Chilean players to sign on FM23

This post has been written for us by Scout Jakub Szewczyk, Jakub recommends Chilean players for you to sign on FM23

Chile is a long country with a long history of Football. The oldest club on the continent is Chilean, Santiago Wanderers, in Valparaíso. In more recent years, the national team has won the Copa America twice but the stars of that generation are fading. Thankfully, a new golden generation has come just in time to bring Chile back to the world cup for 2026. These are the players I recommend scouting and potentially signing in FM23.

Dario Osorio

Dario Osorio is the jewel in the Chilean football crown. Despite his age, he is already a key player for one of the biggest teams in Chile and a regular player for the senior national team. The Universidad de Chile academy product has been scouted by many European teams, including Chelsea and Real Madrid. Osorio is a winger who has the passing quality of a central midfielder. In real life, he scores goals and creates chances equally effortlessly. I hope FM has managed to replicate these skills.

He’s far from the finished product and will need a considerable amount of individual training to reach his potent potential. The 18-year-old is listed as a left midfielder, but his huge potential can be best realised on the right wing. His crossing isn’t good enough to be a touchline winger on the left. When on the right, he can dribble, pass, create and score more, thanks to the better angles he has there.

He’s fairly quick already and will get much quicker with the right individual training. Although, you should still train his right foot. If you’re concerned about his athleticism, just train his passing and he could be a very effective central or attacking midfielder. The sky is the limit for Osorio. He can be a top-class player in one of several positions on FM. He is young enough that a good FM manager can use him as a canvas to paint on. Perhaps the most appealing thing about Osorio is that he can be bought for under one million pounds. So the risk is minimal, and the reward is enormous.

Daniel González

Daniel González is a talented 20-year-old centre-back who plays for last year’s champions Universidad Católica. He only joined Católica in January but has done enough in 2022 to be rated very highly by Football Manager. González is not versatile as he can only play as a centre-back.

But boy does he do that well. He is very strong and will only get stronger. González has excellent acceleration and can pass the ball wonderfully. Another positive is that González is not painfully one-footed. His high determination and fairly professional personality also add to his appeal. Train his quickness, a bit. So his speed is as impressive as his acceleration and he will be more than capable of playing in a high line. Game time will be the most crucial factor in his development.

At 20 he has to play regularly so that his attributes all improve simultaneously. His playing time will be out of your hands until at least January, as he won’t leave Chile in the summer. But if you keep an eye on him and sign him in 2023, you will have a very talented and high-potential defender on your team. A maximum of £2M will be enough to convince Católica to sell.

Bastián Yáñez

The second winger on this list has also been capped by Chile but does not play for one of the big three. Bastián Yáñez is a 21-year-old left winger, who plays for Union Española in Chile. His combination of technical and mental prowess makes him an exciting option. Yáñez has pretty good acceleration, but his pace isn’t electric.

This is a slight issue as he can only play on the left wing and is left-footed. I hope that this can be fixed with quickness training as he would be quite a weapon on the wing. Yáñez is a technically proficient player. His passing, first touch, and technique will all certainly be in the green once he has finished his development if they aren’t already.

His long-range shooting is lethal and his finishing is good enough to count on him for a good few screamers a season. Yáñez already works hard and will run up and down the left flank a lot. You would just need to train his quickness so he does that running faster. There is a lot of potential here at 21. Unlike González, Yáñez can be signed in the summer. His club would be open to a deal of less than £2M, so he would be a low-cost risk worth taking. Wages would not be a problem either.

Brayan Cortés

Brayan Cortés is the only player on this list that is over the age of 23. Brayan Cortés is also the only goalkeeper. At 27 years old, Cortés is coming into his shot-stopping prime. His performances between the sticks were crucial in Colo-Colo’s 2022 Chilean title win. The 186cm Chilean is also the starting goalkeeper for the Chilean national team.

Cortés is a leader and a very good communicator. His positioning is great as well as his command of the area. Cortés is very adept at sweeping and his composure and technique contribute to his competence on the ball. His tendency to catch the ball is also very comforting and makes him a very safe and secure goalkeeper who is ready for a step up to Europe.

Unfortunately. Cortés has a new contract and won’t leave Colo-Colo in the summer. So he will be the ideal signing if your goalkeeper gets injured or starts letting you down mid-season. Cortés is a very capable keeper who can be bought for less than £1M.

Alex Ibacache

There’s a team in Chile that’s called ‘Everton’. Well, it’s ‘Everton de Viña del Mar’ and they have a 23-year-old left-back who’s good enough to make this list. Alex Ibacache is quite short at 174cm, and not perfect. He has some flaws but overall I really like him in FM and here’s why.

He has made appearances for the Chilean National Team and is a key player for his club. Alx is an attacking full-back who is very quick, and strong. For a ball-dominant team, his excellent passing and first touch would be amazing assets. However, Alex’s defensive game needs improvement. His speed and strength mean that he can sometimes overcome his poor tackling and marking, but his anticipation and decisions could leave him exposed if he has to play against better teams with no cover.

He’s got a balanced personality, is a very good athlete and is sound technically. Alex has poor heading and jumping reach, so he will likely be ineffective in the air. Going forward, Ibacache is already a very decent player. All of his individual training can focus on improving him as a defender. Since he’s 23, there should be potential for him to get better, but if not he could still be a useful attacking wingback. Ibacache is available to buy for under £1M in the summer of 2022. I’d recommend signing Ibacache if you manage a team that isn’t battling for the title in the top 5 leagues.

Since I don’t want to include more than one player per team to protect my reputation as a neutral Chilean football specialist, here are a few more honorable mentions.

Lucas Assadi, 18. Universidad de Chile. Left-winger, attacking midfielder
• On youth contract, can be bought for <£1M compensation

Vicente Pizarro, 19. Colo-Colo. Defensive midfielder, central midfielder
• Won’t cost more than £1.5M including all bonuses

Gozalo Tapia, 20. Universidad Católica. Left winger, right winger
• Contract expires on 31/12/22, in 6 months

Some great recommendations from Jakub and Chile seem full of young talent on FM23, will you sign any of these? Let us know