The Youth Team

Not every player needs a place in your matchday 18. The Youth Team is where you keep prospects and fringe players who aren’t ready — or aren’t needed — in the senior squad.

Promote and demote

You move players between the two groups whenever you like:

• Promote a youth player to the senior roster when he’s ready to compete for minutes (and you have a roster spot for him).
• Demote a senior player to the youth team to free up a senior spot without releasing him altogether.

You can filter the youth squad by position to find the player you’re after.

Why keep a youth team?

• Stash prospects. A promising young player can sit in the youth setup, develop over the offseasons, and be promoted when he’s grown into a first-teamer.
• Manage your roster. With only 18 senior spots, the youth team is a place to park depth you can’t fit but don’t want to lose.
• Cover the future. Draft picks and young signings you’re not ready to unleash can wait in the wings.

Patience pays

Young players tend to improve year over year. A raw prospect demoted to the youth team today can become a senior contributor a season or two from now — often for a fraction of what a ready-made player would cost you.