Key Takeaways

• Budget midfielders under £5M are crucial for teams with limited budgets in FM 2024.
• Players like Allende, Zendejas, and Lingard offer good value and flexibility in midfield.
• Cost-effective midfielders like Januzaj and Bannan provide quality without breaking the bank.

In Football Manager 2024, midfielders are more than often the lifeblood of a team and the pendulum that decides how the team will function during a game. They can either be a defense workhorse that works to pick off any attempt to infiltrate the team’s midfield or a maestro that decides the tempo of the match with his skillful passing.

Due to their importance, teams without an adequate midfield will often struggle to contain their opponents and control the match to their liking. Some of these midfielders can sometimes cost astronomically, while the others can be cheap yet properly utilized to become an integral part of the midfield.

Updated on October 27, 2024, by Mehrdad Khayyat: Knowing how many different leagues are covered by Football Manager 2024, there is a gigantic number of players to scout and probably consider as potential candidates for the midfield belt on the pitch. Sure, getting famous players will guarantee a great midfield superiority for the team, but few teams have enough budget to spend on superstars.

This makes finding a budget option for the midfield a bit difficult, and it also takes longer as most of the names are not familiar enough and the player will not be certain how effective they could be in the squad. This makes the need for having a list of economically priced midfielders to be felt more than ever.

Only players with a transfer value of below $5 million have been considered in this list to fit into the budget definition.

7 Adnan Januzaj

Price: $650K – $6.6M

• Best Positions: Inverted Winger, Winger
• Age: 28

Once upon a day, Adnan Januzaj was known as Manchester United’s next big talent after Cristiano Ronaldo, but the player didn’t grow as much to replace the big names in Theater of Dreams, though his is still a capable midfielder for those looking for an economical option.

Januzaj is 28 years old, and his best position is winger or inverted winger on the right side of the pitch. A dribbling score of 17 and an agility of 15 indicates his abilities at running along the side and cutting inside. He is also good at crossing, especially from corner kicks. Playing at Sevilla, Januzaj can be purchased for a small price, and can grow significantly after a few years.

6 Alejandro Zendejas

Price: $475K – $4.8M

A rotational option that can be acquired on the cheap in the midfield position is a great way to strengthen a lower team’s strength when competing in a competitive division, such as the Championship in the English Football League, during a game of Football Manager 2024. With his relatively above-average abilities, Alejandro Zendejas provides such options as he is able to be acquired at a cheap price while also being able to be relied on during matches both as a starter and substitute.

His above-average stats of Dribbling, Passing, Decisions, Off The Ball, and Vision enable him to become a good attacking midfielder to keep the pressure on the opposition’s side of the pitch. To top it off, Zendejas is also able to play in multiple positions, making him a flexible choice on the bench to be unleashed once the game hits the 60th-70th minutes.

5 Alireza Jahanbakhsh

Price: $2.6M – $5.2M

• Best Positions: Wide Playmaker, Inverted Winger
• Age: 30

For those looking for a jack of all trades, the Iranian midfielder must be an ideal option at a low price. Jahanbakhsh comes with a score of 13 or more in most of his stats, which makes him decent at everything.

He is good at taking long shots, but he also has great vision and teamwork scores for creating chances for other teammates. His only weakness is Natural Fitness, which means he might get injured quickly if the played is overloaded.

Other than that, Jahanbakhsh will be a solid player to use in the squad, either on the sides as winger or a wide playmaker. The only problem is that he is 30 years old, and that means the manager will not be able to invest in him for a long time.

4 Barry Bannan

Price: $150K – $1.5M

• Best Position: Deep Lying Playmaker
• Age: 33

Having a midfield maestro who is capable of both dictating the match’s tempo and pinging pinpoint passes to take opposition players out of the game can sometimes be quite pricey. However, a budget option is available with Barry Bannan, an experienced midfield playmaker for the price of £2.6M from the Championship team Sheffield Wednesday.

Bannan’s high passing statistics such as Crossing, Passing, and Vision will enable him to be a threat when allowed to dwell with the ball. Moreover, his twilight age of 33 did not prevent him from also putting an effort into pressing with his high Work Rate stats.

3 Marcelo Allende

Price: $350K – $3.4M

• Best Positions: Inverted Winger, Winger
• Age: 24

The 24-year-old Chilean player shows his talent best when used as a winger or inverted-winger on the left side of the pitch. Allende’s solid stats in crossing and dibbling make him capable of both making chances with early crosses or cutting inside the penalty area and taking long shots.

Allende’s acceleration and Agility are his best stats along with Technique, which means he’s more than capable at getting through the defensive line alone by relying on his personal abilities. That being said, the player also has a good Teamwork rating.

2 Jesse Lingard

Price: $325K – $3.2M

• Best Positions: Inside Forward, Advanced Playmaker
• Age: 30

Another former Manchester United star that couldn’t keep up his stellar form! Jesse Lingard used to be a superb star in the midfield for Manchester United, but he is now playing at the South Korean league, though he still has some strong statistics.

A Teamwork of 16 and a Natural Fitness of 17 show Lingard’s strength in both Mental and Physical abilities. He doesn’t get injured much, and he has a good Pace and Agility to run on the wide edges of the pitch. Lingard is not an ideal option for crossing the ball inside the penalty area, but he is good at dribbling the defenders and trying his luck with long shots.

Lingard also has small capabilities in playing as a striker, but at the age of 30, there isn’t enough room for him to grow significantly.

1 Dele Alli

Price: $250K – $2.5M

• Best Positions: Attacking Midfielder, Advanced Playmaker
• Age: 27

Not long ago, Dele Alli used to be known as one of the future football stars at Tottenham, but the player’s involvement in some unethical activities outside the pitch led him to move far away from his best form day after day.

However, Dele Alli is back to Premier League again with the promise to become the same shiny star we used to know him as, and what better opportunity than this to help him grow in Football Manager 2024?

The player comes with excellent Mental and Technical stats. A Flair of 17, a Technique score of 15, and a Vision of 14 makes him a reliable star as an Advanced or Attacking midfielder. And the good news is, he can be purchased at a cheap price.