Football Manager 23 has launched and gamers can once again get to work and live the life of a successful football manager. Players can start at a football giant, like Liverpool, or begin at a smaller club like Wrexham and work for the club up to the top. The choice is of the essence.
A good place to start when beginning at a new club is starting from the back and having a good goalkeeper from the get-go. There are several shot-stoppers in Football Manager 23 that players can get for next to nothing, some as a cheap way to begin or some to grow and develop into a true superstar.
Updated on July 17, 2023, by Ben Painter: Football Manager 23 continues to be the game that gamers can sit on and pass away the time. The addictive soccer management simulator is always high up the steam rankings and this latest entry is no exception. When building a team on the game the best place to start is getting a solid goalkeeper to help keep those opposition strikers at bay, keeping clean sheets and not conceding is a tactic that is sure to win those vital three points. There are many young goalkeepers, that are friendly for those on a budget. This update adds five new shot stoppers that FM23 fans should invest in for their sides.
15 Keiren Westwood
- Age: 37
- Position: GK
- Club: Free Agent
- Nationality: Irish
- Price: Free
Starting with a very cheap pickup, the vastly experienced Keiren Westwood is a free agent from the start and therefore available for nothing at all and will require a very cheap wage.
If a lower league team was the choice made then Westwood could be also employed as a goalkeeping coach, killing two birds with one stone and saving those vital pennies along the way. At 37 years of age, the Irishman doesn't have long left in the game, but he is certainly a cost-effective way to start one's playthrough.
14 Andy Lonergan
- Age: 38
- Position: GK
- Club: Everton, Premier League
- Nationality: English
- Price: ~ $5K
Another veteran to add to one's roster, Andy Lonergan is at Premier League club Everton at the start of the save, but the club is looking to get him out the door, available for a measly $5,000.
Lonergan is 38 years old, so just like Westwood is close to the end of his career, but it is a great way to start with a smaller club and pick up a Premier League winner to tend the sticks at the club of one's choosing. He has good goalkeeping stats, despite his age, and will be a fantastic servant for the first couple of seasons as players climb up the table. Fans can then replace him with one of these younger players.
13 Etienne Green
- Age: 22
- Position: GK
- Club: Saint Étienne, Ligue 2
- Nationality: English
- Price: $3-8 million
Etienne Green is an English goalkeeper who plays for Saint Étienne, who plays in green. It seems like he was made for the club, but gamers should ruin that and sign him up for their chosen club. Available for $3-8 million, Green is a steal for this price.
The 22-year-old has bags of potential and to possibly return him to England to be more in the National Team fold could be a nice storyline to achieve. With fantastic goalkeeping stats and 74 potential, this goalkeeper is one to look out for in Football Manager 23.
12 Charlie Setford
- Age: 18
- Position: GK
- Club: Ajax, Eredivisie
- Nationality: English
- Price: $ 3 million
Another Brit playing abroad, Charlie Setford is an 18-year-old goalkeeper playing for Ajax's Under 18 squad over in the Netherlands. Setford is one of the best young goalkeepers to pick up because he is given dynamic potential, meaning how much fans play him will determine how good he will become.
No doubt Setford will be a nightmare for opposition strikers if fans develop him over time, as the number one or out on loan at another club. Setford is a must-buy in Football Manager 23.
11 Nathaniel Nwosu
- Age: 16
- Position: GK
- Club: Water F.C., Nigeria
- Nationality: Nigerian
- Price: $8-$85k
Without a doubt one of the best bargain goalkeepers to pick up in Football Manager 23 on a budget. At just 16 years of age, in real life, he already has one appearance for the Nigerian National team.
He can be picked up for absolute pennies and starts with a decent rating and has the potential to grow. Fans can pick him up for under $10k which is a no-brainer for any avid FM23 fan. From a small club to making him the number one to a big club, having him in the academy, or loaning him out, Nwosu is perfect for any team.
10 Lucas Cañizares
- Age: 20
- Position: GK
- Club: Real Madrid B, Primera Federación (Spanish third tier)
- Nationality: Spanish
- Price: $4.5-9 million
A bit on the dearer side, but still an absolute bargain for a keeper of his caliber, playing for Real Madrid's second team. Cañizares could be the next Iker Casillas. At $ 4 million a loan to buy could be arranged which will make his price an absolute steal and take a superb goalkeeper off one of the top dogs in the game.
Spain always has had some really good players and it is always handy to add a few Spaniards to one's arsenal and play that tiki-taka style that made them famous. A ball-playing goalkeeper such as this Galatico is a great way to start off in a career mode, building that solid base that will take players to Football Manager 23 glory.
9 Iker Álvarez
- Age: 21
- Position: GK
- Club: Villareal B, LaLiga 2
- Nationality: Andorran
- Price: $700k-$6.5 million
This shot-stopper is one of the best young goalkeepers in the game, playing for Villareal's B team. The ceiling is high for this one. A good storyline in FM saves is taking a player from a smaller nation and turning them into a world-beater, the best player their country has ever seen.
Fans can do this with Álvarez. The Andorran is a great pickup for this reason. He is a good goalkeeper already and could be purchased for under $ 1 million. Go out and buy Álvarez and create the greatest player that Andorra has ever seen.
8 Elia Caprile
- Age: 21
- Position: GK
- Club: S.S.C. Bari, Serie B
- Nationality: Italian
- Price: $220k-£2.2 million
The former Leeds United goalkeeper moved on to Bari at the start of this season, so it may be a challenge to pick him up in the first season. Keep an eye on this Italian though because he has the potential to reach the very top.
Italy always produces some top players. Caprile can follow in the footsteps of legendary Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and become an amazing goalkeeper for many years. Players can get him for under $ 1 million and there is no question about it, it is a steal.
7 Javier Belman
- Age: 23
- Position: GK
- Club: Free Agent
- Nationality: Spanish
- Price: Free
Available for absolutely nothing at the start of the game, Spaniard Javier Belman is one to buy for a club on a budget. At just 24 years old, there is room for Belman to grow. Gamers could have a perfect goalkeeper, for at least a few years, from the start without spending a penny.
Belman has excellent stats for a free agent, and once players sign him, he is available for $500k-4.9 million. If players are in it to make money this player should be the main target.
6 Alejandro Iturbe
- Age: 19
- Position: GK
- Club: Atletico Marid B., Segunda Federación
- Nationality: Spanish
- Price: $5-9.8 million
The most expensive goaltender on this list, Alejandro Iturbe is probably the best young player for his position to buy in Football Manager 23. Another Spaniard, but this is the ONE to buy. Fantastic goalkeeping stats and the sky is the limit for this 19-year-old.
Playing for Atletico Madrid's B team, a loan can be arranged if his price tag is stretching the budget. If gamers do splash out it will be worth every penny as they, more than likely, won't need to pick up another goalkeeper throughout the save.
5 Andre Gomes
- Age: 17
- Position: GK
- Club: Benfica Under 23s
- Nationality: Portuguese
- Price: $1.3- $2.6 million
Portugal is always a good place to look when looking for hidden gems, many great young players have been snapped up from the European country such as Ruben Dias, Darwin Nunez, and Nuno Mendes.
Diogo Costa is the ideal Portuguese goaltender, but he is very costly in Football Manager 23, so Benfica's Andre Gomes is the next best thing. He will cost no less than $3 million and will develop into a world-beater in the game, he is primed and ready to slot lower-rated.
4 Joaquin Blazquez
- Age: 21
- Position: GK
- Club: Stade Brest (on loan from Talleres de Cordoba)
- Nationality: Argentinian
- Price: $250 thousand - $2.6 million
Gamers will need to wait to pick up Blazquez as he is on loan at French side Stade Brest, which is unfortunate as his price may skyrocket in a year. Perhaps a future transfer could be arranged from the parent side of Talleres de Cordoba.
The Argentine is one of the older players on this list at 21, but he still has plenty of years to develop, goalkeepers tend to hit their peak at around 30. His goalkeeping stats are nice and varied, and he will be perfect as a modern sweeper-keeper in many different in-game systems.
3 Luiz Turatto
- Age: 18
- Position: GK
- Club: Juventude Under 20s
- Nationality: Brazilian
- Price: $800 thousand - $2 million
Brazil is such a farm for young talents, can Luiz Turatto follow the likes of Alisson Becker and Ederson to compete for the Brazilian number one spot? To do so gamers will need to make a deal with second-tier Brazilian side Juventude and it will cost around a very cool $1 million.
Opposition strikers will have a problem beating Turatto as his one-on-ones and reflexes are his best attributes, perfect for a modern goalkeeper.
2 Faaris Yusufu
- Age: 17
- Position: GK
- Club: Schalke 04 U19s
- Nationality: German
- Price: $100 thousand - $1 million
Faaris Yusufu has shades of the next Manuel Neuer, they even started at the same team Schalke 04, this is the club that gamers will need to fork out just under a million dollars to pick up.
He will be an excellent buy for a lower-league German side, filling that home-grown quota that FM 23 requests. His kicking and rushing out are the stand-outs, gamers can play out from the back with Yusufu in the net. Starting the attack from the defense to match the modern game.
1 Murray Johnson
- Age: 17
- Position: GK
- Club: Hibernian
- Nationality: Scottish
- Price: $3-$6 million
A little on the pricey side, Murray Johnson is a 17-year-old playing for Hibernian in the Scottish Premier League. Johnson is perfect for any budding manager managing Rangers or Celtic, or any side in Scotland.
The Scot will cost between $3-$6 million, but he will be worth that tenfold in years to come, he is pretty much the only choice for a real hidden gem in Scottish goalkeeping. With his best stats being kicking, rushing out, and agility, again he is a great modern shot-stopper.
Football Manager 23 is available on Android, iOS, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.