Scoring goals is the most crucial step to winning matches, which means that your striker is one of the most critical players in the team.Football Manager 2024hasmany tactical setups, roles, and instructions that improve your strikers' goal-scoring abilities.
One of the most effective striker roles is that of the target striker. Target strikers are tall, strong, agile, and physically imposing forwards who rival center backs in strength and size. They score goals by out-muscling defenders to the ball and mostly score when crosses are delivered to them in the box. Here are some cheap but effective target strikers to invest in in Football Manager 2024.
Transfer Value
£230,000 - £2.3 million
Kusi-Asare is an incredibly exciting young Swedish striker who plays for AIK in the Swedish League. At the start of the game, he is 15 years old and already 6’5, though he may grow taller.
With a massive frame like that at such a young age, there are seemingly no limits to how good this player can be for you. He’s not quite ready to burst into any first team and start racking up goals, but if you give him a few years of proper development, he will be a goal-scoring machine.
£3.1 million - £6 million
Santos Souza is only 15 at the start of Football Manager 2024 and plays for São Paulo FC in the Brazilian leagues. He is already 6’4 and has bags of potential.
Aside from his impressive potential, his current ability is already pretty remarkable, and he could start for many lower-league sides. He’s got a lot of great stats, with a few of them well on their way to maxing out, and he still has a lot of development and growth to do before he reaches his full potential.
£350,000 - £3.5 million
Bonny is a talented 19-year-old French striker who plays for Parma in the Italian League. At 6’2, he is physically imposing, agile, quick, strong, and an ever-present aerial threat.
Yoan Bonny is not limited to the target striker role and can actually play in a number of other attacking roles due to the well-rounded nature of his physical stats. He can be deployed as an advanced forward, a complete forward, or a pressing forward, making him an affordable, versatile improvement to your team’s attack.
£150,000 - £4.8 million
Kaufmann is a 22-year-old Danish striker who plays for Union Berlin in the German league. Although he is not a natural target forward, his physical attributes, 6’3 frame, and enormous potential are difficult to deny.
Despite not being a natural target forward, Kaufmann ticks most boxes for the role and obviously has the stature for it. You can train Mikkel into one of the best target-man strikers in the game, improving the immersive experience and giving you the feeling of a top manager unlocking players’ full potential.
Bravery (18), Heading (16), and Jumping Reach (16)
£3.7 million - £7 million
Tietz is a German footballer who plays for Augsburg in the German league. He is 25 at the start of the game but turns 26 within the first season. His age means he is nearing his prime, and his stats reflect that.
He has many well-rounded and nearly maxed-out stats, especially in the physical department. Tietz could quickly improve any team he joins, be it as a starter or a backup player, so it is entirely unheard of that he is valued at such a low price tag.
£7.8 million–£9.6 million
Petar Musa is a Serbian forward who plays for Benfica in the Portuguese League. At the start of the game, he is 25 and already has established goal-scoring talent. At 6’3, he rivals most defenders and has the physical and mental attributes to be a dominant target forward for you.
The only downside is that, while Musa is not particularly expensive compared to other famous players of similar quality, he is still beyond the reach of most lower-league sides. Still, you could sign him up as a cheap backup and potential future starter foryour bigger teamsor as the main striker for your ambitious mid-table teams.
£5.6 million–£8.4 million
Artem Dovbyk is easily the most impressive target forward you can get cheaply. At only 26 years old, he can give you many years of top-quality football, and his attributes are high enough that he can slot right into any team and make an impact immediately. He is also young enough to develop into a much better player.
Dovbyk is small for a target striker, being only 6'2, which does hamper his aerial abilities. However, he makes up for it with his mental and technical attributes and ability to competently play in several other striker roles apart from target forward. Another beautiful plus about this player is that a decent and ambitious lower-league team can pry him away from his current employer, Girona, as they do not have any real chances of success in the game.
