Football Manager 2015 wonderkids now – how accurate is Football Manager?

10 years ago, FM Scout released a wonderkid list. It was a dreamland of teenage potential, packed with names destined (or so we thought) to become footballing royalty. But now, a decade later, how many actually made it? How many became global stars, who plateaued at mid-table clubs, and who slipped quietly into obscurity? Let’s find out.

We took the FM Scout list, put it into and dug into their real-life careers. Each player’s FM15 potential ability (PA) was matched against their actual peak, based on factors like clubs played for, transfer fees, international caps, and overall market value. Then, we sorted each player into one of three categories:

• Hit: Reached or exceeded expectations (top leagues, major tournaments, elite clubs)
• Maybe: Solid pro career, but didn’t hit elite level
• Miss: Never reached top-flight relevance

Let’s go position by position.

(The entire list of 1100 would have taken way too long, but we managed to do over 800, which should give us a good indication!)

Goalkeepers

Standouts: Gianluigi Donnarumma (HIT), Simone Scuffet (MAYBE), Freddie Woodman (MAYBE)

• Hits: 7
• Maybes: 11
• Misses: 23

Summary: Goalkeepers are notoriously slow-burners, but this was still a tough crowd. Donnarumma is the clear standout. Scuffet looked the part early but faded, and many never got a serious top-flight shot.

Defenders

Names like José Gayà, Joe Gomez, and Dayot Upamecano headlined the list – but it wasn’t all smooth sailing.

• Hits: 43
• Maybes: 62
• Misses: 119

Notable Hits:

• José Gayà
• Niklas Süle
• Upamecano
• Kieran Tierney
• Trent Alexander-Arnold
• William Saliba

Big Misses:

• Hólmar Örn Eyjólfsson
• Jordan Houghton
• Wallace Oliveira

Midfielders

This was the most talent-stacked section, with players like Youri Tielemans, Rúben Neves, and Martin Ødegaard making appearances.

• Hits: 56
• Maybes: 78
• Misses: 127

Notable Hits:

• Ødegaard
• Neves
• Tielemans
• Renato Sanches

Big Misses:

• Sergi Samper
• Alen Halilović

Wingers / AMs

High-risk, high-reward territory. This category includes both world-beaters and flame-outs.

• Hits: 38
• Maybes: 45
• Misses: 88

Notable Hits:

• Kingsley Coman
• Leroy Sane
• Ousmane Dembele

Cult Classics:

• Zakaria Bakkali
• Adnan Januzaj

Strikers

Always the hardest to predict. Some evolved into world-class forwards; others became journeymen.

• Hits: 33
• Maybes: 41
• Misses: 95

Notable Hits:

• Gabriel Barbosa (Gabigol) – Flamengo & Brazil hero
• Timo Werner – Leipzig & Chelsea
• Patrick Bamford – Leeds star, England cap

Big Misses:

• Hany Mukhtar (star in MLS, not quite Europe)
• Yassine Benzia (Lyon hope, faded)
• Munir El Haddadi (Barcelona debut hype, mid-level career)

The Final Verdict

Out of all the FM15 wonderkids we looked at, here’s how it broke down:

• Hits: 177 (20.4%)
• Maybes: 237 (27.4%)
• Misses: 452 (52.2%)

So yes, Football Manager got some right. But in a surprising twist, they actually seemed to get more wrong than they did right

This isn’t a knock on FM Scout or FM’s database. If anything, it highlights just how unpredictable player development is. Injuries, attitude, transfers, national service, there are so many variables that even the best scouts can’t predict.

But when FM gets it right, like with Donnarumma, Ødegaard, or Upamecano, they really get them right. Below I’ll include a sample – 200 players out of the ones we ranked!

Name	Category	Notable Clubs Played For	Current Club (2025)
Youri Tielemans	Hit	Anderlecht, Monaco, Leicester, Aston Villa	Aston Villa
Rúben Neves	Hit	Porto, Wolves, Al-Hilal	Al-Hilal
Martin Ødegaard	Hit	Real Madrid, Heerenveen, Arsenal	Arsenal
Federico Bernardeschi	Maybe	Fiorentina, Juventus, Toronto FC	Sampdoria
Danilo	Maybe	Braga, Valencia, Nice	Vasco da Gama
Alen Halilović	Miss	Barcelona, Hamburg, Milan	Free Agent
Nathan	Miss	Chelsea, Vitesse, Belenenses	Free Agent
Gerson	Hit	Roma, Flamengo, Marseille	Flamengo
Andreas Pereira	Maybe	Man Utd, Flamengo, Fulham	Fulham
Marko Grujić	Maybe	Red Star, Liverpool, Porto	Porto
Ante Ćorić	Miss	Dinamo Zagreb, Roma	Free Agent
Miralem Sulejmani	Miss	Ajax, Benfica, Young Boys	Retired
Julian Brandt	Hit	Leverkusen, Dortmund	Dortmund
Ángel Correa	Hit	Atlético Madrid	Atlético Madrid
Gabriel Barbosa (Gabigol)	Maybe	Inter, Flamengo	Flamengo
Munir El Haddadi	Miss	Barcelona, Sevilla, Las Palmas	Las Palmas
Max Meyer	Miss	Schalke, Crystal Palace	FC Luzern
Mahmoud Dahoud	Maybe	Gladbach, Dortmund, Brighton	VfB Stuttgart
Adnan Januzaj	Maybe	Man Utd, Real Sociedad	Istanbul Başakşehir
Lucas Romero	Maybe	Vélez, Cruzeiro, Independiente	León
Jose Ángel Pozo	Miss	Man City, Almería, Rayo	Al Ahli SC (Qatar)
Hachim Mastour	Miss	Milan, Zwolle, Reggina	Free Agent
Nathaniel Chalobah	Maybe	Chelsea, Watford, Fulham	West Brom
Oliver Torres	Maybe	Atlético, Porto, Sevilla	Free Agent
Lucas Piazon	Miss	Chelsea, Fulham, Braga	Botafogo
Rafinha Alcântara	Maybe	Barcelona, PSG, Al-Arabi	Al-Arabi
Ryan Gauld	Maybe	Sporting CP, Farense, Vancouver	Vancouver Whitecaps
Lewis Cook	Hit	Leeds, Bournemouth	Bournemouth
Riechedly Bazoer	Maybe	Ajax, Wolfsburg, Utrecht	AZ Alkmaar
Viktor Fischer	Miss	Ajax, Middlesbrough, Copenhagen	AIK
Jordan Rossiter	Miss	Liverpool, Rangers, Bristol Rovers	Aldershot Town
Joël Veltman	Hit	Ajax, Brighton	Brighton
Tin Jedvaj	Maybe	Roma, Leverkusen, Lokomotiv Moscow	Al-Ain
Eder Álvarez Balanta	Maybe	River Plate, Basel, Brugge	FC Schalke 04
Jorge Meré	Maybe	Sporting Gijón, Köln, América	Cádiz
Andreas Christensen	Hit	Chelsea, Barcelona	Barcelona
José Giménez	Hit	Atlético Madrid	Atlético Madrid
Daniele Rugani	Maybe	Juventus, Empoli	Juventus
Jonathan Tah	Hit	Leverkusen	Leverkusen
Jesús Vallejo	Miss	Zaragoza, Real Madrid, Granada	Granada
Joe Gomez	Maybe	Liverpool	Liverpool
Dayot Upamecano	Hit	Leipzig, Bayern Munich	Bayern Munich
Emanuel Mammana	Maybe	River Plate, Lyon, Sochi	Almería
Tin Jedvaj	Maybe	Roma, Leverkusen, Lokomotiv Moscow	Al-Ain
Kurt Zouma	Maybe	Chelsea, Everton, West Ham	West Ham
Aymeric Laporte	Hit	Bilbao, Man City, Al-Nassr	Al-Nassr
Presnel Kimpembe	Hit	PSG	PSG
Niklas Süle	Hit	Hoffenheim, Bayern, Dortmund	Dortmund
Lucas Hernández	Hit	Atlético, Bayern, PSG	PSG
John Stones	Hit	Everton, Man City	Man City

Name	Category	Notable Clubs Played For	Current Club (2025)
Mattia Caldara	Miss	Atalanta, Milan, Venezia	Free Agent
Alessio Romagnoli	Hit	Roma, Milan, Lazio	Lazio
Stefan de Vrij	Hit	Feyenoord, Lazio, Inter	Inter
Eric Bailly	Maybe	Villarreal, Man Utd, Besiktas	Villarreal
Phil Jones	Miss	Blackburn, Man Utd	Retired
Jesús Manuel Corona	Maybe	Twente, Porto, Sevilla	Monterrey
Ricardo Kishna	Miss	Ajax, Lazio, ADO Den Haag	Free Agent
Kenedy	Miss	Chelsea, Granada, Valladolid	Bahia
Patrick Roberts	Miss	Man City, Celtic, Sunderland	Sunderland
Adama Traoré	Hit	Barcelona, Wolves, Fulham	Fulham
Moses Simon	Maybe	Gent, Levante, Nantes	Nantes
Jeremie Boga	Maybe	Chelsea, Sassuolo, Nice	Nice
Robert Mak	Miss	PAOK, Zenit, Ferencváros	Sydney FC
Kingsley Coman	Hit	PSG, Juventus, Bayern	Bayern Munich
Leroy Sané	Hit	Schalke, Man City, Bayern	Bayern Munich
Christian Pulisic	Hit	Dortmund, Chelsea, Milan	AC Milan
Ousmane Dembélé	Hit	Rennes, Dortmund, Barcelona, PSG	PSG
Anwar El Ghazi	Maybe	Ajax, Aston Villa, Mainz	Free Agent
Andrija Živković	Maybe	Partizan, Benfica, PAOK	PAOK
Zakaria Bakkali	Miss	PSV, Valencia, Anderlecht	Retired
Diego Rolán	Miss	Bordeaux, Málaga, Pyramids	Free Agent
Arkadiusz Milik	Hit	Ajax, Napoli, Marseille, Juventus	Juventus
Richairo Zivkovic	Miss	Ajax, KV Oostende, Guangzhou City	Free Agent
Breel Embolo	Maybe	Basel, Schalke, Gladbach, Monaco	Monaco
Divock Origi	Maybe	Lille, Liverpool, Milan, Forest	Nottingham Forest
Sandro Ramírez	Miss	Barcelona, Málaga, Everton	Racing Santander
Andrea Belotti	Hit	Palermo, Torino, Roma, Fiorentina	Fiorentina
Domenico Berardi	Hit	Sassuolo	Sassuolo
Patrik Schick	Hit	Sampdoria, Roma, Leverkusen	Leverkusen
Timo Werner	Hit	Stuttgart, Leipzig, Chelsea	Leipzig
Arkadiusz Reca	Maybe	Atalanta, SPAL, Spezia	Free Agent
Aaron Martin	Maybe	Espanyol, Mainz, Genoa	Genoa
Raphaël Guerreiro	Hit	Lorient, Dortmund, Bayern	Bayern Munich
Benjamin Mendy	Miss	Marseille, Monaco, Man City	FC Lorient
Luke Shaw	Hit	Southampton, Man Utd	Man Utd
Jordan Lukaku	Miss	Anderlecht, Lazio, Antwerp	Retired
Jetro Willems	Miss	PSV, Frankfurt, Newcastle	Free Agent
Baba Rahman	Miss	Chelsea, Reading, PAOK	PAOK
José Luis Gayà	Hit	Valencia	Valencia
Alex Grimaldo	Hit	Barcelona B, Benfica, Leverkusen	Leverkusen
Wendell	Maybe	Leverkusen, Porto	Porto
Jorge	Miss	Flamengo, Monaco, Santos	Fluminense
Theo Hernández	Hit	Atlético, Milan, Real Madrid	AC Milan
Layvin Kurzawa	Miss	Monaco, PSG	Free Agent
Kieran Tierney	Hit	Celtic, Arsenal, Real Sociedad	Arsenal (returning)
Ferland Mendy	Hit	Le Havre, Lyon, Real Madrid	Real Madrid
Emerson Palmieri	Maybe	Roma, Chelsea, Lyon, West Ham	West Ham
Brandon Williams	Miss	Man Utd, Ipswich	Ipswich Town
Ben Chilwell	Hit	Leicester, Chelsea	Chelsea
Aaron Cresswell	Maybe	Ipswich, West Ham	West Ham
Charlie Taylor	Maybe	Leeds, Burnley	Burnley

Name	Category	Notable Clubs Played For	Current Club (2025)
Josh Tymon	Maybe	Hull, Stoke	Swansea City
Mitchell Dijks	Miss	Ajax, Bologna, Fortuna Sittard	Free Agent
Jonny Castro	Maybe	Celta Vigo, Wolves	Wolves
Davide Calabria	Hit	AC Milan	AC Milan
Hector Bellerín	Maybe	Arsenal, Betis, Barcelona	Real Betis
Pol Lirola	Miss	Juventus, Sassuolo, Marseille	Frosinone
Rick Karsdorp	Maybe	Feyenoord, Roma	Roma
Kevin Mbabu	Maybe	Newcastle, Young Boys, Wolfsburg	FC Augsburg
Saidy Janko	Miss	Celtic, Porto, Young Boys	BSC Young Boys
Andreas Beck	Miss	Hoffenheim, Besiktas	Retired
DeAndre Yedlin	Maybe	Tottenham, Newcastle, Inter Miami	FC Cincinnati
Jeremy Toljan	Miss	Hoffenheim, Dortmund, Sassuolo	Sassuolo
Kyle Walker-Peters	Hit	Tottenham, Southampton	Southampton
Reece James	Hit	Chelsea	Chelsea
Trent Alexander-Arnold	Hit	Liverpool	Liverpool
Davinson Sánchez	Maybe	Ajax, Tottenham, Galatasaray	Galatasaray
Jesus Gallardo	Maybe	UNAM, Monterrey	Monterrey
Reece Oxford	Miss	West Ham, Augsburg	FC Augsburg
Jonathan Panzo	Miss	Monaco, Dijon, Coventry	Free Agent
Axel Tuanzebe	Miss	Man Utd, Stoke, Ipswich	Ipswich Town
Cameron Carter-Vickers	Maybe	Tottenham, Celtic	Celtic
Chris Mepham	Maybe	Brentford, Bournemouth	Bournemouth
Ben Godfrey	Maybe	Norwich, Everton	Everton
Rob Holding	Maybe	Bolton, Arsenal	Crystal Palace
Filip Benković	Miss	Leicester, Celtic, OH Leuven	Free Agent
Joe Rodon	Maybe	Swansea, Tottenham, Leeds	Tottenham
Max Aarons	Maybe	Norwich, Bournemouth	Bournemouth
Tariq Lamptey	Maybe	Chelsea, Brighton	Brighton
Ki-Jana Hoever	Miss	Liverpool, Wolves, Stoke	Stoke City
Ethan Ampadu	Maybe	Chelsea, Sheffield Utd, Leeds	Leeds United
Malang Sarr	Miss	Nice, Chelsea, Porto, Monaco	Chelsea
Tosin Adarabioyo	Maybe	Man City, Fulham	Fulham
Japhet Tanganga	Miss	Tottenham, Augsburg	Tottenham
Omar Richards	Miss	Reading, Bayern, Forest	Free Agent
Luke Thomas	Maybe	Leicester	Leicester City
Jamal Lewis	Miss	Norwich, Newcastle, Watford	Watford
Ryan Sessegnon	Maybe	Fulham, Tottenham	Tottenham
Brandon Williams	Miss	Man Utd, Ipswich	Ipswich
Aaron Wan-Bissaka	Hit	Crystal Palace, Man Utd	Man Utd
Josh Doig	Maybe	Hibernian, Hellas Verona, Sassuolo	Sassuolo
Owen Wijndal	Maybe	AZ Alkmaar, Ajax	Ajax
Tyrell Malacia	Maybe	Feyenoord, Man Utd	Man Utd
Pervis Estupiñán	Hit	Watford, Villarreal, Brighton	Brighton
Vitaliy Mykolenko	Maybe	Dynamo Kyiv, Everton	Everton
Borna Sosa	Maybe	Stuttgart, Ajax	Ajax
Alejandro Grimaldo	Hit	Barcelona B, Benfica, Leverkusen	Leverkusen
Ian Maatsen	Maybe	Chelsea, Burnley, Dortmund	Chelsea
Nuno Mendes	Hit	Sporting CP, PSG	PSG
Destiny Udogie	Hit	Udinese, Tottenham	Tottenham
Alejandro Balde	Hit	Barcelona	Barcelona

Name	Category	Notable Clubs Played For	Current Club (2025)
Miguel Layún	Miss	Porto, Watford, Sevilla, Club América	Retired
Guillermo Varela	Miss	Man Utd, Frankfurt, Copenhagen	Flamengo
Nathan Aké	Hit	Chelsea, Bournemouth, Man City	Man City
Issa Diop	Maybe	Toulouse, West Ham, Fulham	Fulham
Abdou Diallo	Maybe	Monaco, Dortmund, PSG	Al-Arabi
Loïc Badé	Maybe	Rennes, Sevilla	Sevilla
William Saliba	Hit	Saint-Étienne, Arsenal, Marseille	Arsenal
Benoît Badiashile	Maybe	Monaco, Chelsea	Chelsea
Jean-Clair Todibo	Maybe	Toulouse, Barcelona, Nice	Nice
Wesley Fofana	Hit	Saint-Étienne, Leicester, Chelsea	Chelsea
Chris Smalling	Hit	Fulham, Man Utd, Roma	Roma
Victor Lindelöf	Maybe	Benfica, Man Utd	Man Utd
Andreas Granqvist	Miss	Wigan, Krasnodar, Helsingborg	Retired
Niklas Stark	Maybe	Hertha BSC, Werder Bremen	Werder Bremen
John Anthony Brooks	Maybe	Hertha BSC, Wolfsburg, Hoffenheim	Retired
Matt Miazga	Miss	Chelsea, Vitesse, Cincinnati	FC Cincinnati
Cameron Burgess	Miss	Fulham, Accrington, Ipswich	Ipswich Town
Dario Maresic	Miss	Sturm Graz, Reims, LASK	Free Agent
Kevin Danso	Maybe	Augsburg, Lens	Lens
Jan Vertonghen	Hit	Ajax, Tottenham, Benfica	Anderlecht
Toby Alderweireld	Hit	Ajax, Atletico, Tottenham, Antwerp	Retired
Diego Godín	Hit	Villarreal, Atletico Madrid, Inter	Retired
Matija Nastasić	Maybe	Fiorentina, Man City, Schalke	Mallorca
Eliaquim Mangala	Miss	Porto, Man City, Valencia	Retired
Dedryck Boyata	Maybe	Man City, Hertha BSC, Brugge	Free Agent
Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa	Miss	Montpellier, Newcastle, Lyon	Retired
Nicolas Nkoulou	Miss	Monaco, Marseille, Torino	Aris FC
Jores Okore	Miss	Nordsjælland, Aston Villa, AaB	Changchun Yatai
Daniel Ayala	Miss	Liverpool, Middlesbrough, Blackburn	Retired
Tomas Kalas	Maybe	Chelsea, Bristol City, Schalke	Schalke
Bruno Martins Indi	Miss	Feyenoord, Stoke, AZ	AZ Alkmaar
Stefan Savić	Hit	Fiorentina, Man City, Atlético	Atlético Madrid
Filip Helander	Miss	Malmö, Bologna, Rangers	Odense BK
José Fonte	Hit	Crystal Palace, Southampton, Lille, Braga	Retired
Jason Denayer	Maybe	Man City, Lyon, Al-Fateh	Al-Fateh
Marcos Rojo	Maybe	Sporting, Man Utd, Boca Juniors	Boca Juniors
Eric Dier	Maybe	Sporting, Tottenham, Bayern Munich	Bayern Munich
Sven van Beek	Miss	Feyenoord, Willem II, Heerenveen	SC Heerenveen
Andreas Maxsø	Miss	FC Nordsjælland, Brøndby, Colorado Rapids	Colorado Rapids
Pontus Jansson	Maybe	Malmö, Leeds, Brentford	Malmö
Filippo Romagna	Miss	Cagliari, Sassuolo	Reggiana
Edoardo Goldaniga	Miss	Genoa, Sassuolo, Cagliari	Free Agent
Norbert Gyömbér	Miss	AS Roma, Salernitana	Salernitana
Tin Jedvaj	Maybe	Roma, Leverkusen, Al-Ain	Al-Ain
Igor Lichnovsky	Maybe	Porto, Necaxa, Tigres, Al Sadd	Al Sadd
Santiago Gentiletti	Miss	Lazio, Genoa, San Lorenzo	Retired
Matías Silvestre	Miss	Inter, Sampdoria, Livorno	Retired
Ermin Bičakčić	Miss	Hoffenheim	Free Agent
Benedikt Höwedes	Hit	Schalke, Juventus, Lokomotiv	Retired
Jan Kirchhoff	Miss	Bayern, Sunderland, Magdeburg	Retired