Football is becoming an increasingly expensive sport for everyone involved. Ticket prices are on the up, wages are getting crazy, and transfer fees are starting to match the income of most small countries. If you’re a bit of a wheeler dealer in Football Manager 2023, you’re going to want to snag the best free agents.
Free agents are exactly what they sound like: players without a club at the start of a regular FM 23 save. While you won’t be paying a transfer fee for them, bear in mind that they will demand things like signing-on fees and a whole bunch of annoying little costs, as well as probably ask for elevated wages than normal, seeing as how you won’t be paying transfer fees for them. There’s nothing that’s really free in football these days.
If you’re trying to save some of your budget or have used it all up and still have huge gaps in your team, here are the Football Manager 2023 free agents you should be picking up when you start a save to suit all kind of formations and to teach your wonderkids everything they know.
NOTE: the wages listed below for these free agents are based on a Premier League club’s enquiries, so it may be lower if you’re from another league. The wage demands may also lower if you’re willing to wait a while. Also bear in mind that these players even appearing will depend on the size of your database.
FM 23’s Best Free Agents
Javier Belman
Position: GK
Age: 23
Wage: £9.75k-£12.25k
Need a backup goalkeeper but don’t see the point in splashing the cash for someone who hopefully won’t ever actually have to play a game for you? Check out Javier Belman, a young Spaniard who is a solid pair of hands. At just 23, there’s a chance he could go on and progress, but at the very least he will be an inexpensive backup for most teams across all the leagues.
Gary Cahill
Position: DC
Age: 36
Wage: £13.25k-£16.25k
Yes, Gary Cahill is still playing football, but what’s most surprising is that he’s a free agent after having helped Bournemouth to reach the Premier League. What you get with Cahill is a commanding CB who will do everything for the team with absolutely top level mental attributes. Just make sure you don’t play a high line or he will get destroyed with his physicals on the downturn.
Santiago Arias
Position: WB R
Age: 30
Wage: £35k-£43.5k
Santiago Arias is an FM 23 free agent who starts off a save in demand, so you’re going to want to act fast to snap him up. A super fast wing-back, Arias isn’t the best player in the final third, but his pace and mentals get him there in the first place. He’s also a great utility option, as he can play on both flanks and do a solid job on both. The likes of PSG are after him, which says it all.
Jordon Ibe
Position: AM RL
Age: 26
Wage: £8.5k-£10.75k
Jordon Ibe seems to have fallen some way short of the potential many had built up for him, but he’s nonetheless a good player for any level apart from the very top. Technically gifted with decent pace, Ibe, just like in real life, doesn’t exactly have the mental attributes to help him flourish, yet there may be a decent player in there if you can make the most of his highlights. Also solid utility with loads of positions.
Ricardo Quaresma
Position: AM (RL)
Age: 38
Wage: £8.25k-£10.5k
Does your squad lack a bit of the razzle dazzle? Few players put much more razzle in their dazzle than the eccentric Ricardo Quaresma, who still knows what to do with a ball at 38 years of age. While a winger, his pace is really not up to it these days, but if you can get a wing-back to do a lot of his running for him, those first touch, dribbling, crossing, flair, and technique attributes will take care of the rest.
Jerome Sinclair
Position: Striker / AM (RL)
Age: 25
Wage: £14.75k-£18.75k
It feels like Jerome Sinclair has been around for years. Another young Englishman who never quite matched the billing thrust onto him, Sinclair is still a solid player to pick up as a free agent in FM 23 regardless. Mainly a striker, Sinclair’s attributes make him a good option in the Championship, but his wage demands may stand in the way of that. Haggle him down or base it on performance bonuses and you might get a bargain.
Fernando Llorente
Position: Striker
Age: 37
Wage: £29.5k-£36.55k
Fernando Llorente may be in the final years of his career with the pace attributes to prove it, but, just like Quaresma, you cannot deny his quality. Llorente’s quality is evident in front of goal, with his heading, strength, and balance making him a great option for most teams who aren’t battling at the top. You also can’t overlook the mental attributes overall — the man’s a winner, and he could help you do just that.
Football Manager 2023 is available on PC.
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