Gaming

The best central midfielders to sign in FC 26 Career Mode

From Ayyoub Bouaddi to Kiano Dyer, here's a curated list of the best young central midfielders to sign on EA FC 26 Career Mode

SCOUTED

19 Sep 2025 — 9 min read

Ayyoub Bouaddi, one of the best CM wonderkids you can sign on EA Sports FC 26 Career Mode

SCOUTED is a magazine about youth football. Turns out, all that knowledge is pretty useful for FC 26 Career Mode.

We’ve picked out a few of our favourite young central midfielders that would be suitable signings on your EA FC 26 Career Mode saves. From Caleb Yirenkyi to Lennon Miller, these are some of the best young midfielders in the game.

If you’re looking for older players, we have you sorted too - we've put together a collection of the ten highest overall central midfielders at the start of your save.

Who are the best Central Midfielders (CMs) in FC 26 Career Mode?

The best central midfielders in FC 26 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):

Vitinha - 89 (91)
Pedri - 89 (93)
Federico Valverde - 89 (90)
Kevin De Bruyne - 87 (87)
Frenkie de Jong - 87 (87)
Alexis Mac Allister - 87 (88)
Martin Ødegaard - 87 (89)
Nicolò Barella - 87 (87)
Bruno Guimarães - 86 (87)
Tijjani Reijnders - 86 (87)

You've probably noticed the lack of potential for growth among these players - they're all at their peaks already, and that's no way to play FC 26 (unless you're swimming in cash).

At SCOUTED, we're interested in the future of football more than we are the present. As such, when recommending Career Mode transfers we like to go with the youngsters - those players you can sign young and cheap and transform into world beaters. Here we go.

The six best young Central Midfielders (CMs) to sign and develop in FC 26 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) and there should be a player for every Career Mode budget:

Mikel Jauregizar - 78 (88)
Ayyoub Bouaddi - 75 (86)
Christos Mouzakitis - 71 (86)
Djaoui Cissé - 73 (84)
Lennon Miller - 71 (85)
Kiano Dyer - 63 (83)

That's much better. Let's get into the details, and explain why these are the best young central midfielders to sign in your Career Mode.

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Mikel Jauregizar

Position: CM, CDM
Club: Athletic Club
Nation: Spain
Market Value: £28.5m

Mikel Jauregizar profiles extremely similarly to Alexis Mac Allister in real life and they can both reach an 88 rating in EA Sports FC 26 Career Mode.

Jauregizar is a generalist that has at least 75 in 16 out of 29 stats in Career Mode, as well as a 4-star Weak Foot. By the time he reaches that 88 potential, he might be breaking the 80 barrier for every stat in the game. He can be whatever you want him to be.

Overall: 78
Potential: 88
Potential Growth: +10

Ayyoub Bouaddi

Position: CM, CDM
Club: LOSC Lille
Nation: France
Market Value: £10.5m

Ayyoub Bouaddi is big. Even on a pitch jam-packed with top-level athletes, the 17-year-old sticks out. He wants to get on the ball as much as he can and consistently presents good options to receive it. He is the next big thing in French football.

And he's one of the highest-potential midfielders on EA FC 26 Career Mode. He starts the game with 76 Acceleration, 74 Sprint Speed, 77 Long Pass, 75 Dribbling, 75 Stand Tackle and 75 Jumping. When those all hit the 85 mark you will be dominating the midfield whoever you come up against.

Overall: 75
Potential: 86
Potential Growth: +11

Christos Mouzakitis

Position: CM, CAM
Club: Olympiacos
Nation: Greece
Market Value: £3.9m

Tenacity underpins Christos Mouzakitis’ approach to his midfield responsibilities. A combination of bite and tight technique kept him afloat after being thrown into the senior football pool at 17 years old. That doesn't usually happen at Olympiacos.

In Career Mode, his IRL press-resistance is reflected by his 77 Agility, 76 Balance and 76 Vision. You can plonk him in any pocket of space and he should be able to find a pass. The 71 Long Shots could also develop very nicely.

Overall: 71
Potential: 86
Potential Growth: +15

Djaoui Cissé

Position: CM, CDM
Club: Stade Rennais
Nation: France
Market Value: £6m

Djaoui Cissé is fun. He carries the ball in a silky smooth fashion, effortlessly drifting past players with his slim, long limbs. When he gets within 25 yards of the goal, he shoots.

It's nice to see this reflected in his Career Mode stats. On FC 26, Cissé starts the game with 80 Shot Power, 76 Long Shots, 78 Ball Control and 77 Dribbling. Considering his overall is just 73, these could be supercharged when he reaches that 84 potential. He'll be even more fun to play with than he is to watch.

As we suggested Manchester United might do next season, you could sign Cissé, Lamine Camara or Lucien Agoumé and future-proof your midfield.

Overall: 73
Potential: 84
Potential Growth: +11

Lennon Miller

Position: CM, CDM, CAM, CB
Club: Udinese
Nation: Scotland
Market Value: £4m

Lennon Miller has most of the fundamentals of a high-level midfielder. A solid physique gives him a head start, his dynamic passing ability is arguably his standout skill, and he plays with a sense of maturity and assurance that belies his age and experience.

From CAM to CB, you can put Miller pretty much anywhere in the spine of your team on FC 26 Career Mode and you'll end up with one of the best players in that position.

Overall: 71
Potential: 85
Potential Growth: +14

Kiano Dyer

Position: CM
Club: FC Volendam
Nation: England
Market Value: £1.2m

On loan from Chelsea, Kiano Dyer is of a smaller stature with a slight frame but he makes up for it with a razor-sharp mobility. He flashes across five yards, cuts through pressure, and lasers into space. That flash-cut-laser style is characteristic of his passing too – he is great at spotting and executing little 10-yarders that fed team-mates inside Belgium’s block. They’re the sort of passes someone like Martín Zubimendi does. Dyer profiles more like a Spanish midfielder than a typical English one.

Despite his 63 overall rating to start, you get a Spanish-spec midfield from the off with 84 Agility and 85 Balance. If you're looking for a press-resistant prospect to platform the rest of your squad on FC 26 Career Mode, get a bid in for Dyer as soon as you can.

Overall: 63
Potential: 83
Potential Growth: +20

There you have it. A SCOUTED-approved list of the best young centre-midfielders to sign for you FC 26 Career Mode save. You could even check out the players that featured on last year's list, we've included their rating (and potential) for EA FC 26 below: