Football Manager 2016: 20 Wonderkids You Must Sign

7. Thiago Maia

Age: 18 Club: Santos Position: Defensive Midfielder Value: £500k Thiago Maia is one of the best defensive midfielders on FM16 and can be purchased for a relatively cheap price. A bid of around £8 million can lure this Brazilian midfielder to your side and he will repay that price with a string of world class performances. He is best played just in front of the central defenders but deployed as a DMC rather than a deep-lying playmaker or Regista. His tackling, technique and anticipation are to be admired and at just 18-years-old you will have a real superstar on your hands after three or four seasons. If you don€™t purchase Maia relatively early then you will be looking at having to reach deep into your pockets and pay around £30 million for his services.
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Contributor

NCTJ-accredited football writer with an MA in Sports Journalism. What Culture football editor. Write for the official Newcastle United programme. Former video reporter at North News. Featured and published in the Sunderland Echo, Shields Gazette, Mail Online, The Mirror, The Sun and others.