FM23 Best Free Agents: Best Free Players In Football Manager 23
Check out this guide to find out who the FM23 best free agents are, and pick up some players for nothing more than the cost of their contract.
Understanding who the FM23 best free agents are can be incredibly helpful if you're managing a team with a tighter budget. Part of the fun with every Football Manager save is playing with restrictions, and free agents can be a real helping hand in the face of a challenge. So, make sure to keep reading this guide to see our full list of the FM23 best free agents that you can pick up at the start of each save.
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Football Manager 2023 Best Free Agents
There's a plethora of great options for you to pick up in terms of free agents in Football Manager 2023, giving you an option for most positions in your team. Of course, the usual caveat with free agents is that they're more on the aged side of things, so you'll only be able to get a few seasons at most out of them.
However, those seasons could be crucial to your survival, success, and progression, so they're still very much worth picking up - especially because they'll cost you nothing.
We've split the selection into three sections of defence, midfield, and attack, so you can have a few options to choose from depending on where you want to upgrade your team. Check out the list below for all of our choices.
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FM23 Best Free Agents: Defence
Here are our choices for the best free agents in defence in Football Manager 23:
Edgar Ié
While offering solid stats across the board - especially in the more popular ball-playing defender role - one of Edgar Ié's most prominent attributes is actually his age. While it might seem like sacrilege to youth-dedicated Football Manager players, the fact he is only 28 gives you even greater value than most on the free transfer market.
Comparatively, most of his peers in this list are in the low-mid thirties, so you'll be able to make use of Ié for far longer, and potentially even sell him on in a couple of years too.
Mateo Musacchio
One of the better value picks on this list, Mateo Musacchio will be a reliable option for any managers wanting to bolster their back line. Strong technical and physical stats are enhanced by an excellent selection of metal attributes, which should hopefully help reassure any shakiness you have in defence.
Faouzi Ghoulam
Coming off the back of a near decade-long stint at Napoli, Faouzi Ghoulam will slot straight into your left back slot with ease. While his Natural Fitness of five might come back to haunt you as he grows older, he still has excellent attributes across the board that will serve your team well for at least a couple of years.
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FM23 Best Free Agents: Midfielders
Here are our choices for the best free agents in midfield in Football Manager 2023:
Saphir Taider
Saphir Taider will be an excellent choice to slot straight into your midfield, with a great selection of stats across the board. He can play as both a central midfielder and a defensive one, offering you assurance and possession in the middle of the park. Furthermore, he is only thirty, and has good physical stats too, meaning he should last you quite a while and give you great value for money.
Nemanja Radoja
Another option in the same positions as Taider comes Nemanja Radoja, who - while not quite as well-rounded, still gives you a good sense of reliability in the middle. Radoja is particularly strong in the mental side of things, which could be good if you have a younger squad that need some leadership.
Ryan Thomas
If you're looking for someone more on the attacking side of things though, then Ryan Thomas is definitely going to be a player to look at. He has strong stats in possession, with 14 Dribbling, 16 Technique, and 15 Passing, in addition to 16 in both Work Rate and Off The Ball. His biggest weakness comes with his measly six in finishing, so just make sure to have him playing the passes instead of being on the end of them.
FM23 Best Free Agents: Attackers
Here are our choices for the best attackers who you can pick up for free in FM23:
Fabio Martins
If you're needing a winger, then there are very few better options for free agents than Fabio Martins. He is flexible enough to be able to play on both flanks, with enough competency to even have a go in the AM and ST positions too. This means that he will be a great option to have even just as a rotational player, and his age of 28 means that you might even be able to sell him on later too.
Fernando Llorente
In terms of a pure striker though, Fernando Llorente is probably the best option, although he won't last you very long due to his old age of 37. He's never been the type of player to rely on speed though, so you can happily set him up in the box and let his 18 Heading and 17 Jumping Reach do all of the talking.
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Nicolas De Preville
Rounding off the list of the FM23 best free agents is Nicolas De Preville, who gives you an option both up front and on the wings too. While he is unlikely to set your league alight with his 12 finishing, he could still give you a good choice off the bench, especially if you want to cover multiple positions.
So, that completes our list of the FM23 best free agents, giving you a great selection of players that you can pick up for nothing more than the cost of the contract. If you're wanting to spend a bit more though and secure some fantastic players, why not check out our FM23 bargains list for the best cheap players.
About The Author
Harry Boulton
Harry is a Guides Writer at GGRecon, having completed a Masters of Research degree in Film Studies. Previously a freelance writer for PCGamesN, The Loadout, and Red Bull Gaming, he loves playing a wide variety of games from the Souls series to JRPGs, Counter-Strike, and EA FC. When not playing or writing about games and hardware, you're likely to find him watching football or listening to Madonna and Kate Bush.