EA Sports FC 24 Wonderkids: Best Young Centre Backs (CB) to Sign in Career Mode

All of the best teams build from the back, so get your world-class centre back for the next ten seasons by snapping up one of these CB wonderkids early on in EA Sports FC 24’s Career Mode. 

Choosing EA Sports FC 24 Career Mode’s best wonderkid centre backs (CB)

On this page, you’ll find the outright best seven centre-back wonderkids featured, which includes Jorrel Hato, Gonçalo Inácio, and Joško Gvardiol, as well as a full list of all of the top CB wonderkids in Career Mode at the foot of the page.

The best CB wonderkids were selected based on their potential (POT) ratings, with all of these players being under 21-years-old and having their best position listed as centre back. 

António Silva (78 OVR – 88 POT)

Team: SL Benfica
Age: 19-years-old
Position: CB
Wage: £6,200 p/w
Value: £24 million
Best Attributes: 83 Stamina, 82 Strength, 81 Standing Tackle

António Silva clocks in as the joint-best centre back wonderkid in EA Sports FC 24, boasting a mighty potential overall rating of 88 while already being a serviceable 78 overall. 

Still only 19-years-old, the Portuguese defender is only valued at £24 million at the start of Career Mode, so he could be somewhat of a bargain, especially as you can make use of his 81 standing tackle, 80 interceptions, and 79 sprint speed. 

Already a league-winner with SL Benfica, Silva’s a first-team regular in Liga Portugal and has earned five caps for the national team. Given that he’s already 6’2’’, it’s easy to see why the club is keen to play him at the back.

Last season, he started every single one of Benfica’s games in the UEFA Champions League, with his two goals helping them to reach the Quarter-Finals. Despite not featuring in the first two games, Silva would go on to play 30 league games and score three times.

Joško Gvardiol (82 OVR – 88 POT)

Team: Manchester City
Age: 21-years-old
Position: CB, LB
Wage: £79,000 p/w
Value: £38 million
Best Attributes: 90 Jumping, 86 Aggression, 84 Sliding Tackle

With the same potential rating as António Silva at 88 POT, Joško Gvardiol earns his place as the joint-best CB wonderkid that you can find in EA Sports FC 24’s Career Mode. 

Already rated 82 overall, Gvardiol can be a starter for just about any team in the game, with his 90 jumping, 84 sliding tackle, 84 standing tackle, and 82 interceptions making him particularly difficult to get past.

Mightily impressive at the World Cup in Qatar, it only seemed like a matter of time for the long-touted Croatian to make a big-money switch to one of Europe’s elite, and this summer, that move finally came.

The RB Leipzig staple was signed by Manchester City for around £80 million and was almost immediately thrown into the starting XI, initially being utilised at left-back. 

Jorrel Hato (68 OVR – 87 POT)

Team: AFC Ajax
Age: 17-years-old
Position: CB, LB
Wage: £425 p/w
Value: £2.4 million
Best Attributes: 85 Jumping, 78 Sprint Speed, 77 Acceleration

Arguably, Jorrel Hato is actually the best of these centre back wonderkids to sign in Career Mode because he’s so cheap and comes with a massive potential overall rating of 87 – only one point shy of the top two on this list. 

Hato is rather raw right now, but his 74 short pass and 78 sprint speed lay the foundations of an incredibly useful, possession-based centre back who will be able to keep up with the swiftest strikers in EA Sports FC 24. 

Despite only being 17-years-old, Hato is a regular starter for AFC Ajax. The Dutchman received his Eredivisie debut under Johnny Heitinga in February 2023 and remains a go-to selection for Maurice Steijn. 

The Rotterdam native will be getting plenty of top-class competition to test himself against in the Europa League this season, and it will likely only be a few years before one of the elite clubs comes knocking.

 Giorgio Scalvini (75 OVR – 86 POT)

Team: Bergamo Calcio (Atalanta)
Age: 19-years-old
Position: CB, LB
Wage: £16,000 p/w
Value: £9.5 million
Best Attributes: 80 Standing Tackle, 79 Defensive Awareness, 78 Interceptions

Next on the list of the best CB wonderkids is the towering Italian defender Giorgio Scalvini, who comes in with a 75 overall rating and 86 POT. 

Already serviceable along the back line for a top team, Scalvini’s best traits include his 78 interceptions, 76 sliding tackle, 79 defensive awareness, and 80 standing tackle. 

Given that the Chiari-born defender is already 6’4’’, it’d be fair to say that Atalanta didn’t have any worries about him dealing with Serie A physically, which has helped him to already exceed 60 games for the club. 

Last season, Scalvini managed to score twice and set up two more in his 34 games and further established himself for the Italian national team.

Gonçalo Inácio (75 OVR – 86 POT)

Team: Sporting CP
Age: 21-years-old
Position: CB, LB
Wage: £9,400 p/w
Value: £28 million
Best Attributes: 82 Jumping, 82 Standing Tackle, 81 Sprint Speed

With attribute ratings that far exceed his 75 overall rating, Gonçalo Inácio already has the makings of a solid centre back in EA Sports FC 24, but of course, it’s his hefty 86 potential rating that makes him a wonderkid. 

The Portuguese left-footed defender can already defend against the best of Liga Portugal thanks to his 82 standing tackle, 81 sprint speed, 81 defensive awareness, and 79 slide tackle. Plus, that 82 jumping and 79 heading accuracy makes Inácio a menace in the opposing box.

Standing 6’1’’, Sporting’s wonderkid defender has already played three games for the Roberto Martínez-led Portugal national team, and in that time, he’s already scored twice (both against Luxembourg) and claimed an assist.

With four pieces of Portuguese silverware already on his shelf, Inácio’s the team’s go-to centre back and has been for several seasons. Already past the 130-game mark for Sporting, he might not be in the green-and-white of Leões for much longer if he continues to impress.

Piero Hincapié (79 OVR – 86 POT)

Team: Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Age: 21-years-old
Position: CB
Wage: £30,500 p/w
Value: £28 million
Best Attributes: 88 Jumping, 85 Sprint Speed, 84 Sliding Tackle

His 79 overall already makes Piero Hincapié a consideration for the starting XI at most clubs in the game, but it’s his 86 potential rating that ranks the Ecuadorian among the best CB wonderkids. 

Despite being somewhat diminutive for the position and among these EA Sports FC 24 wonderkids at 6’0’’, Hincapié more than makes up for that with his 88 jumping, 85 sprint speed, 80 aggression, and 79 acceleration. 

Having debuted for the national team a couple of years ago, Hincapié will almost certainly exceed 30 caps for Ecuador this season, but he’ll need to re-establish himself in the Bundesliga first. 

To commence the 2023/24 campaign, Hincapié had to serve a suspension dished out via a straight red card in the final game of what was otherwise a superb season for Hincapié, who even featured at left-back and left midfield at times. 

Jorne Spileers (69 OVR – 85 POT)

Team: Club Brugge
Age: 18-years-old
Position: CB
Wage: £1,900 p/w
Value: £2.5 million
Best Attributes: 73 Jumping, 71 Defensive Awareness, 70 Heading Accuracy

If you want to start building your backline of the future with a very cheap player, then you can’t go wrong with the £2.5 million-valued Jorne Spileers of Club Brugge. 

The 6’2’’ centre back is only 69 overall at the start of the game with fairly low attribute ratings, but he’ll grow into his wonderkid-worthy potential of 85 over the course of a few seasons of play.

Last season, Spileers finally broke into the ranks of the Club Brugge first team, playing a couple in October before seeing out the season with six consecutive full games in the Jupiler Pro League. 

Now, he looks to keep a hold of his starting XI role while tallying caps for the Belgium U21 team, but given the talent ahead of him, it may be a while yet before Spileers gets a national team call-up.

All of the best young wonderkid centre backs (CB) on EA Sports FC 24

Check out the table below to get the full list of all of the best wonderkid centre backs in EA Sports FC 24, sorted by their potential ratings.