Best Strikers for Every Player Role in Football Manager 2024

Dive into our comprehensive guide to find the perfect striker for your Football Manager 2024 (FM24) tactic.

Discover the Best Strikers for Every Role in FM24 to Elevate Your Team to Victory

If there’s one thing you need for a successful FM24 save, it’s a good striker. No matter what level you’re playing at, a great striker is the difference between a successful season and a mediocre one; between achieving your goals and failing; between winning and losing. No matter what role you’re looking to play, there’s a striker out there who’s perfect for your tactical style. This article picks out the best players for each striker role in FM24, so you can identify your perfect signing for your tactic. (Note: this article doesn’t include Trequartista as a striker role. While FM24 allows you to play a striker as a trequartista, this role is more suitable for an AMC).

Advanced Forward

An Advanced Forward is designed to be the spearhead of the attack, exploiting defences with blistering pace, clinical finishing, and intelligent runs behind the backline. Ideal candidates will excel in pace, finishing, and off-the-ball movement to make the most of through balls and crosses.

Kylian Mbappe

Of course. The striker with the highest CA in the game, Kylian Mbappe is the best advanced forward in FM24. He’s not available for cheap, but for the biggest clubs in the world he would be a statement signing to prove you’re ready to conquer all comers. He’s only 24 and still has his very best years ahead of him, but he’s already achieved so much so you know his game will translate to any league in the world. More than worth the astronomical cost.

Jonathan David

If you’re looking for the pace and movement that defines this role, then look no further than Jonathan David. Starting at Lille and capable of playing all across the frontline, David is rapidly becoming one of Europe’s most feared marksmen. £50m might not be everyone’s idea of affordable, but to tie down a talented goalscorer like David just as he’s about to enter his prime? No-brainer.

Deep-lying Forward

A Deep-lying Forward drops deeper into the midfield to link up play, acting as a pivot between the midfield and attack, utilizing intelligence and technical ability. Look for players with good passing, vision, and finishing to effectively turn and create opportunities as well as score.

Robert Lewandowski

Again, no surprise. The player who redefined the role of the lone striker for a generation of football fans remains one of Europe’s greatest players, and he’ll lead the line for any of the world’s biggest clubs. If you can convince him and Barcelona that they’re best to part ways, you’ll have one of football’s all-time greats.

Mehdi Taremi

Porto’s attacking focal point has been rumoured with a move to some of Europe’s more illustrious leagues for some time now, and it’s not difficult to see why. He can do everything, but it’s his understanding of the game and his intelligence that truly sets him apart. Available for around £30m, he’ll wildly overperform that price for what’s left of his prime.

Pressing Forward

The Pressing Forward is relentless in pursuit, applying constant pressure on the opposition’s defenders, aiming to force mistakes and regain possession high up the pitch. Key attributes include work rate, stamina, and aggression, along with decent finishing to capitalize on forced errors.

Lautaro Martinez

More or less the perfect pressing forward in FM24, Martinez is undoubtedly one of the very best in the world at the moment. He can finish chances like the very best, but it’s his work rate and stamina that set him apart from others, never giving opposition defenders a moment’s peace.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin

Another who’s been touted for a move to one of the bigger clubs of Europe, DCL has everything needed to be an elite pressing forward on FM24. He has size, mobility, stamina, work rate: the whole package; and an eye for goal that would suit any team. He’s not cheap, but at 26 he’s entering his prime now, and will be well worth the investment for a club trying to make their mark on Europe.

False Nine

A False Nine operates by dropping deeper into midfield, blurring the lines between a striker and a midfielder, creating confusion amongst opposition defenders and opening spaces for advancing teammates. Seek out players with high dribbling, creativity, and passing, alongside a good eye for goal.

Paulo Dybala

A role that seems to be going a little out of fashion, Paulo Dybala is the only player in FM24’s top 100 strikers whose preferred role is False Nine. It’s easy to see why this role suits him: his dribbling and playmaking mean you want him on the ball as much as possible, so asking him to drop deeper to support the midfield only makes sense. Once seen as the successor to Lionel Messi for the Argentina national side, playing him as an F9 is a surefire way to showcase the abilities that drew this praise.

Target Forward

A Target Forward acts as the primary outlet for long balls, using physical presence to control aerial challenges and lay off the ball to teammates. This role demands a player with strong heading, strength, and teamwork skills, enabling them to hold up play effectively and bring others into action.

Romelu Lukaku

Lukaku has all the attributes required to be the perfect Target Forward on FM24. Obviously, he has excellent heading, strength and movement - making him the perfect recipient for crosses - but he’s also a talented finisher with a high level of teamwork, making him very adept at bringing others into play, or finishing chances himself. The perfect TF.

Niclas Füllkrug

A much more budget-friendly option as a Target Forward is Füllkrug at Dortmund. Currently serving as deputy for Sebastien Haller, Füllkrug is more than capable of starting for a side in continental competition, and has the attributes to be a real handful for defenders. While his lack of pace compared to some might seem like a hindrance, his off the ball and his strength make him very difficult to mark, and he’s still incredibly dangerous in the air.

Complete Forward

The Complete Forward is versatile, capable of playing in any forward role, combining the skills of finishing, playmaking, and physicality to impact the game in multiple ways. This player should have well-rounded attributes, excelling in technical, mental, and physical aspects to adapt to dynamic tactical setups.

Harry Kane

When it comes to strikers who can do everything, look no further than Harry Kane. Bayern Munich’s latest superstar, Kane is a jack of all trades and master of pretty much everything. He can pass, he can finish, he’s great in the air, he’s great with the ball at his feet. Whatever you want from your striker, Harry Kane can provide.

Goncalo Ramos

It’s no wonder PSG turned to the Benfica academy product as their successor to Lionel Messi. Ramos is everything you need from a striker in the modern game, equally adept at creating for others as he is at scoring himself, you can either play him as a lone striker or part of a pairing and he’ll thrive. At only 22, it’s truly frightening to think of what he might be capable of one day.

Poacher

A Poacher thrives on being in the right place at the right time, utilizing exceptional anticipation and clinical finishing to convert chances with minimal touches. Essential attributes include finishing, anticipation, and off-the-ball, focusing purely on scoring goals from close range.

Victor Osimhen

The poacher role is often misunderstood. It’s not to say that these players have a narrow skillset, but when you’re one of the very best in the world at finishing, why would you waste precious energy on anything else? Victor Osimhen on FM24 embodies this perfectly. Of course, he has other talents. But when you look at his anticipation, composure, pace, technique and, of course, finishing, it seems wasteful to ask him to do anything else but score goals. Set him up with a tactic where you only need him to find and exploit space (ideally with a playmaker behind him), and you’ll reap the rewards.

Mauro Icardi

Icardi is more of a traditional poacher than Victor Osimhen. He’s refined his game to the point where everything that doesn’t involve putting the ball in the net is basically useless to him, which is handy when you’re one of the best finishers in the world. Icardi is a perfect example of someone who needs the entire tactic to revolve around him, but when you get it right, he’ll light up defences for fun.

Conclusion

I hope you’ve enjoyed this profile of the best players for each striker role in FM24. Whether you’re looking for someone to fill a need, or you want to build a tactic around a certain player role, you’ll always be able to find a striker to suit your needs.