It's all well and good being solid at the back and having pace out wide, but the real glue that holds a team together is the midfield.
There are plenty of great centre mids in the world, but we're basing this list of the best CDM, CM, and CAM players on their current and potential ability, as well as the longevity of the success they'll have at your club.
We're looking for players with a long career ahead of them, so for the purposes of this list we're going for midfielders aged 28 and under.
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That's not to say you can't have a massive amount of success with the likes of N'Golo Kante, it's just that everyone knows he's the best holding midfielder in the world. You don't need us to tell you that.
More guides in this series:
- The 10 best young strikers on FIFA 22
- The 52 highest potential wonderkids and hidden gems on FIFA 22
- The 51 best defenders on FIFA 22
- The 31 best wingers on FIFA 22
- The 21 best strikers on FIFA 22
Best CDMs In FIFA 22 career mode
Joshua Kimmich
- Club: Bayern München
- Age: 26
- Current Overall: 89
- Potential Overall: 90
- Value: £97.5m
It's hard to take a pick of the 'premium' CDMs in FIFA 22. Fabinho, Rodri, even older stars like Casemiro are all going to be amazing additions to any side. To overlook Kimmich would be utterly criminal, though. The guy is just amazing, all round. He can run for days, so you'll rarely have to rest him, he'll find himself in the perfect position for the tackle immediately, and has the technical ability to start attacking moves when the ball has been won. If you're building a blockbuster team of greats, Kimmich is the one.
Wilfred Ndidi
- Club: Leicester City
- Age: 24
- Current Overall: 85
- Potential Overall: 88
- Value: £60m
A physical powerhouse with a great deal of technical skill, Wilfred Ndidi is a fantastic CDM in FIFA 22. You can keep it simple, get the challenges in, and use him as a defensive rock to take the pressure off of your CBs, or you can bring him into the game a tad more. Ndidi can embark on surging runs from deep with his strong dribbling stats, before playing it wide or through for other players to latch onto. It's sometimes said that the pass before the assist is an underrated part of the game, and Ndidi is the sort of player who'll get you a whole lot of them. He's only 24 too, so expect him to keep rising to even further greatness.
Declan Rice
- Club: West Ham United
- Age: 22
- Current Overall: 82
- Potential Overall: 87
- Value: £38.5m
England's future captain Declan Rice had a great Euros. Working as an essential part of the double pivot with Kalvin Phillips, he displayed grit, passion, and physical prowess both on and off the ball. In FIFA 22, he's rated 82. It's an overall some might say is too low, but it won't stay that way for long. If you can get Declan Rice signed to your squad he'll swiftly develop into the rock of a holding midfielder he's destined to be.
Other great Career Mode CDMs
- Fabinho (Ovr: 86, Pot: 88)
- Palhinha (Ovr: 82, Pot: 87)
- Manuel Locatelli (Ovr: 82, Pot: 87)
- Franck Yannick Kessie (Ovr: 84, Pot: 86)
- Boubacar Kamara (Ovr: 820 Pot: 86)
- Denis Zakaria (Ovr: 80, Pot: 86)
- Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Ovr: 83, Pot: 86)
- Romeo Lavia (Ovr: 62, Pot: 85)
- Oliver Skipp (Ovr: 75, Pot: 85)
- Moncayola (Ovr: 75, Pot: 85)
Best CMs In FIFA 22 Career Mode
Frenkie de Jong
- Club: FC Barcelona
- Age: 24
- Current Overall: 87
- Potential Overall: 92
- Value: £107.5m
If you're looking for a player who is already the finished article, look no further than Frenkie de Jong. Barca's Dutch midfielder has 4 star skills, decent pace, and strong stats across the board. Aside from shooting on goal, de Jong has whatever you need in his locker. He's great on the attack as an advanced playmaker, but can be chucked back to CB if things get dicey too. Frenkie is the premium purchase who'll last your club a decade.
Ryan Gravenberch
- Club: Ajax
- Age: 19
- Current Overall: 78
- Potential Overall: 90
- Value: £30m
Ajax's Ryan Gravenberch is a really strong all-rounder, with 4 star skills and weak foot, a good enough current overall rating to get a lot of starts at most clubs, and the potential to become one of the greatest central midfielders in the game. The world's biggest clubs are looking at him in real life right now, and it's easy to see why. Great in a holding midfield role or surging up the pitch to cause problems for defences, Gravenberch has the necessary ability for any role through the middle of the pitch.
Jude Bellingham
- Club: Borussia Dortmund
- Age: 18
- Current Overall: 79
- Potential Overall: 89
- Value: £33m
England's next superstar, Jude Bellingham is up there with the best buys in your FIFA 22 career. He's agile, physical and can run about for days. This'll only get better with more and more playing time - at just 18 he's got over a decade to reach that enormous potential. Remember, the potential overall rating isn't a hard ceiling if you're a good manager, and Jude Bellingham could grow an absolutely enormous amount very, very quickly.
Other great Career Mode CMs
- Pedri (Ovr: 81, Pot: 91)
- Eduardo Camavinga (Ovr: 78, Pot: 89)
- Marcos Llorente (Ovr: 86, Pot: 89)
- Nicolo Barella (Ovr: 84, Pot: 89)
- Carlos Soler (Ovr: 81, Pot: 88)
- Leon Goretzka (Ovr: 87, Pot: 88)
- Nicolo Rovella (Ovr: 70, Pot: 87)
- Merino (Ovr: 83, Pot: 87)
- Florian Neuhaus (Ovr: 82, Pot: 87)
- Youri Tielemans (Ovr: 84, Pot: 87)
Best CAMs In FIFA 22 Career Mode
Phil Foden
- Club: Manchester City
- Age: 21
- Current Overall: 84
- Potential Overall: 92
- Value: £85m
The Stockport Iniesta is a joy to use in FIFA 22. He nips around the attacking third, equally adept in spraying balls around the pitch and taking on challenges from defenders. Phil Foden has the potential to be rated 92 overall, so the sooner you're able to get him to that level, the better. It's hard to find a weakness in his game too. He might get muscled off the ball on occasion, but if you're using him correctly and playing to his many strengths, this won't happen at all.
Kai Havertz
- Club: Chelsea
- Age: 22
- Current Overall: 84
- Potential Overall: 92
- Value: £85m
Chelsea's 22-year-old German attacking midfielder enjoys being the focal point of your attack. He's got 4 star skill moves and weak foot, as well as some excellent dribbling and ball control making him a great option to get the ball to in order to get your offence firing. He's surprisingly fast once he gets up to speed too, so look out for searching runs behind the opponent's back line and send through-balls his way. With time and development, Havertz is a superstar in the making.
Bruno Fernandes
- Club: Manchester United
- Age: 26
- Current Overall: 88
- Potential Overall: 89
- Value: £97m
If you want the biggest impact, right now, United's Portuguese star Bruno Fernandes is the only option. At 26 he's well and truly in his prime, and will be able to continue at a high level for years to come. If you've ever watched him play for United, you'll know just what Bruno can do: everything. It's brought into FIFA too, so don't be afraid to drop perfect through balls onto your strikers' plate, or find space in the box to get a beautifully-hit shot on goal. He'll even keep growing in ability and contribute in defence when things get tricky.
Mason Mount
- Club: Chelsea
- Age: 22
- Current Overall: 83
- Potential Overall: 89
- Value: £52.5m
Chelsea's Champions League winning central midfielder can play in a number of positions across the centre of the pitch and even as a left winger if you need him. With finishing already at 79 and elite level passing, Mount's growth has a potential to reach and exceed 89.
Florian Wirtz
- Club: Bayer Leverkusen
- Age: 18
- Current Overall: 79
- Potential Overall: 90
- Value: £33.5m
Wirtz is a creative midfielder, who at just 18 years of age looks to be the future of both his club and country. Four star skills and four star weak foot, the youngster has an incredibly high potential at 90. Nurture him correctly through training and game time, he'll become a staple of your team for years to come.
Other great Career Mode CMs
- Jamal Musiala (Ovr: 76, Pot: 88)
- Martin Ødegaard (Ovr: 82, Pot: 88)
- Giovanni Reyna (Ovr: 77, Pot: 87)
- Dominik Szoboszlai (Ovr: 77, Pot: 87)
- Bernardo Silva (Ovr: 86, Pot: 87)
- Tanguy Ndombele (Ovr: 82, Pot: 87)
- Dani Olmo (Ovr: 82, Pot: 87)
- Nicolo Zaniolo (Ovr: 78, Pot: 87)
Topics: Declan Rice, Bruno Fernandes, Mason Mount, Joshua Kimmich, FIFA 22, Gaming