Wonderkid Profile: My First FM26 Obsession - Kerim Alajbegovic

Much has been said publicly about the shortcomings of Football Manager 26 in its first week of Beta release. However, I may be in the quiet minority of people who are loving the game, largely thanks to unearthing wonderkids I’d never previously heard of.

Sure, I’ve had my fair share of bugs and crashes, or things not quite working how we traditionally expected them to. However, in the last week, I’ve ploughed more than two days into my Beta save with Parma. The new game has lured me in, and I’m deeply immersed in the story of managing Parma Calcio with our protagonist Alessio Rinaldi, a boyhood Parma fan whose promising youth career was cut short by a pre-season game at the age of 18. Rinaldi went to university and moved into the business world before taking charge of local youth sides, gaining his badges and earning his place coaching Parma’s youth sides under the tutelage of the clubs Head of Methodology, Fabio Galli.

The first couple of seasons went far better than expected. In season one, we built a defence-first tactic that, in true Italian style, bored teams to death and only conceded 28 goals en route to finishing in a surprise 3rd place. The following season, a Champions League challenge saw us struggle at times, but came home strong to finish much higher than expected in 6th place.

But things really began to heat up going into season three, as we used the Champions League money to start snapping up wonderkids. The likes of Cardoso Varela and Mikkel Bro Hansen came in, with the latter winning NxGn in 2028. But the real superstar signing of the save has been German winger Kerim Alajbegovic.

The winger actually came in on loan from Salzburg in the second season. And, while he didn’t exactly take Serie A storm, he picked up form towards the end of the campaign and clocked up 11 assists - while portraying excellent dribbling ability playing as a winger from the right wing.

Rinaldi saw enough to shell out what seemed like a big transfer fee, paying £14.5m to make the loan move permanent. He moved Alajbegovic over to play on the left wing as an inside forward and an inside outlet winger out of possession, with previous left winger Mateo Pellegrino, who’s 6ft 4in, moving to fill the vacant slot up front. And both have flourished beyond all expectations. For context, this was him at the start of the season:

Alajbegovic created the only goal in the season opener against Juventus, scored in six of the next eight games and bagged a hat trick as Parma smashed Atalanta 5-1. He scored six in six through November, including a brace in a 7-1 thrashing of Catanzaro, and bagged another hat trick in a 6-1 win over Djurgårdens in Europe.

His production tailed off but, after a talking to in mid-February, he was back at it again. He laid on goals in three successive games at the end of the month, scored two and got two assists in March and scored twice as Parma crushed Pisa 5-1. But the winger really came up clutch in crucial games at the end of the season.

First up, he scored the opener and created another in a critical 3-1 win at Napoli, which took Parma level on points with Inter going into the final two games of the season. He then created both goals on the final day as Parma beat Cagliari 2-1 away to finish level on points with Inter - which set up a title playoff to decide Serie A.

Alajbegovic maintained that form, taking just 24 seconds to open the scoring in that vital playoff game. He then laid on a critical third goal that ensured Parma beat Inter 3-2 to win their maiden Serie A title!

The winger was very much the star of the Parma title-winning season. He scored 19 goals and laid on 11 assists in 37 Serie A games. And in the Europa League, he scored 10 with 4 assists and an impressive 7.52 average rating in 13 games.

For that reason, Alajbegovic is very much my first obsession in Football Manager 26. And he’s still only 20, so has so much more room to improve at Parma (if we don’t lose him for a massive profit). And just look at the improvement he’s made to his attributes over the last 10 months.

Alajbegovic’s second season saw him switch to a deeper left midfield role to accommodate the signing of Francesco Pio Esposito in more of a 4-4-2 approach. And he did not disappoint. He racked up 17 goals and 18 assists, including a new Serie A record of 17 assists, which was rewarded by winning the Serie A Player of the Year award as Parma pushed Inter close in their title defence.

However, this obsession does not have a happy ending. In true FM style, having inspired Parma to two of their greatest-ever seasons, Alajbegovic decided it was time for him to “play with better players.” And he was sold to FC Bayern for £66m - a £50m profit over two seasons.

Have you used Alajbegovic in FM26? Or have you discovered any previously unknown gems on your FM26 saves? Let us know by leaving a comment below!