Updated version: Possible Wonderkids of Football Manager 2027
Welcome to the first edition of the Football Manager 2019 Ones to Watch series. Here we aim to introduce the young players who, as well as being able to go straight into our starting elevens, have the most room to improve in the game, helping our virtual managers reach new heights.
Andriy Lunin, 19 (Real Madrid, on loan at Leganés)
Thrown into the Dnipro FC first team aged just 17, Lunin took advantage of the Ukrainian club's poor financial situation to make an immediate impact: fighting to avoid relegation from the Ukrainian second tier, he impressed everyone by conceding only 23 goals in 25 games, keeping clean sheets in 10 of them.
The next step came in the summer of 2017, with a move to FC Zorya Luhansk, where he played in the Ukrainian top flight and grabbed a first team place, ending the season with 36 games played and clean sheets in 10 of them. Of all those games, the one that made Lunin best known was Zorya against Athletic Bilbao, which ended in a 0-1 away win for the Ukrainians and where the youngster impressed with a couple of excellent saves.
He impressed so much that he secured a move to Real Madrid that summer, with the Madrid club paying around 8.5 million euros for him. Lunin was loaned to Leganés and, although he hasn't played a game yet, we predict a good future for the Ukrainian.
Despite his youth, he is already a relatively safe pair of hands, with an excellent sense of positioning, good in the air and confident on the ball; Lunin has everything to be a top goalkeeper. Even so, he needs to improve his agility, having some difficulty moving along his goal line and coming out in one on one situations.
Alessandro Plizzari, 18 anos (AC Milan)
In the AC Milan youth ranks since age 6, Plizzari is already relatively well known to anyone who likes managing in the Italian leagues.
At a good 1.91 metres tall, the young Italian's standout qualities are his reflexes and his ability in the air, although he still shows some uncertainty about which balls he can come for, something very common in young goalkeepers. His weakest point is distribution: not that it's bad, it's actually quite accurate, but the distance of both his throws and kicks leaves something to be desired, which can take pressure off a high opposition defensive line, since a good long kick lets you exploit the space left behind the defenders.
Although he is only 18, Plizzari already has personal achievements, having been named best goalkeeper at the 2018 Under-19 Euros, which ended with Italy losing 3-4 to Portugal.
Having spent last season on loan at Ternana, where he played 20 Serie B games, he isn't expected to get much playing time at Milan, but if something happens to the phenomenal Donnarumma, Plizzari can be expected to take over in goal for the Milan club.
Wuilker Fariñez, 20 anos (Millonarios)
For anyone less familiar with the current state of under-21 football, it may seem strange to say that the current young generation of Venezuelan footballers is possibly the best the South American country has ever produced, but it's true, and leading that generation of talent is Wuilker Fariñez.
An undisputed starter for Caracas FC since he was 17, Fariñez made his senior international debut shortly after turning 18 and was a beaten finalist at the Under-17 World Cup, where he conceded only 3 goals in 7 games, going 503 consecutive minutes without conceding. He also holds other personal records, such as minutes without conceding for Caracas (689 minutes) or youngest goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet for Venezuela, at just 18 years and 3 months.
He eventually left his boyhood club in 2018 for Millonarios, who paid around 800 thousand euros for him. In his first season in Colombia, he immediately claimed the starting spot in goal for Millos and played 40 games (10 of them in continental competitions), conceding 35 goals, in a team that won only 17 of its 47 games.
As for his style, Fariñez is very effective at keeping the ball out of the net, with an excellent combination of reflexes and agility and positioning well above normal. His distribution is also very good, able to launch the ball accurately and effectively over the opposition defence, something that benefits from having played as a striker in his youth.
The biggest obstacle to Fariñez's game is his height (1.81 m), which shows in the air, both at corners and from crosses, always leaving some space between the posts. Even so, this problem is mitigated by the Venezuelan's strong leap.
Honourable mentions
Diogo Costa (FC Porto), Christian Früchtl (Bayern Munich), Alban Lafont (Fiorentina).
