A route through the app

From a gap in the squad to a name worth chasing.

Recruitment in FM Dossier isn’t one screen. Start from what your squad needs, find players who fit the role, check whether they are within your club’s reach — then take the shortlist back into Football Manager.

Download for WindowsFollow the route
  1. 01 · NeedWhat’s missing

    Another player, a better one, or natural depth? Measured against the shape you play.

    • Analysis
    • Gaps & targets
    • Tactics · Recruit
  2. 02 · FindWho fits

    Search the whole save by role fit, profile, contract and price.

    • Player search
    • Suggestions
    • Top 10
  3. 03 · ReachWho’s within reach

    A realism guide from standing, value and wages — not a budget check or a promise.

    • Will they join you?
  4. 04 · DecideWho to chase

    Compare, try them in your XI, plan the window, send the list to FM.

    • Dossier
    • Compare
    • Try in XI
    • Shortlists
  • Club careers
  • Role fit in and out of possession
  • Transfers and loans
  • Shortlists to and from FM
01Need

Start from the need, not the name.

A position can need another player, a better starter, or more players who play it naturally. FM Dossier names them apart: Sign when a position is short of players, Upgrade when your best there is a band below your squad’s standard, and Add depth when too few play it naturally.

The action
  1. AAnalysisRanks what needs doing — sign, cover, renew, successor — against your club’s shape, an imported tactic or generic coverage. What to do first
  2. BGaps & targetsFlags thin positions against a target you can edit, with up to six realistic targets per gap.
  3. CTactics · RecruitRealistic signings for each slot of an imported tactic, ranked by fit. Recruit per slot
One brief per needExample club · invented squad
Concept
Action
Sign
Brief
Sign a D (L)
Looking for
Another player. The position is short of players.
Measured against
How many players you have there, against what your shape needs.
Where to look
Analysis → What do I do first? · Tactics → Recruit · Player search sorted by role fit
Concept illustration — not an app screenReal list: capture S-01
02Find

Search by role, not reputation.

Player search covers every player in your save. Describe the profile, and the filters do the rest.

Show me a PositionD (L) who fits OOP rolePressing Full-Back at Fit70%+, aged Ageup to 26, contract ending by Expiry2027 — and who Reachwithin reach.

Illustrative search — each chip is a real filter; the sentence is oursReal panel: capture S-05
Saved searches

Name a search and keep it for the next window.

Suggestions

Around twenty one-click ideas — Free agents, Expiring soon, Best value, Ball winners — kept within reach.

Top 10

Best player, best bargain and most promising for whatever you’ve filtered. See Top 10

03Reach

Within your club’s reach?

“Will they join you?” is a realism guide for transfers and loans. It weighs four things:

  • Your club’s reputation against the player’s
  • The player’s league against yours
  • The fee the player’s value implies
  • The wage, against your top earner

Loans skip the wage check — the parent club usually keeps paying part of it.

Show

“Will they join you?” filters the list to players within your club’s reach for a transfer or a loan.

Candidates · D (L)Pressing Full-Back · invented players
Fit
  • T. OkaforD (L) · 24Pressing Full-Back81%Within reach
  • L. VidalD (L) · 22Pressing Full-Back77%Within reach
  • S. HaddadWB (L) · 25Pressing Wing-Back74%Within reach
  • K. NovakD (L) · 21Pressing Full-Back70%Within reach
4 shown · 2 left out as out of reach
Concept illustration — not an app screenPlayers and clubs invented
Good to knowA realism guide built from club and league standing, transfer value and wages. It doesn’t check your transfer or wage budget, and it can’t tell whether a player would agree to join — that only shows once you approach them in Football Manager.
04Decide

Decide with the whole picture.

Once you have names, these are the tools that turn a list into a decision. Each one lives where you’d expect it.

Scouting the way you play.

Candidates follow the mode your save is in.

About the modes
Full

True values for every candidate.

Scout

Players you haven’t fully scouted show ranges in search and the dossier.

Moneyball

A value market: output, efficiency and price.

05 · Good to know

What a candidate list does — and doesn’t — mean.

Every name is a lead to check, not a deal.

Club careers only
“Will they join you?” and its reach checks need a club job. A national team selects from those eligible instead.
Not FM’s transfer AI
Analysis of your save. It doesn’t predict what Football Manager will decide.
Reach filters some lists, not all
Player search shows everyone while “Will they join you?” is off. Tactics → Recruit lists only players within reach. If your club can’t afford anyone, Analysis still shows its suggestions, marked as beyond your scale.
Not a promise
“Within reach” means realistic, not agreed. Fees, wages and the player still have their say in FM.
Sign, Upgrade and Add depth are different
Sign: the position is short of players. Upgrade: your best there is a band below your squad’s standard. Add depth: too few play it naturally. There is no youth-promotion or loan advice.
Not a budget check
Reach uses standing, transfer value and wages. Your transfer and wage budgets are shown in the app but don’t filter the suggestions.
Previews change nothing in FM
Try in XI and the transfer plan live inside FM Dossier, for your own club.
Reflects your last read
Values, contracts and clubs are as of your most recent read of the save.
Looking for staff?
Backroom realism is a separate estimate. See Staff.
Download

Find the next signing in your save.

Download for WindowsGet a free licence key

v1.14.0 · Windows 10 / 11 · Football Manager 26, or the Football Manager 27 Launch Preview (initial support), running with a save loaded