In recent articles, we have looked at promising goalkeepers, full-backs and strikers. In today’s article, we look at promising centre-backs on FM24.
These may not be the most high-profile, but maybe players who have been far better than their price tag, or have made a lasting impression on our recent saves.
Ousmane Diomande (Sporting CP)
The 19-year-old from Ivory Coast is, without doubt, one of my favourite defenders in the game of any age. He is the sort of player that I would sign in the second or third season, if he hasn’t already moved clubs.
His starting stats are strong for a player of his age. With game experience, his stats only get better. He becomes one of the best centre-backs in the world.
He is the sort of promising young player who you sign to play Champions League football, and he gets better with every season. The one caveat to signing Diomande is that he can be pretty expensive, with a fee of over £40m even in the first transfer window.
However, usually he is worth the fee, especially as the seasons go on and he improves his all-around game.
Antonio Silva (Benfica)
For me, Silva fits into the same bracket as Diomande, as a young centre-back who starts the game with good stats. Like most promising young players on FM, if he gets the experience, then he will improve and become a world-class player.
In most of my saves, he doesn’t usually stay at Benfica for long, such is his quality and potential at the start of the game. Once again, his stats for a 19-year-old set him apart from many of his contemporaries.
Silva’s starting stats usually help develop him into a world-class player by the time he’s in his early twenties. However, he doesn’t look out of place in a top team from the start of the game.
Benfica never seem to sell their players cheaply, and Silva is no exception. The promising centre-back can cost over £50m in the first transfer window. He is a player that only elite clubs can afford, but if you are managing an elite club that needs a centre-back, then Silva could be the player for you.
Becir Omeragic (Montpellier)
It is hard to put the centre-back in the same category as Diomande and Silva. However, Omeragic is the sort of steady defender that every team needs.
He starts the game at Montpellier at the age of 21 and has decent stats. Those stats may not wow you at first. However, in many of my saves, his stats grow, and he belies his stats to become a bargain signing.
One issue with Omeragic is that he doesn’t always develop to a great level in every save. However, when he does, he is decent value for money. The Swiss star can be bought for less than £9m at the start of the game.
If you are managing a team on a budget or a team in the mid-lower level of the Premier League, the centre-back can be a good addition to the team.
Jose Marsa (Mechelen)
The defender is one of my favourite cult signings when I am playing as Everton. At the start of most Everton saves, the club has a paltry transfer budget, but the squad is definitely light on numbers and quality. Signing Marsa helps on both fronts.
His stats are steady rather than spectacular at the start of the game. However, he is a player who never lets you down, and he can usually be bought for less than £4m. For the service he gives you, Marsa is well worth the small fee.
Marsa does not have the same ceiling of potential as some of the others on this list. However, as signings go, I would have him up there with many of the others.
Goncalo Inacio (Sporting CP)
Inacio is a young centre-back with a high ceiling when it comes to potential. His starting stats are exceptional for a player of 21. With the proper training, those stats reach an even higher level. He then eventually reaches world-class level.
In his mid-20s, sometimes earlier, Inacio generally in my saves earns a big-money move to one of European football’s elite clubs. If you are one of those clubs, it is good to bed him into your squad early, and see him grow.
Like Silva and Diomande, who are in a similar bracket of players, Inacio isn’t generally cheap to sign. Sporting are tough negotiators when it comes to selling their best players.
On my updated database, Inacio has a release clause of around £51m. However, I have negotiated the price down for the centre-back in previous saves, where I have paid an initial fee of around £37m, plus add-ons which have risen to around £50m.
He is definitely worth the cost, though. In my opinion, Inacio is one of the most consistent and brightest young defenders in the game.
