In recent decades, Spain, a footballing giant, has been a proud producer of an endless stream of players who consistently perform at the highest level of the game, a testament to the country’s success in football today.
While we all know about Lamine Yamal, Pedri, Gavi, Alex Balde, Ansu Fati, and Nico Williams, there are other lesser-high-profile youngsters who are also excellent signings for most teams in FM24.
Here are some of our favourite arguably lesser-known Spanish youngsters:
Aimar (Osasuna)
Anybody who has read any of my recent articles about bargains or young players, Aimar’s name is likely to have cropped up.
The reason is that he is such a good ‘bridging player’. What I mean by that is a player who can play in a midtable but is also good enough to play in a team challenging for Europe or a league title.
When the game starts, he is just 21, but his decent stats help him develop into a very good, if never quite world-class, player.
He can play in any of the attacking midfield positions and also slightly deeper as a central midfielder. He is a consistent performer in most positions, producing plenty of goals and assists.
Aimar’s release clause is £28m at the start of the game. From my experience of having him in my team, he is well worth that price tag.
Miguel Gutierrez (Girona)
After the season Miguel has just enjoyed with Girona, it could be argued that he is no longer low-profile. However, he is maybe not as high-profile as some of his contemporaries in La Liga.
He is the definition of an attacking full-back who gets forward, scores goals, and, maybe more aptly, picks up regular assists.
While he produced six assists in real life for the Catalan team this season, in some of my saves on FM24, he has produced 16 assists per season in the English top flight.
However, those assists centric seasons tend to be when he is in his mid-20s when he has developed, and his stats have grown.
His starting stats are decent anyway, but like with any young player, his attributes only grow stronger with experience.
His release clause of £30m is good value for a player who is likely to be worth twice as much in a few seasons when he has developed into one of the best players in his position.
Javi Guerra (Valencia)
At just 20 when the game starts, Guerra is a young player with decent starting stats and a massive scope for improvement. In fact, he has the potential to become a complete midfielder.
The youngster can play as a defensive, central, or attacking midfielder while also being able to play out wide as a right-sided or even left-sided midfielder.
However, you shouldn’t just sign him for his versatility. His quality for a player of his age is excellent. After a few seasons, I have seen him become one of the best central midfielders in the game.
The only problem with Guerra is that he is so highly rated that Los Che values him highly. His release clause is £86m, which is obviously too expensive.
However, if you wait a few seasons, he should be able to be snapped up for a lower fee. I doubt you will regret signing the midfielder, though.
Alex Baena (Villarreal)
The attacking midfielder has been a familiar name in recent FMs as a hot prospect. I think I have probably signed him regularly in the last two or three versions of the game.
The main reason is that he is an exciting player who can win your team games with goals and assists. In real life, Baena has enjoyed an excellent season, scoring two goals but more impressively producing a highly creditable 13 assists in La Liga.
The highly versatile youngster will likely produce similar or even better results for your team, especially a few seasons into the game.
Baena’s strong starting stats and high potential don’t come cheaply in the first season, though, as his release clause is £51m.
Like some of the other players on this list, despite improving, he can be picked up cheaper in later seasons of the game as the time on their contracts starts to rundown.
Alejandro Frances (Real Zaragoza)
The young defender may be familiar to some FM players from previous game editions, as he has good potential ability. He is 20 at the start of FM24, so still a youngster in terms of top-level football.
Frances, who can play as a centre-back or a right-back, has decent starting attributes, which tend to see him develop into a player capable of playing for a midtable or European-challenging team in the Premier League.
The youngster is valued between £475k-£7.2m. However, he also has a release clause of £10.25m, which is not a bad fee for a promising young defender.
Jose Marsa (Andorra)
The former Barcelona youngster is an absolute bargain for mid-to-low-level Premier League clubs. Marsa has decent starting stats, gets better with experience, and never really looks out of place in many English top-flight teams.
Marsa offers decent quality and versatility. He can play as a central defender, central midfielder, or left-back.
One major bonus for signing Marsa is his price tag. The 21-year-old is valued between £300k-£2.9m, with a release clause of £2.9m.
Who are your favourite lower-profile Spanish players on FM24?
