Football Manager 2022: 10 Left-Backs You Must Sign

by Andrew Pollard

1. Ian Maatsen

Football Manager 2022 Ian Maatsen
SEGA

Club: Coventry (on loan from Chelsea)

Nationality: Dutch

Price: £12 million

Starting Football Manager 2022 out on loan at Coventry from Chelsea, Ian Maatsen is one of the best youngsters on FM22, period. You won't be able to add him to your squad in your first season, but you should certainly go out of your way to strike up a deal with Chelsea to have the youngster join you once his loan deal is up at the end of the 2021/2022 season.

Remarkably, this 19-year-old is easily ready for top flight first team football by the time of your second year. So much so, by that point he'll often outperform your usual first choice LB if you give Maatsen a chance in your starting XI - and of course, the more games he gets, the better he'll become.

As Football Manager 22 progresses, Maatsen emerges as a genuine world class talent in three seasons or so. With a recommended price of around the £12 million mark, this Dutch youth international should absolutely be one of your go-to must-get signings each and every time you start a new FM22 career.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.