, Simons is limited to playing in deeper central areas in FM22 – but he is a cheap buy with the potential to develop into a good option for a top division club.
At the base of midfield, he looks best as a deep-lying playmaker with good technique and passing range, as well as strong mentals that should allow him to command the midfield well. Equally, his technical quality could see him used in a more attacking role as a mezzala or advanced playmaker to good effect; all for less than a €1 million as his contract enters its final year at the start of your save. He’d be perfect for a club in Belgium or the Netherlands.
WHAT ARE FOOTBALL MANAGER FREE AGENTS?
A free agent is an out-of-contract player, an individual that is entirely free to choose their next club. Free agents can be signed outside of the designated transfer windows, making them especially useful additions to squads.
A top tip? Offer trial to free agents that may be of interest to you. You can keep them at the club on a temporary basis, free of charge for up to four weeks at a time in order to assess their ability and suitability.
HOW DO YOU FIND FREE AGENTS IN FOOTBALL MANAGER 2022?
Utilise the player search tool. In there, you can filter the search by players that are either out of contract currently or are approaching the end of their contract within certain time frames – 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year.
You will also be made aware of the availability of unattached players by their agents. Keep an eye on the scouting hub, where reports will continuously filter in – especially during transfer windows.
HOW DO YOU SCOUT FOR FREE AGENTS IN FOOTBALL MANAGER 2022?
Getting ahead of the game is crucial, and you can do that by assigning your scouts to search for players on expiring contracts.
This is especially useful for smaller clubs with lesser budgets; may assign one of your group of scouts to search exclusively for players approaching the end of their contracts. If you do that, you will build up a strong databse of out of contract players that may be of use to you in future.
HOW DO YOU SIGN FREE AGENTS IN FOOTBALL MANAGER 2022?
You can do it one of two ways – agreeing a pre-contract with a player within six months of their end of contract, or picking up unattached players. The former isn’t available for English clubs signing from English clubs.
Given the absence of a transfer fee to a club, you should expect the contract (including its add-ons an bonuses) to be a little more expensive than usual. Again, utilise the trial tip we mentione earlier.
Fredrik Bjørkan is one of the best young players available on a pre-contract deal at the start of the game. Hamza Barry is another solid player available on a free. Boubacar Kamara is another to keep tabs on.
The best way to do it is assign a designated scout to search exclusively for players on expiring cotracts. If you do that, you will compile a strong databse of out-of-contract players that may be of use to you in future.
