Football Manager 23 Best Strikers
Profiles on some of the best strikers you can sign on your FM23 saves
We cover youth football and we love Football Manager. We’ve combined both to compile a list of the young strikers that you should start scouting on your FM23 saves. These aren’t necessarily “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 FM23.
For more young players to keep tabs on in general, check out our extensive talent lists and in-depth player profiles. Our team of analysts have put in a huge amount of work to put those together.
Scroll down to see our recommendations for FM23 strikers, and click below for even more pages.
What roles can strikers play in Football Manager 23?
There are so many roles for strikers in Football Manager. From False Nine to Target Forward, there are eight different options for you to choose from as you look to deploy your striker, with each playing a key role in determining how your team attacks.
Let’s start with the Target Forward. This is your traditional number nine role, where your striker will look to use their physicality to be a difference maker up front, rather than relying on skill or speed to disrupt defences. They’ll look to hold a high line and open up spaces for other attacking and midfield players to move into where they can receive flick-ons and knock-downs.
Next is the Advanced Forward. It’s a fan favourite role that can lead to very high goal scoring volumes for your striker as they will look to lead the line and stretch defences in behind to either score or get into good positions to assist others. They will hit the channels too on occasion and need to be comfortable combining with others.
Then there’s the Complete Forward, which requires your striker to be a jack-of-all-trades that can combine physicality, technique and speed to involve themselves in every single aspect of your attack. However, on attack duty they will look to focus on spearheading attacks more, while on support he will play a little deeper, looking to shoot from distance, create for others, or drive into the channels.
The role of the Pressing Forward is the epitome of defending from the front. Their aim is to close defenders down with their speed to restrict the amount of time they have to play out of their defence. There are three duties that will affect the way your Pressing Forward plays in possession; on defend, they will look to pass safely to their team-mates. On support, they will look to take more risks as a creator. And on attack, they will try to get into goalscoring positions more.
OUR LISTS OF THE BEST YOUNG TALENTS
Next is the classic Poacher, which is a pretty self-explanatory role. They will play on the last man and look to get onto passes in behind the defence, or look to get onto crosses with good positioning in the penalty area. They won’t look to hit channels or combine with team-mates, as they will focus purely on goal-scoring.
Then there are the more creative roles. First, there’s the Deep Lying Forward. This role will see your striker play more of a linking role, combining with the midfield or spreading it to your wide players. On support duty, they will focus mostly on their creative function, while on attack duty, they will look to create shots for themselves off the dribble.
Then there’s the Trequartista, which is a floating role in which your striker will look to find pockets of space to roam into and create in transition from between the opposition lines of midfield and defence. They are going to give almost no defensive output though, so you will need to have complimentary pieces around them.
And lastly, there’s the infamous False Nine. The premise of the role is about making centre-backs think: do I follow them into midfield, or do I let them go? The idea is that you can then either bolster your midfield with extra numbers if the defender lets your striker go, or disrupt the stability of the defensive line if they follow you, opening up spaces for other attackers and midfielders to exploit.
What attributes are important for strikers in FM23?
There are a few core tenets of every striker’s skillset in Football Manager: finishing, first touch, anticipation, composure, decisions, and off the ball movement. The rest of their skills will need to be moulded to their role.
For a False Nine, attributes such as dribbling, passing, technique, flair, vision, agility, balance, teamwork and acceleration are crucial as they look to bolster numbers in midfield and dribble/pass the ball to others.
As a role that is similar, but situated a little higher up the field, the Deep Lying Forward trades the False Nine’s dribbling, acceleration and agility for strength in order to play more effectively with their back to goal.
A Trequartista requires all the same attributes as the False Nine, but given their lack of work defensively, the teamwork attribute is not required as part of their skillset.
The Pressing Forward requires the most unique set of attributes, with work rate, teamwork, concentration, bravery, aggression, acceleration, agility, balance, pace, stamina, and strength the key facets of their make-up as they look to defend from the front.
The attributes required for a Poacher are the most basic. Outside of the base attributes required, they will need good heading, technique, and acceleration. That’s it. They only need to finish chances, after all.
On the other end of the spectrum is the Complete Forward, who needs to have a good rating for just about everything: dribbling, heading, long shots, passing, technique, teamwork, vision, work rate, acceleration, agility, balance, jumping reach, pace, stamina, and strength. The physical aspect is particularly important, given how all-action the role is.
The Target Forward is also reliant on their physique: especially their height, balance, heading, strength and jumping reach, given the aerial nature of the role. Aggression, bravery, balance and teamwork are also important.
And lastly, there’s the Advanced Forward, who are reliant on their speed as a crucial aspect of their skillset. Therefore, acceleration, pace, and stamina are very important, as are agility, balance, work rate and then solid dribbling, passing and technique are required when they are in possession.
Who are the best strikers in Football Manager 23?
| NAME | AGE | CLUB | OVERALL | POTENTIAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trent Alexander-Arnold | 23 | Liverpool | 87 | 90 |
| Kyle Walker | 32 | Manchester City | 85 | 85 |
| Reece James | 22 | Chelsea FC | 84 | 88 |
| Achraf Hakimi | 23 | Paris Saint-Germain | 84 | 87 |
| Kieran Tripper | 31 | Newcastle United | 84 | 84 |
| Dani Carvajal | 30 | Real Madrid | 84 | 84 |
| Juan Cuadrado | 34 | Juventus | 83 | 83 |
| Jesús Navas | 36 | Sevilla | 83 | 83 |
| Ricardo Pereira | 28 | Leicester City | 83 | 83 |
| Noussair Mazraoui | 24 | Ajax | 82 | 86 |
Endrick
- Position: ST
- Club: Palmeiras (BRA)
- Country: Brazil
Endrick is the next generational talent to come out of Brazil. Having already made his debut for Palmeiras at 16, having dominated youth tournaments up and down South America, he is already on the radar of all of Europe’s mega clubs.
Even for his age, Endrick has an imposing skillset that shows the hallmarks of a future generational talent in FM23. His holy trinity of dribbling, finishing and first touch are strong, while his physical attributes (outside of jumping reach) are also excellent for a 16-year-old.
Available at the start of your save for somewhere around the €22 million mark, signing him is an absolute no-brainer if he will join your club – though he won’t be able to join for two seasons once he turns 18.
Youssoufa Moukoko
- Positions: ST
- Club: Borussia Dortmund (GER)
- Country: Germany
The FM21 and FM22 GOAT returns. Youssoufa Moukoko is now a regular at Borussia Dortmund too, helping to fill an Erling Haaland-shaped void in the club’s attack.
He is so, so good. Starting the game as a 17-year-old, he is already clearly a Bundesliga level striker, with high level physical attributes, and solid dribbling, finishing, and first touch. And, as we all know, he has the potential to grow into a multiple Ballon d’Or winning player.
With one year left to run on his contract at the start of your save, you need to do everything you can to get Moukoko into your team (if you are playing as a club with a big enough reputation). He will cost around €65 million up front, but if you are prepared to take a risk, he does have just one year left to run on his contract and can be snagged on a free transfer at the end of his current deal.
Gonçalo Ramos
- Positions: ST
- Club: SL Benfica (POR)
- Country: Portugal
With Darwin Núñez leaving Benfica, it has been incumbent on Gonçalo Ramos to take up the goal-scoring slack with the Portuguese giants, and he has started the 2022/23 season extremely well.
In FM23, he is quite a well-rounded striker, with no major strengths or weaknesses. He is quick enough, tall enough, decent in the air, and his mental attributes are solid. He is also quite good on both feet.
Ramos has all the hallmarks of being a fan favourite striker in FM23. He is ready-made to play at a good top-five league level, and is very affordable; available for around €18 million.
OUR LISTS OF THE BEST YOUNG TALENTS
Fábio Silva
- Positions: ST
- Club: RSC Anderlecht (BEL) (on loan from Wolves)
- Country: Portugal
Fábio Silva’s adaptation to the Premier League as a teenager after his big money move from Porto was difficult to say the least. However, his loan to Anderlecht this season has seen a revival of the Portuguese striker, who has finally been able to grow and learn at a level more suited to him now as he tries to develop into a Premier League level player.
Silva is a nicely balanced striker, not too dissimilar from his compatriot Gonçalo Ramos, with his key stats for his preferred Advanced Striker all falling between roughly 12 and 14.
You will not be able to sign Silva in the first season, due to his loan to Anderlecht, but once he returns to Wolves he is a good target to look at, whether that be on another loan or, if the price is right, on a permanent deal.
Mathys Tel
- Positions: ST, LW
- Club: FC Bayern München
- Country: France
Mathys Tel had not even played 100 senior minutes last season, but dominant performances at the Under-17 Euro for France in a tournament winning team alerted Bayern Munich (and other European clubs), who snapped him up the dynamic attacker for a big money move.
At just 17, Tel’s game is already so complete. He has strong pace and acceleration, and just excellent physical attributes all-round for his age. He really doesn’t have any weaknesses. His dribbling and technique also allow him to play as a wide player quite effectively, as does a high flair rating. He is a generational talent.
Having just signed for Bayern, you won’t be able to sign Tel in your first season, nor will you be able to loan him unless you’re a German club due to his age. However, if the opportunity arises: sign him at any moment you can.
João Pedro
- Positions: ST, LW, AM
- Club: Watford (ENG)
- Country: Brazil
He was close to a summer move to the Premier League, but João Pedro has instead been consigned to a season in the Championship with Watford. It may be a blessing in disguise though, giving him a chance to dominate the Championship one last time before he steps up to Premier League level.
In FM23 though, you shouldn’t allow him to play a minute in the Championship: go grab him straight away and you’ll snag yourself a top-five league ready player capable of playing as a striker, as well as across a number of other attacking positions. He is a technical attacker with good speed and natural fitness. Outside of that, he has quite a rounded skillset from which to build on.
At €35 million, he is a sensible option to sign as a ready-made player to play at a top-five league level, and Watford will be more than happy to take your money after their relegation to the Championship.
Karim Benzema, Robert Lewandowski and Harry Kane are three of the best strikers in FM23.
Kylian Mbappé is undoubtedly the best young striker in FM23, closely followed by Erling Braut Haaland.
