Best Defenders in Football Manager 2022 | FM22

In this article, we will break down the best defenders in Football Manager 2022. A fair blend between available talent and best defenders in FM22.

Best defenders to look out for in Football Manager 2022 this year.

For anyone trying to build a team on Football Manager 2022, the old adage is true: you are only as good as your worst player. Trying to find the best players to bring in to bulk up your team? Then check this list out. 

In this article, we will break down the best defenders in FM22. We will try to offer a fair blend between available talent and players who could do a job at a contender from day one.

Tanguy Nianzou – FC Bayern

While your only real hope of landing this young France superstar is with a loan or with a lack of games, he makes one of the most exciting young defenders in the world. Tanguy Nianzou has everything you could ask for. A rich blend of pace, technical ability, impressive smarts, and a great mental personality makes him a player who you could easily build around in the years to come.

Likely will only leave FCB in 2022 for another contender, but one any elite club could look to build around.

Ilya Zabarnyi – Dynamo Kyiv

If your main aim is to sign a young central defender to build a team around, then young Zabarnyi should score high on your list. This is an impressive young defender with a great all-around game, and he could easily be one to focus on for development from day one.

Given his stock as a Dynamo Kyiv player and a solid level of game-time already despite only being 18, you could play him early-on without any worries. All but the most elite could, anyway.

Andrea Carboni - Cagliari

No list of the best defenders would ever be complete without an Italian, would it?

Andrea Carboni is a fine example of the next generation of young Italian defenders coming through. He is tall, powerful, adept with the ball, excellent in the air, and an impressive reader of the game. Best of all, he is only 20 years of age and plays for Cagliari so he should be attainable for any Serie A team competing for Europe (or any other major club fighting for Europe).

Morato – SL Benfica

At 20, Morato might not be gathering the kind of huge expectation that some would imagine. He is, though, an excellent defender and has already shown his ability at a big club in Benfica. Though you might need to dig deep to afford a player like this, he makes a simply tremendous choice for anyone looking for a reliable young defensive lynchpin.

Definitely, one to add to your team if you need a bit of extra strength, as Morato brings all of the height and power a central defender needs to thrive in modern football.

Luke Thomas – Leicester City

You might not think that Leicester could find another quality left-back at such a young age after Ben Chilwell, but here we are. Any club looking to play for and compete in the UEFA Champions League would do well to at least keep an eye on Thomas.

He is an excellent player, and though he is somewhat established in the team he could be prised away in the right circumstances. If you need an excellent all-around left-back, consider him.

Renan Lodi – Atletico Madrid

Out of all of the many South American full-backs getting rave reviews in Europe, Renan Lodi might be among the most exciting of them all. He has an excellent all-around game, and has all of the physical attributes (and athleticism) that one would want in a top-class modern full-back.

While his technical game is still one to work on develop, there is nothing about Lodi that should put off a top club from pulling the trigger. If you can convince Atletico to sell, you have a diamond.

Sergino Dest – FC Barcelona

The Dutch-born USA international might be well-known to most, but his failure to well and truly cement his position in the FCB team makes him an obtainable target. And while his defensive game needs a fair bit of work, he is 20 years of age and can contribute far more going forward than most could.

If you cannot afford a truly world-class full-back for the right-hand side such as an Achraf Hakimi, then you would be looking to someone like Dest. An excellent option today and tomorrow.

Jeremie Frimpong – Bayer Leverkusen

Another Dutch-born full-back, Frimpong excelled for Glasgow Celtic before arriving in Germany. He has developed at Bayer, but not enough that he would be nigh-impossible to prise away. Though you might pay a fee around double what the Germans paid for him, you could easily have Frimpong – a fantastic athlete at 20 – in your team for many years to come.

He has all of the attributes that one would expect of a modern young defender. Definitely, someone who needs moulding, but is worth the development time.

Boubacar Kamara – Olympique Marseille

To round off with some more recognisable names, Boubacar Kamara is a top-class central defender who should likely be available for free in 2022. Though he will be courted by all of the big hitters, moving early – or catching OM cold in a poor mid-season in January 2022 – could net you one of the best young central defenders in the world.

Absolutely a player who would be worth breaking the bank for, and definitely one who would serve any top club extremely well for years to come.

Kieran Tierney – Arsenal

Though he already plays for a big club in Arsenal, Kieran Tierney might not stick around in North London forever – and you could use that to your advantage. An absolutely tremendous modern full-back who can also fill in on the left-hand side of a back three, there are few teams in world football who could not benefit from having the iron-willed Scottish international involved.

Though you would have to pay a huge fee to land him, so far in his career ‘KT’ looks like he would be worth every penny.