Summary
Football Manager 2024allows you to take over as manager of any team you choose, make strategic transfers, implement your desired tactical setups, and try to lead that team to success in as many competitions as possible.
This process becomes challenging when you take charge of a minor team and attempt a road to glory. Your budget is smaller, your squad has less depth, and your players aren’t of the highest quality. You can fix all that in one fell swoop by signing some of the cheaper, top-quality football players.
Marking (15), Work Rate (15), and Jumping Reach (15)
Wage Demands
€4,410
When managing a lower-league team, having a good defense is crucial to your success. However, your options are minimal, asthe best young, prime, and senior defenders are pretty expensive.
Oumar Solet is a solid, versatile French defender who primarily plays center-back in the no-nonsense center-back role. At just 23, he is a significant improvement over many of the lower-league defenders and still has a lot of room to grow. Adding Solet to your squad list will only cost you a little over his €8 million valuation, a far cry from the hundreds of millions some players cost. His wage of just €4,410 is also very affordable.
€163,800
Van De Beek is a talented midfielder specializing in the deep-lying playmaker role. At the start of the game, he is 26 and nearing his prime, but he would still be a massive improvement for many teams.
Van De Beek has many great stats and will give any team some much-needed creativity with his play style. He is valued at €12 million. However, at the start of the game, Van De Beek has been transfer-listed by his parent club, meaning it is possible to get him for less than his value if you negotiate correctly. The only downside is that his wages are very high, as he comes froma big club.
€150,070
Wissam Ben Yedder is a talented striker with a lot of fantastic qualities. Goals win games, and with Ben Yedder’s 16(/20) finishing and 16(/20) dribbling, your team will have no shortage of great goals.
Despite being 32, Ben Yedder is still a nightmare for opposition defenders. You can sign this undeniable talent for just over €10 million. The only drawback to signing a player like Ben Yedder is his age. At 32, it’s only a matter of time before his stats begin to decline. But he can still give your team a good couple of seasons of top-quality football.
Kicking (15), One-on-Ones (15), Positioning (15)
€9,620
Having a good goalkeeper as your last line of defense is a must if you want to secure your victories. Luckily, goalkeepers aren’t too expensive to acquire unless you’re looking for a talented sweeper-keeper who can contribute to the play and progression of the match rather than a standard shot-stopper.
Justin Bijlow is precisely that with his 14(/20) passing, which rivals some midfielders. Bijlow offers you most of what some of the most expensive keepers in the game offer, and he costs significantly less. This player’s €15 million price tag makes him a prime target, no matter what team you’re managing.
€14,860
Lewis Ferguson is a 23-year-old midfielder with plenty of potential. He is incredibly talented, with many great stats, a price tag of only €9 million, and wage demands of €14,860.
What is most exciting about this player is how young he is. Most top players his age offer the same thing but cost at least double his value. Ferguson has a lot of room to grow and, if properly trained, could even rival some of the most expensive players in the game.
€17,890
Facundo Torres is an incredibly versatile attacking player who can significantly increase the goal-scoring and chance-creation threat of any team he joins, whether as a starter or as a backup player.
He is only 23 at the start of the game and is already a top-quality player with so much room to grow into a superstar. Despite his versatility, agility, and all-around talent, Torres is only valued at €11 million. This is a bargain when you place him next to players like Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka, who play the same position and are of similar age.
€58,500
Mohamed Elneny is a well-rounded midfielder of incredibly high quality. Despite having so many great stats, Elneny is only valued at €4 million, which is impressive considering the fact that he is a top-level midfielder.
A significant factor in Elneny’s low value is his age. At 30, he is slowly leaving his prime. However, he still has three or more seasons of top-quality football and can improve his stats.
€69,260
Aouar is best known for his precise passing. He brings an extra layer of creativity to any team he joins. He would be an instant upgrade to any lower-league team and a much-needed backup or squad player for many of the bigger teams.
Aouar is only 25, which means he can improve and continue to perform at the highest levels for many years to come. He would only cost your team €5 million, but he does have high wage demands.
