FM23 Lower League Signings: Best Transfers For Small Teams
Looking for the best players to pick up if you're managing a team further down the pyramid? Check out this FM23 lower league signings guide for the full list.
While a list of wonderkids and budget players can be useful if you've got the money and appeal to actually sign them, understanding what the best FM23 lower league signings are can be the real key to climbing the footballing pyramid. Much like real life, not every 'budget gem' in Football Manager wants to actually join your team, so it can be quite difficult to sift through the gems to actually find any viable signings, especially on a tighter budget. So, if you're wanting to find out who the best FM23 lower league signings are, make sure to check out the full list below.
- If you're wanting all of the real FM23 badges in your save, make sure to check out our guide for how to install a logo pack.
Best FM23 Lower League Signings
Lower league signings are different from your standard budget Football Manager affairs, as not only do you need to constrain to tighter budget parameters, you also need to find players that will actually want to join your club. There are few feelings more disheartening than thinking you've found a diamond in the rough, negotiating a transfer fee within your tight budget, only to get to the contract stage and they don't even want to talk to you.
So, to counter this, we've tested with all of these players that they actually would join a lower league team, to hopefully save you the hassle. Every player on the list found below was willing to join Ipswich Town, who are currently in EFL League One, but your success obviously might vary if you choose a team with a higher or lower reputation.
Most of the signings on the list are free transfers, freeing your finances up slightly, although you will of course have to factor in wage expenditure, which can get rather high if you're wanting to pick up some of the better players.
The great thing about some of these players is that their current ability rating is sat somewhere between 110 and 130, which - on the upper end - starts to get towards Premier League quality players, which should really help you out if you're wanting to quickly climb the divisions.
One final thing that you need to be careful of is work permits, which can be quite a pain for players from South American countries especially. There are a few players on this list that you might not be able to actually sign due to work permit issues, but it all depends on where your club is situated.
So, here's our list of the best FM23 lower league signings for you to use and enjoy:
| Name | Club | Age | Position | CA | PA | Value |
| Fabricio | None | 34 | GK | 125 | 145 | Free |
| Marcos Diaz | None | 36 | GK | 120 | 125 | Free |
| Keiren Westwood | None | 37 | GK | 115 | 135 | Free |
| Javier Belman | None | 23 | GK | 115 | 144 | Free |
| Edgar Ie | None | 28 | D (RC) | 130 | 135 | Free |
| Amed Elmohamady | None | 34 | D (R) WB (R) M (R) | 126 | 130 | Free |
| Digao | None | 34 | D (C) | 125 | 140 | Free |
| Marvin Zeegelaar | None | 31 | D (L) WB (L) | 124 | 132 | Free |
| Maracas | None | 28 | D (C) | 124 | 126 | Free |
| Victor Alvarez | None | 29 | D (L) | 120 | 127 | Free |
| Edu Campabadal | None | 29 | D (R) WB (R) | 120 | 131 | Free |
| Danilo | None | 38 | D (C) | 120 | 143 | Free |
| Manuel da Costa | None | 26 | D (C) | 120 | 135 | Free |
| Andre Wisdom | None | 29 | D (RC) WB (R) | 112 | 140 | Free |
| Bruno Ecuele Manga | None | 33 | D (RC) | 111 | 130 | Free |
| Ziggy Gordon | None | 29 | D (RCL) WB (R) | 107 | 115 | Free |
| Malachi Fagan-Walcott | Tottenham Hotspur | 20 | D (C) | 95 | 111 | £130,000 |
| Filip Bradaric | None | 30 | DM M (C) | 128 | 133 | Free |
| Ramon Azeez | None | 29 | DM M (C) AM (C) | 125 | 134 | Free |
| Joao Pedro | None | 29 | DM M (C) | 124 | 128 | Free |
| Lukas Rupp | None | 29 | DM M (C) | 123 | 139 | Free |
| Jean | None | 36 | DM M (C) D (R) | 120 | 148 | Free |
| Eber Bessa | Bali United | 30 | DM M (C) | 120 | 125 | £190,000 |
| Dale Stephens | None | 32 | DM M (C) | 120 | 135 | Free |
| William Vainqueur | None | 33 | DM M (C) | 120 | 130 | Free |
| Fabian Rinaudo | None | 35 | DM M (C) | 120 | 135 | Free |
| Danny Drinkwater | None | 32 | DM M (C) | 108 | 148 | Free |
| Amadou Diambo | None | 21 | DM M (C) | 101 | 140 | Free |
| Nicolas De Preville | None | 31 | AM (LR) ST | 129 | 135 | Free |
| Fernandinho | None | 36 | AM (LR) | 129 | 135 | Free |
| Alex Mula | None | 25 | AM (L) M (L) | 123 | 137 | Free |
| Valdivia | None | 27 | AM (LC) M (L) | 120 | 134 | Free |
| Giovani dos Santos | None | 33 | AM (RLC) ST | 119 | 150 | Free |
| Hal Robson-Kanu | None | 33 | AM (RLC) ST | 118 | 130 | Free |
| Martin Graiciar | None | 23 | AM (R) | 105 | 140 | Free |
| Thomas Agyepong | None | 25 | AM (RLC) ST | 103 | 120 | Free |
| Fernando Llorente | None | 37 | ST | 128 | 165 | Free |
| Simone Zaza | None | 31 | ST | 120 | 148 | Free |
| Fanendo Adi | None | 31 | ST | 115 | 122 | Free |
| Bjorn Johnsen | CF Montreal | 30 | ST | 111 | 127 | £200,000 |
| Jerome Sinclair | None | 25 | ST AM (RL) | 107 | 140 | Free |
So, that wraps up this list of the best FM23 lower league signings, giving you plenty of options to fill your team out at the start of a new save and beyond. While the list above is generally more focussed on current ability, there are a couple of young players that you can pick up for free in the list that have higher potential abilities. This could either help you climb the divisions and establish a team for the future, or even make you some well-earned money from a hefty transfer fee when they're developed.
If you're looking for some FM23 bargains or FM23 wonderkids on a bit of a higher budget though, make sure to check out the two guides above for some comprehensive lists.
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.
