Football Manager 2019: The 12 Most Improved Premier League Players After the Winter Update

It's not as if you actually needed an excuse to open your laptop and get stuck into a new Football Manager save, but just in case that's what you're telling yourself, then the FM19 Official Winter Update was released last week. 

As ever, the third and final major update includes all the January transfer business, and refreshes the player ratings to translate how things have gone in real football since the summer, into the game. 

So, in celebration, we've broken down a few of the most notable upgrades to Premier League players. Have a look below. 

Marcus Rashford

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Already a quality Premier League player with the potential to be one of the best in the world, Rashford's improvement in the winter update is one of the more understated upgrades, but anyone who knows the game will see one or two changes for the better to reflect his leading role under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. 

His potential rating is now fixed, meaning only career-threatening injury can halt his development into a virtual Ballon d'Or contender. 

Raheem Sterling

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The Manchester City forward is enjoying yet another stellar season under Pep Guardiola, with 15 goals and 15 assists in 37 appearances so far, and it seems Sports Interactive have noted his consistent development yet again, as he has undergone another upgrade. 

While his attributes have stayed largely constant, both his current and potential abilities have been nudged up a notch to reflect his impressive form, meaning he is now all-round an even better player than the frighteningly good version of him that already existed in the game. 

Miguel Almiron

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Newcastle's record signing from Atlanta United arrived at St James' Park to much fanfare in January, and his FM attributes have been upgraded to adapt his skills to the Premier League. 

Among a handful of attribute changes, the Paraguayan now boasts a maximum 20 rating for his vision, passing, and flair, so playing as the Magpies might have just got a whole lot more fun. 

Joe Gomez

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It's been a while since Liverpool fans have seen Gomez in action, as the defender has been sidelined since December with injury, but it seems Football Manager hasn't forgotten just how impressive he was throughout the first half of the season.

As well as slight upgrades to his current and potential ability, threatening to make him one of the best in the world one day, his pace now sits at an admirable 15, while his determination is now one of the highest in the division at 18. In-game, he'll be out until March, but if you're in a save for the long-run then he is one to watch out for. 

Callum Wilson 

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Callum Wilson was one of the best strikers in the Premier League when FM19 was first released, leading to criticisms of the game for being 'inaccurate' in its ratings. When he started hammering them in in real life, it served as further proof that FM knows better than all of us. 

Even still, the real Callum Wilson's goalscoring exploits left his in-game persona playing catch-up, and despite currently being sidelined with a knee injury, he's seen a pretty dramatic ten-point increase to both his current and potential ability - making him a must-have for those Champions League home-grown quotas. 

Victor Lindelof

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The Manchester United defender successfully endured the nightmare of Jose Mourinho's start to the season and has become one of the club's leading performers under the caretaker tutelage of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. 

His steady development has certainly paralleled his in-game improvement, as the winter update saw him become United's best defender. In particular, his mental stats have seen marked improvement, with his anticipation and positioning rising to 15, accurately portraying the top level intelligent defender he is quickly becoming.

Dwight McNeil

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21-year-old McNeil might have seen the most drastic improvement of any Premier League player in the most recent update, as his current ability has risen to make him a leading player at Championship level - with the potential to get a whole lot better. 

That's probably fair, considering how quickly and effectively he's emerged as a first team player at Burnley this season. One to watch, both for real and virtually, in the years to come. 

Sean Longstaff 

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Another player whose rating has been bumped up notably to reflect his swelling first-team status, Longstaff is now more or less ready for Premier League football at virtually any side outside the top six.

He's out for the season in real life, unfortunately, but that won't have been picked up by the game in time for the update. You know what to do. 

James Ward-Prowse

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Formerly a fixture on the FM wonderkids lists, the Southampton midfielder has lulled in recent editions due to a mixture of poor form and growing out of the requisite age bracket for meteoric potential. 

After being restored as a first-team regular under Ralph Hasenhuttl, however, he is back on the up, with mental stats as impressive as anyone in the league, and the potential to hit 4* - a leading Premier League player - if you're starting with the Saints. His recently clear injury record has also seen his injury-prone status subside somewhat, which is always a bonus. 

Alexis Mac Allister

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The Argentine midfielder will join Brighton in the summer, and has undergone a subtle ratings tune-up to reflect his status as a soon-to-be Premier League player (assuming the Seagulls don't end up getting relegated.)

With 3.5* potential, the midfielder can become a good player in the top flight pretty quickly, and has seen his vision, technique and determination stats rise.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka

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Already a quality player before a virtual ball is even kicked, previously in FM19, there hadn't been much room for Crystal Palace's emergent right back to develop further, even though he's only 20 years old. 

That has been remedied this time around, as he now has the potential to be a leading Premier League defender, with his sky-high pace and tackling stats the highlights of his game. 

Declan Rice

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Just as in real life, Declan Rice has seen marked improvement with every FM update that has come out, and just as in real life, he now has the potential to become one of the Premier League's leading holding midfielders.

That's largely due to the significant improvement in his mental attributes, with his determination rising to 17 among a handful of others on the up.