Description of issue
It's encouraging to report that the ongoing issues with AI club and national teams not bringing through enough young players seems to have improved on FM24. That said, there's still a bit of work to do, as others have reported.
We also have a new issue with elite national teams calling up high-potential young players while they are playing second-tier football. These players aren't exactly tearing up the lower leagues either - most of their average ratings are in the 6.80-6.99 range.
I am aware this is becoming more common nowadays - it's not that unusual to see Championship players playing for top national teams at a young age.
But when you look at the England team, for example, this is still extremely rare. To my knowledge, only SIX players in the 21st century have played for England while playing in a lower division - David James, David Nugent, Jay Bothroyd, Jack Butland, Wilfried Zaha and Sam Johnstone. (It's worth noting that not all of them were debutants - James was an established PL goalkeeper who'd just been relegated with West Ham.)
I've started a save with at least the top two divisions loaded in Belgium, England, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain and holidayed for 15 years, until 2038. I've then gone through a list of every player with at least one cap for England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain - and noted down every player who made their international debut while playing in a 2nd or 3rd division.
| NATION | PLAYER | DEBUT DATE | AGE | TEAM | DIVISION |
| England | Kobbie Mainoo | 21/03/2025 | 19 | Middlesbrough | Championship |
| England | Callum Doyle | 04/09/2025 | 21 | Leeds | Championship |
| England | Ethan Nwaneri | 09/10/2025 | 18 | Bristol City | Championship |
| England | Alfie Dorrington | 03/06/2026 | 21 | Derby | League One |
| England | Myles Lewis-Skelly | 26/09/2026 | 20 | Southampton | Championship |
| England | Ashley Phillips | 03/10/2027 | 22 | Sunderland | Championship |
| England | Lei Maye | 12/11/2027 | 19 | Crystal Palace | Championship |
| England | Nat Wallbank | 23/09/2028 | 17 | Middlesbrough | Championship |
| England | Ross Bowman | 16/11/2028 | 19 | Derby | Championship |
| England | Ant Farley | 17/11/2029 | 19 | Nottm Forest | Championship |
| England | Marvin Miles | 23/03/2030 | 21 | Coventry | Championship |
| England | Ryan Pardo-Roques | 23/03/2030 | 21 | Birmingham | Championship |
| England | Alex Ralls | 23/03/2030 | 21 | Sunderland | Championship |
| England | Louis Thorley | 28/09/2030 | 19 | Sunderland | Championship |
| England | José Carlos Macabá | 29/03/2031 | 22 | Sunderland | Championship |
| England | Ty Selley | 28/09/2031 | 21 | Ipswich | Championship |
| England | Stuart Griffiths | 05/06/2032 | 22 | Middlesbrough | Championship |
| England | Wilfred Ncube | 11/11/2032 | 21 | Sunderland | Championship |
| England | Elsid Downey | 07/10/2034 | 21 | Sunderland | Championship |
| England | Sully Rooks | 17/11/2035 | 19 | Watford | Championship |
| England | Richardson Coutain | 01/04/2036 | 20 | Stoke | Championship |
| England | Ady Hasanally | 01/04/2036 | 19 | Coventry | Championship |
| England | Jack Hodgson | 17/11/2036 | 20 | Norwich | Championship |
| England | Dean Pearson-Crocker | 27/09/2037 | 21 | Bournemouth | Championship |
| England | Dave Beale | 13/11/2037 | 21 | Leeds | Championship |
| France | Johnny Jehl | 27/03/2032 | 21 | Monza | Serie B |
| France | Benjamin Chambon | 16/11/2034 | 19 | Norwich | Championship |
| France | Alexandre Ferrer | 07/06/2037 | 21 | Bournemouth | Championship |
| Germany | Aaron Zehnter | 03/06/2026 | 21 | Werder Bremen | 2. Bundesliga |
| Germany | Bruno Numbisie | 11/11/2027 | 20 | Schalke 04 | 2. Bundesliga |
| Germany | Luis Allmaier | 24/03/2029 | 21 | SC Paderborn | 2. Bundesliga |
| Germany | Louis Fofana | 27/09/2031 | 20 | Union Berlin | 2. Bundesliga |
| Germany | Ben Horrill | 27/03/2032 | 19 | Norwich | Championship |
| Germany | Emirhan Bektaş | 24/03/2033 | 21 | Sheff Utd | Championship |
| Germany | Ante Prpić | 23/09/2033 | 21 | Coventry | Championship |
| Germany | Denis Sherifi | 26/09/2033 | 19 | Luton | Championship |
| Germany | Giovanni Grazioso | 14/01/2034 | 22 | Mainz | 2. Bundesliga |
| Germany | Michael Bettendorf | 29/03/2036 | 20 | Fulham | Championship |
| Germany | Danny Selke | 27/03/2038 | 19 | Hamburg | 2. Bundesliga |
| Italy | Daniele Sarti | 12/11/2027 | 19 | Werder Bremen | 2. Bundesliga |
| Italy | Pasquale Piga | 28/09/2029 | 19 | Coventry | Championship |
| Italy | Bixente Van Inzerillen | 27/03/2031 | 19 | Coventry | Championship |
| Italy | Alessandro Conversano | 28/09/2032 | 20 | Stoke | Championship |
| Italy | Carlo Annovi | 26/03/2033 | 19 | Preston | Championship |
| Italy | Filippo Amodio | 07/06/2034 | 21 | Hull | Championship |
| Italy | Andrea Barone | 28/09/2037 | 21 | Bournemouth | Championship |
| Spain | Álex Pérez | 23/09/2028 | 22 | Birmingham | Championship |
| Spain | Gonzalo Alonso | 28/09/2029 | 20 | Ipswich | Championship |
| Spain | Iñigo Ormaetxea | 30/09/2030 | 22 | Coventry | Championship |
| Spain | Juan Diego Bueno Prieto | 31/03/2031 | 18 | Watford | Championship |
| Spain | Samuel Codina | 25/09/2033 | 19 | Stoke | Championship |
| Spain | Alberto Ayuso | 10/06/2034 | 25 | Mainz | Championship |
In 15 years of this simulation, there have been 24 players who made their England debuts while playing in the Championship - and one (Alfie Dorrington) who debuted while he was playing in League One. There've also been 11 Germany debutants from the lower leagues. Things aren't so bad elsewhere, but it's still odd to see Italy calling up players from Hull or Preston, and Spain giving a debut to a 25-year-old goalkeeper in the German second division.
To be clear, I am happy that these top national teams are giving more opportunities to youngsters. What I'm not happy with is that these players are often being called up when they have limited top-flight experience and/or are putting in above-average performances in the Championship. This would be like Gareth Southgate calling up Taylor Harwood-Bellis or Charlie Patino to his next England squad next month - they've got potential, sure, but they're not ready yet.
I've already uploaded a save file from 2038, so you can have a look for yourself. I'll continue the simulation later in the week, and see if I can find some specific examples of second-tier prospects being called up to their national teams while other young(ish) players at a higher level are being ignored.
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now