Buying players from other youth academies

This has to be one of the most difficult times to buy a player. I'm talking about players that are straight out of the youth academy (for example, you get your scout to go around England on the 20/6 and you try to buy them a month later).

No matter how much praising you do, even 5 months later, (say in Nov-Dec), those young players will never come to you. I've even played around with FMM modifier for fun by changing their transfer status, yet still no luck.

Does anyone have any good strategies to buy these players?

Never had a problem with this to be honest. Are you trying to buy from higher reputation clubs? If that's the case, why would a youth player want to come to your club?

I generally play Liverpool and most youth players are pretty pumped to get an opportunity there. Especially after season one when I generally do the CL and PL double .

Well, atm I'm playing with Peterborough, so I guess what you say makes sense.

However, I remember there was one time when I was also playing as Liverpool and I was trying to buy a regen in the same situation as I've described it at Sheffield United. That regen would not go to Liverpool no matter what I did. This was in the 4th or 5th season, when I had been winning everything for about 3 years. But as you say, it's much easier buying youth players as Liverpool (although admittedly I tended to buy them after they signed their professional contracts).

i find buying young players so easy.

there reputations are low which means they will join a low rep club and for cheap or free. the thing is. the AI teams dont seem to reconise PA and keep younsters as if they were gold dust, they only seem to look at the CA which means they get passed about from club to club like pass the parcel..

I so hope the AI managment teams do this from now on in.

It has to do with club AND manager reputation

I am currently in 2030. I started with Sturm Graz in the Austrian league, a club that even after winning the national title 13 times in a row and the champion's league (plus several good international seasons) will never get a club reputation above national.

It was hard getting youth players from good nations for the obvious reason. Towards the end of my Sturm Graz career I had worldwide reputation though and managed to get a few more players.

Then I changed to the German Bundesliga, got Vfl Wolfsburg from Div.2 to title and CL etc within 2 years, after 3 national titles I have continental reputation and I get most of youth players that I want (of course there will always be exceptions.. it would be too easy otherwise).

So patience is the key, unless you are in a low rep league, where your club will never be able to achieve a reputation above national.

Remember that the players you are trying to buy are youngsters, and like IRL will not want to move around the country at such a young age. I often get the info message saying that they want to concentrate on their football, and stay where they are.

Buying the true gemas off other clubs at the age of 16 was ridiculously easy in earlier version. Now it's harder, yet possible as long as you are a big club and have a good reputation yourself. A lot more realistic and just fine imho.

id say it makes it more realistic- but still find it easy to get people like victor moses

I think the OP might be missing something here.

If you attempt to sign an Academy player (under 17) on a contract after he has already signed a pre-contract agreement with his current club, he will ALWAYS sign a new contract at his current club. Quite often I will add a player note for the day these players turn 17 and then make a purchase offer for them.

This was done to stop exactly what was mentioned in this thread earlier about how it used to be way to easy to poach these players.

I think the message is misleading as in reality he's rejecting your contract offer because he can't leave his current club, not because he'd necessarily prefer to say. But I guess this was the best way for SI to handle the dodgy legal grey areas of Under-17 pre-contract agreements.

Negatrev- I know what you are saying, but for some reason this doesn't seem to apply for AI teams .

There was this 16 year old right back at Leeds' academy who my scouts were raving about. I bid for him again and again, and he refused to join. I noticed he had a pre-contract agreement, so I set a note telling me to try again the day he signed it.

A few weeks later (a long time before he was due to sign the contract), Fulham bid for him. I don't bother, "knowing" that he can't sign for them.

He accepted their offer.

I was Reading and I was in the CL, with Continental rep versus Fulham, who finished 17th and had a National reputation.

you CAN bid for players and agree their transfers, regardless of whether they have a pre-contract or not. there have been cases where the players have accepted a pre-contract, and then accepted the offer to sign for the player's club as well

Thanks Negatrev, what you said makes complete sense now. The players I had the most difficulties buying were the ones who are about to sign their pre-contracts. No matter what club I was or how many trophies I had won, they would just reject my contract offers. I'll do as you say and buy them the instant they turn 17.

I don't know, I tend to scout around the whole country during the time when youth players are being announced, and try to sign those with the best stats at that time. 50/50 success when i do it as players from Arsenal sign for me, while those from Derby rejected me. (Playing as Aston Villa/League runner up/CL quarterfinalist/2012)

Thanks Negatrev, what you said makes complete sense now. The players I had the most difficulties buying were the ones who are about to sign their pre-contracts. No matter what club I was or how many trophies I had won, they would just reject my contract offers. I'll do as you say and buy them the instant they turn 17.

if you're in England, the best time to look for English based players to do this, would be Jun 19th.. the season reset date.. thats when the new players are generated for each team. there was a list knockin around with a few dates for other countires, ill see if i can find it if you think it would be useful for you??

England : 3rd week of June

Germany: 3rd Week of June

Spain: 2nd Week of July(can anyone clarify this i'm not that sure)

France: 4th week of June/1st week of July

I'll usually search for this few areas only. Got a sweet German regen out of it, will post screenshot once i've located it.

if you're in England, the best time to look for English based players to do this, would be Jun 19th.. the season reset date.. thats when the new players are generated for each team. there was a list knockin around with a few dates for other countires, ill see if i can find it if you think it would be useful for you??

That's what I did this season. But it seems like if the young player hasn't signed their pre-contract, then no matter the amount of praising, or your club's reputation, the player won't sign for you this early.

However, it's a different story once they're on their professional contracts.