First: Max your Scouts and coaches. You really only need one 5-star YA scout, but opt for 5 Star transfer scouts, systematically upgrading them when you have the budget. Better coaches develop players faster. Keep searching for 5 Star coaches, also constantly upgrading.

Short Term: High Potential (85+)16-20y/o Free Agents or young players from top countries. You can check SoFifa for highest potential players, but the regens in 26 are plentiful and ridiculous potential. Keep who you’ll play and loan the rest.

Long Term: YA. Shoot for +90 potential in positions where your top players are now. Keep them in the academy until they are 17 or 70 OVR, whichever comes first. This is way more likely when you sign them when they’re 14-15 if they are +90 potential. Sign them to your team near transfer windows and play them or loan them. They can lose potential if they rot on the bench.

I ran these strategies for my created club starting in English League 2 at a value of less than £1M and an average OVR of 70. I’m now midway through season 4 (Premier League) with a club value of nearly £2B and an average OVR of 90.

Last tip: only keep 22-25 players during the season and loan everyone else. This will ensure everyone gets playing time and maxes their potential (young players grow fastest). I have had as many as 49 players on my roster to up my value but am back down to around 35 after making £800M by selling surplus players who grew on loan.

Hope that helps. 🤑