26 Sep 2026 5 min read Gaming

The best centre-backs to sign in FC 27 Career Mode

From Ismaelo Ganiou to Aaron Bouwman, here's a curated of the best young centre-backs to sign on your FC 27 Career Modes

SCOUTED is a magazine about youth football. Turns out, all that knowledge is pretty useful for FC 27 Career Mode, who'da thought?

We’ve picked out a few of our favourite young centre-backs that would be suitable signings on your EA FC 27 Career Mode saves. From Wojciech Mońka to Mauro Furtado, these are some of the best young centre-backs in the game.

If you are looking for older players, we have you sorted too, with a collection of the ten highest overall centre-backs at the start of your save. We scout players IRL, if you're a budding Director of Football - have a browse through the rest of our website for more young players to sign.

Who are the best centre-backs in FC 27 Career Mode?

The best centre-backs in FC 27 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):

Willian Pacho - 89 (91)
Gabriel - 89 (90)
Virgil van Dijk - 88 (91)
William Saliba - 88 (90)
Nico Schlotterbeck - 87 (89)
Rúben Dias - 87 (89)
Dayot Upamecano - 87 (88)
Marquinhos - 87 (88)
Jonathan Tah - 87 (87)

Look, we say the best, but this is SCOUTED - and you know us. We're not so interested in who's the best right now, but who's going to conquer the world in the next five years.

The magic of career mode is finding the next big thing on the cheap, before the blow up, and handcrafting them into one of the best players on the planet. To that end, here's our list of the real best centre-backs to sign: the youngsters with massive space to grow.

The best young Centre-Backs to sign and develop in FC 27 Career Mode

To start, here's our full list of the best young centre-backs with their current rating and potential (in brackets). There should be a player for every Career Mode budget:

Ismaelo Ganiou - 77 (84)
Wojciech Monka - 72 (85)
Ruud Nijstad - 70 (86)
Aaron Bouwman - 68 (85)
Mauro Furtado - 59 (83)
Dylan Lawlor - 68 (82)

We'll go into more detail in shortly. But first, we thought you might want our picks from the previous two games, alongside updated ratings for FC 27. We were telling you to sign Pau Cubarsí and Luka Vušković years ago.

EA FC 25

Pau Cubarsí - 86 (91)
Giorgio Scalvini - 79 (86)
António Silva - 77 (85)
Ousmane Diomandé - 81 (87)
Finn Jeltsch - 75 (87)
Luka Vušković - 81 (89)

EA FC 26

Konstantinos Koulierakis - 76 (85)
Matte Smets - 76 (84)
Joel Ordoñez - 76 (86)
Jérémy Jacquet - 77 (86)
Jon Martín - 78 (87)
Joane Gadou - 70 (85)

Now, let's get stuck into this year's list of the best centre-backs to sign on EA FC 27 Career Mode.

Ismaelo Ganiou

Age: 21
Position: CB
Club: RC Lens
Nation: France
Market Value: £18.0m

Every season, an elite centre-back prospect will emerge in France. William Saliba, Wesley Fofana, Leny Yoro, Jérémy Jacquet and now Ismaëlo Ganiou. Already capped at senior level by Burkina Faso, Les Bleus will be trying everything to make sure he switches allegiance. This will be the last summer you can buy him for 'cheap'.

In game, he is incredibly well-rounded. Decent speed combines with 84 Jumping, 81 Strength and 80 Stand Tackle. He could operate as a centre-back, wide centre-back in a three or even at right-back.

Overall: 77
Potential: 84
Potential Growth: +7

Wojciech Mońka

Age: 19
Position: CB
Club: Lech Poznan
Nation: Poland
Market Value: £4.7m

Wojciech Mońka is a quality ball-playing defender with clear upside as a mobile defender. 2026/27 is going to be his breakout season and he's set for a big future at the highest levels.

His 66 Short Pass and 69 Long Pass will develop into the ball-playing mould while remaining a solid ball-winner with 76 Strength, 74 Stand Tackle and 77 Slide Tackle.

Overall: 72
Potential: 85
Potential Growth: +13

Ruud Nijstad

Age: 18
Position: CB
Club: FC Twente
Nation: Netherlands
Market Value: £1.3m

A big, young, cheap, left-footed centre-back that can develop into a starter for any team on the game. What's not to like?

IRL, Nijstad is one of the most-trusted young players in Europe and his in-game stats lean into his solid technique and passing range with 71 Long Pass. He has a good burst with 77 Acceleration - even more impressive given he's 1.93m tall - but his overall Sprint Speed, currently at 59, might not reach elite levels.

Overall: 70
Potential: 86
Potential Growth: +15

Aaron Bouwman

Age: 19
Position: CB
Club: Ajax
Nation: Netherlands
Market Value: £1.0m

If you want to go double Dutch at centre-back, Aaron Bouwman is the perfect partner for Nijstad. Right-footed, Bouwman is also tall with an imposing physique that stands out on pitch. He matches that with composure to stay on ball and find solutions under pressure

He has even more developing to do in game than Nijstad but it will be worth it if he reaches that 85 Potential.

Overall: 68
Potential: 85
Potential Growth: +17

Mauro Furtado

Age: 18
Position: CB
Club: Girona
Nation: Portugal
Market Value: £180k

Mauro Furtado's FC 27 stats do not tell the whole story. The Portuguese is a corner-taking, free-kick whipping, ball-playing marvel. He's one of the most exciting young centre-backs to watch because he sprays the ball all around and up and down the pitch for fun.

He might not become that player in FC 27, but his +24 growth is one of the biggest jumps in the game.

Overall: 59
Potential: 83
Potential Growth: +24

Dylan Lawlor

Age: 20
Position: CB
Club: Cardiff City
Nation: Wales
Market Value: €2.5m

Our scouting editor once wrote: "If I could assemble a centre-back from scratch, it would look similar to Lawlor." If you need to know more than that, have a read of this.

On EA FC 27 Career Mode, you'll be buying a well-rounded, physical and quick centre-back that is comfortable on the ball and can develop a great deal. This is what Career Mode is all about.

Overall: 68
Potential: 82
Potential Growth: +14

Sorted. Now you have a SCOUTED-approved list of the best young centre-backs to sign for you FC 27 Career Mode save. And we have every other position covered: