Football Manager 2022: 10 European Wonderkids You Must Sign

2. Leandro Barreiro

Football Manager 2022 Leandro Barreiro
SEGA

Club: Mainz 05

Nationality: Luxembourger

Price: £11 million

When thinking about the stars of tomorrow, one might not immediately think to take a look at the Luxembourg national team. On Football Manager 2022, though, the Luxembourg side houses one of the best central midfield prospects on the game.

That prospect is Leandro Barreiro, a 21-year-old hard-working ball-winner who ticks so many of the right boxes when it comes to a defensive-minded midfielder or a box-to-box player.

Available for around £11 million from Bundesliga team FSV Mainz 05, Barreiro has some incredible opening stats. To be specific, there's 17s for natural fitness, teamwork and bravery, 16s for work rate and aggression, 15s for stamina and tackling, and steady 13s and 14s across key attributes like positioning, pace, acceleration, agility, anticipation, marking and off the ball.

Those numbers alone grab the attention, but even more impressive is Barreiro's ability to develop even further with good coaching, regular football and the experience that comes with age. By the time he hits 24, this former FC Erpeldange 72 starlet matures into one of the very best defensive midfielders on FM22.

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