Football Manager 2023: The 20 best free agents to sign in FM23
Free transfers in Football Manager 2023 are most valuable to teams lower down the footballing pyramid.
The majority of players who find themselves without a club at the start of a new save will appeal to clubs with limited transfer budgets. In FM23, there are also a few hidden gems who could play serviceable roles for bigger teams.
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Whether you are looking for the missing piece to aid your promotion quest, need more squad depth for a more established team or wish to sign a few players who you can later sell to raise some funds, we’ve got you covered. We’ve profiled at least two players for every position to give you some variety.
In no particular order, here is The Athletic’s list of the 20 best free transfers to sign in FM23.
Santiago Arias
Position: Right-back
Known more for his work going forward than his defensive attributes, Arias departed Atletico Madrid this summer after spending the past two seasons out on loan.
At 30, the Colombian defender has a few years left in him and offers resale value if you choose to sell him. An ideal stop-gap option for bottom-half Premier League teams, he’s also willing to join teams in the Championship, but only if you can afford his wages, which often fall in the region of £30,000-50,000 per week.
Graziano Pelle
Position: Striker
If you can overlook Pelle’s lack of speed, his stats in other departments are impressive for a player who’s 36 years old. He left Southampton in 2016 and spent four years in China playing for Shandong, before a temporary spell at Parma last season.
At worst, he is a late-game option to bring off the bench when you want to pump balls into the box. At best, he could start most games for a promotion-chasing League One side and be relied upon to score a respectable amount of goals.
Fabio Martins
Position: Left-winger
After a two-year stint in the United Arab Emirates, the 28-year-old Portuguese forward is in a good position to become a regular starter for most top-tier clubs or could be a star player for a side in a second division.
His wage demands could go as high as £40,000 per week, which may price some teams out of a move, but if you only plan to use him for a season or two, it could be a worthwhile investment if he helps your side secure promotion or avoid relegation.
Jetro Willems
Position: Left-back
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Willems once held the record for the youngest player to feature at a European Championship, playing for the Netherlands in 2012 aged 18 years and 71 days. A decade later, he is without a club.
He is better suited to joining a Championship club as a starter or as a cover option at left-back for a side in one of Europe’s top divisions. With wage demands of £16,000 per week, he won’t break the bank and offers plenty of experience.
Mateo Musacchio
Position: Centre-back
Musacchio was said to be on the radar of Fulham and Watford last season, which gives you an idea of the kind of role he could fulfil in FM23.
He could be a stopgap option for a Premier League side or a starter for a club with ambitions to secure promotion. He turns 32 a couple of weeks into your first season but has strong attributes and will likely expect to be paid around £35,000 per week in FM23.
Giovani dos Santos
Position: Right-winger
At 33, Dos Santos isn’t a likely candidate to start every game, but having played for nine different clubs in six countries, he represents an experienced super-sub option.
He’s probably best suited to a side in League One, but if you’re in need of a spark to bring on off the bench higher up the divisions, you could certainly do a lot worse than the Mexico international with 106 caps to his name.
Nemanja Radoja
Position: Centre-midfielder
Radoja is probably the best defensive midfielder available as a free agent in FM23.
The Serbia international is often wanted by a host of clubs across Europe at the start of most saves and could serve as a reliable backup for teams in the Premier League or as a regular starter for Championship sides.
Javier Belman
Position: Goalkeeper
Belman is different to most players on this list in that he’s still just 23 years old and has room to improve.
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Formerly on the books of Real Madrid, where he was an understudy to Luca Zidane, son of Zinedine, for Real Madrid’s B team, the Spanish goalkeeper can be signed by most clubs in League One and the Championship.
William
Position: Right-back
With wage demands in the region of £20k-30k per week, former Wolfsburg defender William doesn’t come cheap. But he’s one of the best free transfers to sign in FM23, so that expense can be justified in the right circumstances.
The Brazilian defender is 27, and can therefore be sold on for a decent fee should you choose to move him on at a later date.
Tiago Rodrigues
Position: Attacking centre-midfielder
Back in 2020, Rodrigues was crowned the midfielder of the year in Bulgaria after an impressive season for CSKA Sofia.
At 30, he won’t offer much resale value, but for teams in League One in need of a new set-piece taker who can play as a No 10, Rodrigues fits the bill.
Danny Rose
Position: Left-back
There aren’t too many free agents who have formerly featured in the PFA’s team of the year and started in a Champions League final. But even if Rose’s best days are behind him that doesn’t mean he can’t still offer value to different teams.
In FM23, he’d ideally be suited to a club in the Championship, or if you can afford his wages, a team in League One. The former Tottenham Hotspur left-back, who has earned 29 England caps, represents good value as a stopgap option for anyone in need of a new starting left-back in FM23.
Leandro Silva
Position: Centre-midfielder
You could point towards Silva’s below-average dribbling ability or his lack of composure as reasons not to sign him. But outside of that, he offers decent attributes across the board.
The 27-year-old Portuguese midfielder would be a solid starter for most clubs in League One, although he wants at least £5,000 per week, which limits his pool of suitors.
Jose Izquierdo
Position: Left-winger
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Once a £13.5million addition by Brighton, Izquierdo is now looking for his next challenge but can become a regular starter for clubs aiming for promotion in League One or a rotational player for Championship teams.
The 29-year-old has modest wage demands of around £5,000 per week but his resale value will depend on which club signs him. If you sign him with a more established club, you’ll be able to get a better return if you choose to sell him.
Nikola Maksimovic
Position: Centre-back
Earlier in his career, Makimsovic drew comparisons to Nemanja Vidic for his no-nonsense style of play.
Having spent the majority of his career in Serie A, he’s still just 30 and is willing to join some Championship sides in FM23.
Fernando Llorente
Position: Striker
The 37-year-old is, at best, a temporary option for a team in need of a new striker.
You won’t get much if you choose to sell him and he probably won’t have the stamina to start every single game, but the World Cup winner is accessible to clubs in the Championship and League One, as long as you can meet his wage demands of around £8,000 per week.
Moritz Leitner
Position: Centre-midfielder
At the start of the 2019-20 season, Leitner was in good form for Norwich City and had one eye on securing a place at Euro 2020 for Austria, whom he qualifies for through his mother. The tournament was then delayed and his form began to decline. Now, he finds himself without a club.
Leitner still has enough left in the tank to feature week in, week out for clubs in League One aiming for promotion, and at 29, his attributes aren’t likely to decline for at least or season or two.
Richard Strebinger
Position: Goalkeeper
Strebinger is an Austria international with more than 200 league appearances under his belt. He is 29 and has solid statistics across the board.
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He won’t offer too much resale value but could be a temporary starter for a second-tier side. But he’s free and won’t cost too much in wages.
Antonio Vacca
Position: Defensive midfielder
Vacca’s stats put him in the category of being another free agent who has attributes that warrant him being signed up sooner rather than later.
He’s affordable for a lot of Championship clubs and can also be signed by clubs in League One vying for promotion. As a temporary holding midfielder, he brings a lot of value to teams with limited budgets.
Daniel Royer
Position: Right-winger
Royer, an Austria international, was on the books of the New York Red Bulls for a few seasons until 2021 but is now looking for his next move. He can be a solid addition for a lot teams in League One, and he’s also an excellent penalty taker.
Thomas Pledl
Position: Attacking central midfielder
Pledl can serve as a key cog for a few different League One sides and has the required attributes needed to be trusted to take corners and free kicks.
The rest of his attributes are not the strongest, but if you sign him to a one-year contract and assign him as your team’s set-piece specialist, you will be a threat from dead balls all season.
(Top photo: Stephen Pond via Getty Images)
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