The best Career Mode potential XI in FIFA 21, featuring Jadon Sancho and Alphonso Davies
FIFA 21 has been released by EA Sports. Once again world football's leading video game gives you the chance to play with your favourite players, build your Ultimate Team and even lead a club to greatness in a Franchise scenario.
Every year, gamers search for the best wonderkids to sign in Career Mode, and that won't change in FIFA 21 with new features enabling you to delve even deeper into the managerial world. Therefore, bundesliga.com wants to help out those looking for the best young talent the Bundesliga has to offer.
Featuring the likes of Bayern Munich's Alphonso Davies, Borussia Dortmund's Jadon Sancho and RB Leipzig's Dayot Upamecano, we've put together the best starting line-up of Bundesliga talent currently aged 21 or under, based on their potential ratings on FIFA 21. And with the game's new feature which enables you to change a player's position in your save, we've put each player in the position that would suit them best…
Goalkeeper
Christian Früchtl (Bayern Munich)
Base rating: 66
Potential rating: 83
Despite being a well-known name in virtual football circles for what feels like forever, Bayern's young goalkeeper is still only 20 years old. The 6'4" shot-stopper is currently on loan at Bundesliga 2 side Nuremberg, so you'll have to wait a year to be able to pick him up in Career Mode. But Christian Früchtl could be a great option for smaller teams looking for a long-term net-minding investment considering his age.
Defence
Centre-back: Ibrahima Konate (RB Leipzig)
Base rating: 78
Potential rating: 88
Centre-back: Dayot Upamecano (RB Leipzig)
Base rating: 79
Potential rating: 90
If you're looking to build up a team of young players on Career Mode, there are few teams better equipped from the start than Leipzig – with Dayot Upamecano and Ibrahima Konate at the heart of the fun you can have with their squad. The French pair are first-team regulars in the real world and will become two of the best centre-backs in your game when treated properly. Upamecano's slightly higher potential will make him a more expensive acquisition, but also likely the better of the two if you're only able to afford one. But then again, who'd want to break up the Franconian bromance which is destined for the top?
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Centre-back: Edmond Tapsoba (Bayer Leverkusen)
Base rating: 78
Potential rating: 88
Edmond Tapsoba has burst onto the Bundesliga scene since his January switch to Bayer Leverkusen from Vitoria Guimaraes. A ball-playing centre-back, the 21-year-old was regarded as one of the best performers of 2019/20 despite only playing the second half of the season, and if you're looking for a powerful, agile and technically strong central defender, then Tapsoba is certainly an option for you. The Burkina Faso-native's rating also went up by 12 from FIFA 20 to 21, so imagine how quickly his stock will rise into the future.
Midfield
Central attacking midfield ->> Right midfield: Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen)
Base rating: 68
Potential rating: 88
The base rating and potential of Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz are almost identical to that of Bellingham and Reyna, making them the dream trio for when you want to go long into a save on FIFA 21 Career Mode. The youngest goalscorer in Bundesliga history begins as a CAM, but we've earmarked him for a spot wide on the right in this squad because even at 17 - and entering his first full senior campaign - the attacker has a four-star weak foot to go with his impressive pace and dribbling stats, both at 74. If you can't afford to sign Sancho at the start of your save, make Wirtz your next priority.
Watch: Wirtz becomes Bundesliga's youngest ever goalscorer
Central midfield: Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund)
Base rating: 69
Potential rating: 88
Like Reyna, Dortmund's teenaged English midfielder has a long and bright future ahead of him in the real and virtual worlds. The 17-year-old started each of BVB's first three Bundesliga games of the 2020/21 campaign but may need more time to become a starting fixture of your team on FIFA 21 with his base rating of 69. He's also versatile and could anchor your midfield or spearhead the support for a striker in your team. Whatever you're choosing, Bellingham will be a driving force for your squad.
Left midfield ->> Central midfield: Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund)
Base rating: 68
Potential rating: 87
Another player capable of performing in almost any position you wish is Dortmund's "American Dream" – as he is affectionately known as by Erling Haaland – Reyna. The 17-year-old has played in every position across attacking midfield in his time with BVB so far, and his lack of experience, young age and lower rating at the start of FIFA 21 add up to make him an ideal signing at the start of a Career Mode save. The playmaker can be trained up to evolve into an elite provider going forward while being an affordable signing initially.
Watch: Haaland and Reyna - Analysis of Dortmund's dream duo
Left-back --> Left midfield: Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich)
Base rating: 81
Potential rating: 89
Alphonso Davies is the first player in this list who can truly benefit from the positional changing capabilities in FIFA 21's Career Mode. The Canadian's versatility in the real world is reflected in-game, and you can be sure he'll be a high performer for you whether at left-back, left midfield or on the left wing as he holds four-star skills, four-star weak foot and has a high attacking work rate. The holder of the Bundesliga's speed record already has 96-rated pace in his base card – that can easily become 99 over the course of a Career Mode save - so Davies is a must-have in any team.
Attack
Right midfield ->> Right wing: Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund)
Base rating: 87
Potential rating: 93
The only current players with a higher rating than Jadon Sancho in his position on FIFA 21 are Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Liverpool's Mohamed Salah. The Englishman has the highest potential of any player based in the Bundesliga and is already a genuine world-class talent in the new release of FIFA. Push him up to the right wing spot so he can use his five-star skills best to his advantage and reap the rewards of investing in the ultra-talented Londoner. However, be prepared to fork out an arm and a leg for his services.
Watch: All of Sancho's goals and assists in 2019/20
Striker: Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund)
Base rating: 84
Potential rating: 92
What more can be said about Dortmund's prolific No.9? He is already one of the most sought-after strikers in the new release of FIFA with his improved rating of 84 - up by 11 points from FIFA 20. The 20-year-old Norway striker already has 84 pace, 87 shooting and 85 for physicality to make him the ultimate centre-forward in the game - beyond even Bayern's Robert Lewandowski. With a potential of 92, he has the second-highest ceiling of any Bundesliga player on the game. You know what to do.
Left midfield ->> Left wing: Moussa Diaby (Bayer Leverkusen)
Base rating: 81
Potential rating: 88
Any experienced player of EA Sports' FIFA franchise will know that speed in attack is almost an essential component for success, and Leverkusen winger Moussa Diaby already has that in abundance in FIFA 21. With 93-pace and 84-dribbling, the 21-year-old Frenchman is already a nightmare for defences with the dream combination for a wide-playing attacker. Train up his shooting in your save and Diaby could become the ultimate winger.
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