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The best defensive midfielders to sign in FC 25 Career Mode

From Archie Gray to Arthur Vermeeren, here's a curated list of the best young central midfielders to buy on EA FC 25 Career Mode

SCOUTED

SCOUTED

— 8 min read
The best defensive midfielders to sign in FC 25 Career Mode
Archie Gray, one of the best wonderkid defensive midfielders on EA FC 25

SCOUTED is a magazine about youth football. Turns out, all that knowledge is pretty useful for FC25 Career Mode, who'da thought?

We’ve picked out a few of our favourite young defensive midfielders that would be suitable signings on your EA FC 25 Career Mode saves. From Arhie Gray to Noah Mbamba, these are some of the best young CDMs in the game.

If you’re looking for older players, we have you sorted too, with a collection of the ten highest overall defensive midfielders at the start of your save. If you want more DMs to sign, browse our magazine.

Who are the best defensive midfielders (CDMs) in FC 25 Career Mode?

The best defensive midfielders in FC 25 Career Mode are those with the highest overall rating. Here's a handy list, including their overall at the start of the game, and their highest possible potential rating (in brackets):

  • Rodri - 91 (91)
  • Hakan Çalhanoğlu - 86 (86)
  • Granit Xhaka - 86 (86)
  • Declan Rice - 85 (87)
  • Sandro Tonali - 85 (87)
  • João Palhinha - 85 (85)
  • N'Golo Kanté - 85 (85)
  • Bruno Guimarães - 85 (86)
  • Rúben Neves - 84 (86)
  • Aurélien Tchouaméni - 84 (89)

Look, these are all great options...we guess. But aside from perhaps Tchouaméni, none of these players have much space to grow - and he'd cost a bomb. We love N'Golo Kanté, but we're not sure he's a long-term option.

This is SCOUTED, a magazine about the future of football. To that end, here's our list of the actual best defensive midfielders to sign on Career Mode - those youngsters you can pick up on the cheap and turn into superstars.

The six best young defensive midfielders (CDMs) to sign and develop in FC 25 Career Mode

For easy reference, here's our list. Don't worry - we'll dive into detail momentarily. As before, their rating is included alongside their potential (in brackets).

  • Archie Gray - 73 (87)
  • Arthur Vermeeren - 76 (87)
  • Kobbie Mainoo - 77 (87)
  • Aleksandar Pavlović - 73 (85)
  • Matteo Prati - 73 (85)
  • Noah Mbamba - 65 (84)

There we have it. Let's get into the details, and explain why these are the best CDM's to sign in your Career Mode.

Spurs' Archie Gray, one of the best wonderkid defensive midfielders on EA FC 25

Archie Gray

Position: CDM, RB
Club: Tottenham Hotspur (ENG)
Nation: England
Market Value: €6.5 million

Tottenham Hotspur signed Archie Gray for a reported £40m after he made 44 league appearances in his first senior season at boyhood Leeds United. Why? The majority of these appearances came as a 17-year-old. The level of quality and consistency he displayed both at right-back and in midfield meant Gray was named EFL Championship Young Player of the Season, EFL Championship Apprentice of the Season, and was named in the Championship PFA Team of the Year for 2023/24. That’s why.

On FC 25, he's rated 73 Overall with potential to grow to 87. Alongside Kobbie Mainoo and Spurs teammate Lucas Bergvall, this makes him the joint-highest potential teenager in the Premier League. He starts the game with at least 70 in every Physical attribute, enabling him to play a box-to-box role or operate as a relentless ball-winner. If you fancy taking him off Spurs hands, you can activate his €16.4m release clause. We expect to see him in plenty of Career Mode saves.

  • Overall: 73
  • Potential: 87
  • Potential Growth: +14
RB Leipzig's Arthur Vermeeren, one of the best wonderkid defensive midfielders on EA FC 25

Arthur Vermeeren

Position: CDM, CM
Club: RB Leipzig (GER)
Nation: Belgium
Market Value: €15 million

At 18 years old, Arthur Vermeeren played every single minute of Royal Antwerp’s first-ever UEFA Champions League campaign. He captained the side against Porto and scored in a famous 3-2 win against Barcelona. It was no surprise then that Atlético Madrid signed him for an initial €18m in January 2024. Unfortunately, he was given very few opportunities to showcase his talent. If you need a reminder, the Belgian is mobile, tenacious, and there is an effortless simplicity to his game. He can kill pressure with his passing and puts in a huge amount of work both in and out of possession.

This is reflected in his FC 25 stats, most notably the 90 Stamina rating. If you want a deep-lying playmaker, Vermeeren has the tools: 81 vision, 80 Short Passing and 78 Long Passing will enable him to dictate the tempo at the base of your midfield. If you want to lean into the ball-winning, he starts the game with 75 Interceptions, 75 Defensive Awareness and 72 Standing Tackle. Vermeeren will provide your midfield with whatever it needs for a decade, you will just have to wait until his loan at RB Leipzig ends before you can sign him and start working towards that 87 Potential Rating. IRL, he was signed permanently by Leipzig this January, so watch for his value to change in future Career Mode updates.

  • Overall: 76
  • Potential: 87
  • Potential Growth: +11
Manchester United's Kobbie Mainoo, one of the best wonderkid defensive midfielders on EA FC 25

Kobbie Mainoo

Position: CDM, CM
Club: Manchester United (ENG)
Nation: England
Market Value: €21.5 million

You'll know his name by now: Kobbie Mainoo is a boyhood Manchester United fan and the future of their midfield. Fortunately for non-United supporters, you can sign him on FC 25. Well, if you have €45.2m that is.

His 88 Balance, 83 Composure and 82 Dribbling reflect his silky smooth IRL style. Mainoo never looks rushed and has the ability to glide past players and move up the pitch with ease. At youth level, he played in a more advanced role. Since making his senior debut, he has been forced to develop the defensive side of his game. Whether deployed as a Role+ Holding CDM or a Role+ Box-to-Box CM on FC 25, Mainoo will be a nailed-on starter for any team on FC 25. If you really want to have fun, his well-rounded skillset suggests he could even be developed into a box-crashing CAM. The game is his oyster.

  • Overall: 77
  • Potential: 87
  • Potential Growth: +10
Bayern Munchen's Aleksandar Pavlovic, one of the best wonderkid defensive midfielders on EA FC 25

Aleksandar Pavlović

Position: CDM
Club: FC Bayern München (GER)
Nation: Germany
Market Value: €7 million

Aleksandar Pavlović almost came out of nowhere to be a regular starter at FC Bayern. Of course, any player signed up to the Bavarian’s academy side is likely to be talented, but he had only made two youth appearances at international level before being called up for Germany’s UEFA Euro 2024 campaign. Unfortunately, tonsillitis robbed him of a place in the final squad.

Pavlović has a physical profile that is very typical of a defensive midfielder: tall with an athletic frame and long levers. He is an important presence against the ball, filling the right spaces and anticipating play to close in and cut it out. His reading of the game and his reactions are quick. On the ball, he is simple and swift. He can dictate a game at whatever tempo he decides.

On FC 25, his standout attributes are 81 Short Passing and 80 Long Passing. His €13m release clause is very tempting, especially given his 85 Potential Rating. If you want a deep-lying playmaker in your CDM slot, Pavlović would be an excellent choice.

  • Overall: 73
  • Potential: 85
  • Potential Growth: +12
Cagliari's Matteo Prati, one of the best wonderkid defensive midfielders on EA FC 25

Matteo Prati

Position: CDM
Club: Cagliari (ITA)
Nation: Italy
Market Value: €7 million

Matteo Prati has taken a roundabout path to top-flight football. No, he’s not from the Juventus Next Gen set-up, nor from Milan, Atalanta, Inter, Napoli or Roma. Instead, Prati spent his development years at Cesena and Ravenna, leaving the former after they declared bankruptcy in 2019 and joining the latter as they kicked about in Serie D.

Prati does the basics well. He’s rarely caught out of position, and is seldom extravagant with the ball. He doesn’t have the technical weapons yet to affect possession at a really high level, but with more exposure to good quality first team football, there is optimism he can start to find more range as an attacking player, both as a passer and ball carrier.

On FC 25, his 85 Potential Rating makes his €14m release clause a bargain. He operates as a Role+ Holding CDM or a Role+ Box-to-Box CM. His standout attributes of 74 Shot Power, 74 Long Passing and 70 Long Shots suggest he could develop into a sniper of a midfielder.

  • Overall: 73
  • Potential: 85
  • Potential Growth: +12
Fortuna Dusseldorf's Noah Mbamba, one of the best wonderkid defensive midfielders on EA FC 25

Noah Mbamba

Position: CDM
Club: Bayer 04 Leverkusen (GER)
Nation: Belgium
Market Value: €1.8 million

If the name Noah Mbamba rings a bell, it’s because he made his UEFA Champions League debut against Manchester City at 16 years old in 2021.

Developed at Club Brugge—Mbamba was playing for Club NXT, a rebrand of Brugge’s academy team, at the age of 15— he has since moved from to Bayer Leverkusen where he has struggled to get game time.

But that has not affected his potential on FC 25. You will have to wait for his loan to Fortuna Düsseldorf to end, but your patience will be rewarded. Mbamba is an extremely mobile CDM prospect. His 77 Sprint Speed, 74 Jumping and 73 Strength stand out, as does his 84 Potential Rating. Sign him and give him the minutes his early promise at Club Brugge suggested would come his way.

  • Overall: 65
  • Potential: 84
  • Potential Growth: +19

There you have it! Those are our best young defensive midfielders to sign for you FC 25 Career Mode save. For more great reading on real-life wonderkids, stick with SCOUTED.

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