Here, we are ranking our favorite young Central Midfielders in FC 24. We’ve only selected players whose primary position is Central Midfielder. Anybody who has it as a secondary position or plays out of position is left out of this list.

9. Gabri Veiga

Kicking off with our number 9, Gabri Veiga.

Veiga currently plays for Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia. After transferring over from Celta in the summer of 2023. 

He boasts a 78 overall at just 21 years of age and has a potential of 89. In the game, he is a very strong box-to-box midfielder who is able to take on defensive duties as well. He is at his best with the ball at his feet. He has great passing ability and is strong in front of the goal. 

However, in the game, Veiga feels a little stiff and slow. He is not able to easily win one-on-one and isn’t able to break away with speed. 

At the end, Gabri Veiga is ninth on our list because he just lacked a little of the “wow” factor.

8. Joao Neves

Number 8 on our list is Joao Neves, the 18-year-old Benfica prodigy. 

He is currently rated at 73 with a potential of 87, and he feels like a work in progress but with a major upside. He is a great passer and finds his teammates time and time again. 

What jumps out most is his agility and ball control, creating space by turning away from a defender is a breeze and comes very naturally. 

His finishing is rated quite low. However, with his composure rated at 77, he’s still able to score some good goals from our experience.

7. Enzo Fernandez

Continuing to number 7 on our list is Enzo Fernandez, already rated 82 with a potential of 88. 

Fernandez has one of the higher starting overalls on our list. In the game, he is a really strong box-to-box midfielder with stamina rated at 84. His aggression makes him great for defensive duties, as he is able to use his aggression to dispossess opponents. 

When on the ball, his main qualities are in his passing. His ball control is great, but he misses some skill in dribbling and agility to be useful as a dribbler. 

However, when using his passing qualities, he’s very useful to set up teammates. And with his shot power and composure, he is actually quite a good finisher as well. 

When looking purely at his stats, he feels a little underwhelming in the game, but he is very functional when used correctly.

6. Pablo Gavi

At number 6, we have our first Barcelona midfielder, Pablo Gavi, who, unfortunately, in real life is out for the season. 

At 19 years old, Gavi is already rated 83 overall and has a potential of 90. In the game, his defensive skills are what surprised us at first. Of course, we expected a technically gifted player, but Gavi is actually also really good at dispossessing opponents, with his aggression being rated 85 and standing tackle at 78. 

Now, with the ball at his feet, is where Gavi shines. His first step is amazing, and he turns on a dime, leaving behind defenders left and right. He is able to complete any pass you can imagine and gets himself in the right areas to score goals. 

His finishing, however, is a little underwhelming, but he does have the outside of the foot trait, which is a little bonus.

When taking Gavi into account, keep in mind he only has 3-star skill moves and weak foot, which might be an issue for some.

5. Pablo Barrios

Number 5 on our list is Atletico midfielder, Pablo Barrios. 

The 20-year-old is currently rated 76 overall with an 86 potential, but in the game, he plays way above his rating. Playing with Barrios is just super fun as he is super dynamic. His passing is excellent, and he is a great technical dribbler as well, even though his stats might not suggest this. 

What also surprised us in playing with Barrios is his ability to dispossess an opponent, especially when the team just lost the ball on the opponent’s half. Barrios is perfect for the Gigan pressing tactics. When the team loses possession, with Barrios, you’re able to immediately pressure the opponent and try to recover possession. 

Now, you may ask why Barrios is higher on our list than players like Gavi and Fernandez. The main reason is expectations versus how they actually felt in the game. 

With Barrios, we were able to almost execute the same things we could do with Gavi and a lot of things even better than we could do with Fernandez.

4. Pedri

With number 4 on our list, we have our second Barcelona midfielder, Pedri. 

He has the highest overall out of all the players on our list, with an 86 overall and 92 potential. In the game, Pedri feels very similar to his Barcelona companion but just a little better in every offensive aspect. 

Pedri has an incredibly quick first step and cuts and turns on a dime. His passing is on point, and when on the ball, he’s a dream to play with. 

But the reason he is only number 4 on our list is that with his 86 overall rating, that is exactly what you expect from him. 

Higher on our list are 3 players who not just have great potential but felt a lot better than their current overall would suggest.

3. Ryan Gravenberch

So, with that, we introduce our number 3 young Central Midfielder, Ryan Gravenberch. 

The 21-year-old Liverpool midfielder is currently rated 79 overall with a potential of 87. Gravenberch has 4-star skill moves and a 4-star weak foot, which makes gameplay a whole lot of fun. Even though he is 6’2", he is still very agile and a very good dribbler. This is also what makes him so fun to play with. 

Besides his dribbling skills, Gravenberch also has a little poacher in him. He times his runs well, and his finishing is rated 76, which makes him higher rated at finishing than a lot of strikers. 

With a potential of 87, Gravenberch will certainly continue to develop in Career Mode, which makes for an exciting perspective. 

2. Warren Zaïre-Emery

Before we reveal our final 2 players, we must say this was a very close call between the 2, and this was purely based on the fun we had playing with each player.

With that said, at number 2 on our list, we have 17-year-old Warren Zaïre-Emery, who recently has taken the world by storm. 

He is the youngest player on our list and already rated 78 overall with a 90 potential. Zaïre-Emery has everything you could want from a Central Midfielder, and he is only just 17 years old. He is quite fast and already has some strength to him. He is capable of going end to end for the full 90 minutes with both attacking and defensive qualities. His defensive vision is great, and his tackles are strong. 

In attack, his main quality is his passing and ball control. He’s able to make every pass you could wish for, and he’ll always be in control in every situation. 

What stands out when dribbling is his balance, rated 84. When getting past defenders, he’s very difficult to knock over, which compensates for a lack of agility. 

If you want somebody who can cut and turn on a dime, Zaïre-Emery might not be the one for you, though this might change once he develops to a higher level overall.

1. Fabio Miretti

That takes us to number 1 on our list, Fabio Miretti, the 20-year-old Italian Juventus player. 

He is currently rated 75 overall with a potential of 88, and he has 3-star skill moves and a 4-star weak foot. In the game, Miretti plays way above his 75 overall, and that’s exactly why he is first on our list. 

You don’t expect this quality of play from a 75 overall player, which makes him great value when playing Manager Career. Overall, he is a very well-rounded player, being able to make an impact both on defense as well as in the attack. 

His standout skills are his dribbling and passing. The way you can cut and turn with him in the game just gives lots of joy. The more you play him, the more he surprises you with his abilities. 

Whether you’re into player Career or Manager Career, Miretti should be on your radar.