In EAFC 24, stacking your team with the best centre-backs is crucial to counter your opponent’s attack. You need solid CBs who are either quick enough to keep up or elite tacklers who can recover even the most difficult defensive situations.
Signing the best young center backs in Career Mode is definitely an excellent investment for your club and here’s a list of young centre backs with boatloads of potential.
Choosing EA FC24 Career Mode’s best young centre backs (CB)
This page looks at the best young up-and-coming stars in this position, with centre backs like William Saliba, Matthijs De Ligt and Josko Gvardiol being among the top picks in EA FC24.
Players who made the list of the best young centre backs are 23-years-old or below, have a minimum potential rating of 82, and have CB as their best position.
At the bottom of the article, you can see the full list of all the best CB in EA FC24.
1. Matthijs De Ligt (86 OVR, 89 POT)
Team: Bayern Munich
Age: 23
Wage: £71,000
Value: £70 million
Best Attributes: 86 Aggressiveness, 91 Strength, 88 Sliding Tackle
With an 89 potential rating, the 23 year old Matthijs De Ligt stands as the best centre back in EA FC24 Career Mode.
The young centre back’s best attributes makes him a dangerous player in the line of defense. His 86 aggressiveness, 91 strength and 88 sliding tackle makes De Ligt all the more appealing as a transfer target.
Matthijs De Ligt is a versatile centre back who has played for top clubs like Ajax, Juventus and Bayern Munich (where he’s currently signed). This season, he remains a reliable face along the backline with over 36 appearances for the club.
On 8 April, the 23 year old who is 6’2″ scored the only goal from 25 yards (23 m) in a 1–0 away win over Freiburg and the goal was voted goal of the season in the Bundesliga.
2. William Saliba (83 OVR, 89 POT)
Team: Arsenal
Age: 22
Wage: £91,000
Value: £45 million
Best Attributes: 83 Aggressiveness, 87 Strength, 87 Jumping
Arsenal fans won’t be surprised that William Saliba with an 83 Overall now sits among the best young centre backs in EA FC24 career mode.
Standing at 6’4″ with an 89 potential, Saliba already has a presence at the back. Add to this his 83 Aggressiveness, 87 strength, 83 Interception, and 87 Jumping, the Arsenal man is certainly a tough defender to face in Career Mode.
Saliba joined Arsenal in 2019 and his contract is valid until 2024. With 32 appearances for Arsenal, he’s been the first choice centre back for the team. This season, the 22 year old remains a reliable face along the backline both for Arsenal and his country (France).
3. Josko Gvardiol (82 OVR, 88 POT)
Team: Manchester City
Age: 21
Wage: £79,000
Value: £38 million
Best Attributes: 86 Aggressiveness, 83 Strength, 84 Jumping
Thanks to his 82 overall rating with a potential to reach 88 overall, Josko Gvardiol ranks as one of the outright young CBs in EA Sports FC 24’s Career Mode with a value of £38 million.
Standing 6’1’’, Gvardiol also has quite the physical presence along the backline, with his 84 jumping, 83 defensive awareness, 80 interceptions, and 79 stamina meaning that he doesn’t have to do too much to gain control of the ball from his opponents.
Despite only being 21-years-old, Gvardiol can already be classed as somewhat of a journeyman. So far, he’s played for Dinamo Zagreb, RB Leipzig and Manchester City (where he’s currently signed).
Gvardiol made his Premier League debut on 11 August coming on for Rico Lewis in the 79th minute. He was given his first Manchester City start in the 2023 UEFA Super Cup against Sevilla, playing the full 90 minutes.
4. Nico Schlotterbeck (83 OVR, 88 POT)
Team: Borussia Dortmund
Age: 23
Wage: £43,000
Value: £42 million
Best Attributes: 85 Aggressiveness, 84 Strength, 93 Jumping
Asides De Ligt and Saliba topping the list of the best young centre backs in EA FC 24’s Career Mode, Nico Schlotterbeck’s 83 overall, 84 strength, and 93 jumping makes him one of the best centre backs to sign to your squad.
Being 6’3’’, with 93 jumping alongside his 84 strength, Nico is certainly going to be a problem for opponents hoping to score with a header. Which is why he’s one of my top picks on the list of best young centre backs.
Nico joined Borussia Dortmund in 2022 with a release clause amounting to €42 million from his previous club Union Berlin and his contract is valid until 2027.
The 23 year old got his debut call-up to the Germany national team for FIFA World Cup qualification in September 2021 and has 11 appearances for the team with zero goals.
5. Sven Botman (83 OVR, 87 POT)
Team: Newcastle United
Age: 23
Wage: £91,000
Value: £40 million
Best Attributes: 86 Aggressiveness, 90 Strength, 84 Jumping
He may only be 23 years old, but Sven Botman is definitely one of the top young centre backs in EA FC24 career mode thanks to his 90 strength and 86 aggressiveness.
I mean with 85 defensive awareness, 82 interceptions and 84 sliding tackles, Botman is definitely a force to reckon with and if I were his opponent, I’d stay clear.
Botman joined the club in 2022 from French side Lille and his contract is valid until 2027. On 24 September 2023, Botman scored his first goal for Newcastle in a record 8-0 away win over Sheffield United.
The 6’4″ has played over 41 games for his current club Newcastle and has captained the under 21 Netherland national team in 2020.
6. Gonçalo Inácio (79 OVR, 86 POT)
Team: Sporting CP
Age: 22
Wage: £9,400
Value: £28 million
Best Attributes: 81 Sprint Speed, 78 interception, 82 Jumping
With a 79 overall rating and 86 potential, Gonçalo Inácio is a decent young centre back to bring in on-loan or full transfer in EA FC24 career mode with a value of £28 million.
The 22 year old may not be great when it comes to physicality (with 76 Stamina, 78 Strength and 77 Aggressiveness), but he more than makes up for that with his 81 Sprint Speed, 82 Standing Tackle and 82 jumping.
He is noted for his anticipation, composure, decisions, positioning, tackling and passing ability, including long-range passes which enables him to break down attacks.
Inácio, who is currently signed to Sporting CP, was named defender of the month for December 2021. Fast forward to January 2022, his second-half header helped his team come from behind to defeat Benfica 2–1 in the league cup final.
7. Josip Šutalo (79 OVR, 85 POT)
Team: Ajax
Age: 23
Wage: £13,000
Value: £21 million
Best Attributes: 82 Interception, 80 Defensive Awareness, 88 Jumping
Josip Šutalo is the 7th player on my list of young centre backs in EA FC24 career mode. With his 79 Overall rating and 80 Defensive Awareness he’s definitely a centre back to keep an eye on.
The 23 year old has 82 Interception, 81 Composure and 83 Strength which makes him a high defensive player in the centre back position.
Šutalo signed a 5 year deal for Ajax after leaving Dinamo Zagreb in 2023 and also captained the team on his debut to a goalless draw against Fortuna Sittard.
With 65 match appearances last season, the 23 year old who weighs 181 lbs scored 4 goals and got called up to the Croatia national team on 10 June 2022.
All of the best young centre back players on EA Sports FC 24
Keep scrolling to see our list of all of the outright young centre backs ranked by their overall rating in EA FC24 Career Mode.
| Name | Position | Overall | Potential | Age | Team | Wage (p/w) | Value |
| Matthijs De Ligt | CB | 86 | 89 | 23 | Bayern Munich | £71,000 | £70 million |
| William Saliba | CB | 83 | 89 | 22 | Arsenal | £91,000 | £45 million |
| Josko Gvardiol | CB | 82 | 88 | 21 | Manchester City | £79,000 | £38 million |
| Nico Schlotterbeck | CB | 83 | 88 | 23 | Borussia Dortmund | £43,000 | £42 million |
| Sven Botman | CB | 83 | 87 | 23 | Newcastle United | £91,000 | £40 million |
| Gonçalo Inácio | CB | 79 | 86 | 22 | Sporting CP | £9,400 | £28 million |
| Josip Šutalo | CB | 79 | 86 | 23 | Ajax | £13,000 | £21 million |
| Mickey van de Ven | CB | 78 | 85 | 22 | Tottenham Hotspur | £59,000 | £26 million |
| Pierre Kalulu | CB | 78 | 85 | 23 | AC Milan | £47,000 | £26 million |
| Benoît Badiashile | CB | 78 | 85 | 22 | Chelsea | £73,000 | £26 million |
| Marc-Israel Guéhi | CB | 78 | 85 | 22 | Crystal Palace | £34,000 | £26 million |
| Obite Evan N’Dicka | CB | 78 | 83 | 23 | Roma | £47,000 | £19 million |
| Trevoh Chalobah | CB | 77 | 82 | 23 | Chelsea | £68,000 | £14 million |
| Tiago Djaló | CB | 76 | 82 | 23 | Lille | £24,000 | £11 million |
| David Carmo | CB | 76 | 82 | 23 | Porto | £11,000 | £11 million |
| Nehuen Pérez | CB | 76 | 82 | 23 | Udinese | £14,000 | £11 million |
| Eric García | CB | 75 | 82 | 22 | Girona | £76,000 | £10 million |
| Louis Beyer | CB | 75 | 82 | 23 | Burnley | £33,000 | £10 million |
| Maxime Estève | CB | 74 | 82 | 21 | Montpellier | £14,000 | £9 million |
If you are looking for the next Centre Back to build then look no further than the table above.