Players that can't be signed until they are 18

I'm not sure if this rule actually exists IRL.. still what countries do you normally search for good under 18 players to fill up your U-19 squad?

From my experience all south-americans countries won't let you sign them until they are 18, same with most African countries and even some Eastern Europe countries.

Seems to be ok for players in the EU, can freely sign 16 yr olds from France,Belgium,Netherlands..

Where do you normally look for those raw "diamonds" to fill up your youth squad? It's a big plus to sign them really young so they can learn the language and be settled in when it's time to be first team material.

Today I signed a 14 year old from Austria on my Wolves save. He had ok stats and 13 for finishing so hopefully he'll improve to a good level. There is a thread on here somewhere saying that France is the place to go to scout the younger players. Quite cheap too.

The Brazillians are worth the wait though in my experience, because you can pick them up for peanuts.

Before deleting my last save I had to look up a regens PA I'd picked up for 6k (he looked really good for a 15 yr old, 16 finishing composure etc, just lacking a bit in physical).

PA was 175, 175 pa for 6k!

I'm not sure if this rule actually exists IRL..

It does. The FIFA rule is that players under the age of 18 cannot move to a club in a different country. There are a few exceptions (EU member, parents move for none footballing reasons, new club is within 50km or so of their current club / state border) but as a standard don't expect to be able to buy any under 18 players from outside the EU (if managing an EU club that is).

I stick to scouting the domestic leagues for youth players, no matter the country and only consider buying a youth player from abroad if they're exceptional.

in my experience it has been [players outside of the EU.

It does. The FIFA rule is that players under the age of 18 cannot move to a club in a different country. There are a few exceptions (EU member, parents move for none footballing reasons, new club is within 50km or so of their current club / state border) but as a standard don't expect to be able to buy any under 18 players from outside the EU (if managing an EU club that is).

I stick to scouting the domestic leagues for youth players, no matter the country and only consider buying a youth player from abroad if they're exceptional.

Thanks for clearing that up it's a pity though, would love to sign dozens of 16 yr-olds from Brazil/Argentina/Ivory Coast etc.

I also look the player stats on the under 19 leagues and scout the top scorers/passers/etc and just mass scout all the U19 national squads when i can be bothered.

It's just awesome to sign someone for 10-100k and then sell for millions

Don't make the mistake I did and think that you can sign second nationality EU players from Brazil and Argentina before they are 18. I thought I was being so smart and didn't even bother looking at the join date :o.

If you are playing in the EU than just sign up any player playing in an EU country (plus a few other European countries) you like, doesn't matter how old they are. They are a lot more expensive then the South Americans and Africans, but you can still make a decent profit on them.

France is the best place to look? I've been getting my best regens from Germany in my current save. That's where all the "leading premiership star" potential players seem to hang out.

The USA seem to be the best place to grab cheap "ready for first team" regens. Last season I grabbed one player from the states for 800k, but had around 8 or 9 who were "decent" to "good" premiership player, all between 400k-1million, and all looked at least good enough for mid table football already. I should find out the draft date and make a point to check the regens there every year.

Not a world beater admittedly, but a perfectly good cheap utility midfielder for an injury crisis.

Regulary look to Spanish-speaking South American regens who gain Spanish Nationality within 2 seasons (10 seasons for everyone else) and can become Home-Grown players by the time they're 21.

So by the time they're 21, they speak Spanish, their 2nd Nationality is Spanish and they're HG

I found Finland was a good place for me but that was using a Scottish save. Not sure how many you'd find for the Premier League but I did have an awesome midfielder who was considered a leading star of the Scottish Premier League at 19yo. Judging by his stats and growth I'm sure he'd be fantastic for the EPL (I think he was getting interest from Chelsea and stuff when he was younger).

Regulary look to Spanish-speaking South American regens who gain Spanish Nationality within 2 seasons (10 seasons for everyone else) and can become Home-Grown players by the time they're 21.

So by the time they're 21, they speak Spanish, their 2nd Nationality is Spanish and they're HG

I think it's only 4 years for other Europeans.