FC 27 Richest League Two Clubs — First-Season Plan for Contracts, Squad Size and Signings
Rich Lower-League ClubsPicking the richest League Two club in FC 27 gives you a head start, but not much of one. Among the top 10 clubs by in-game club worth, the gap runs from €6.5M down to €4M. That means the budget itself rarely decides your first season. What decides it is what you protect and where you spend.
If you have already read our ranking of the richest League Two clubs, think of this as the follow-up. We take the same 10 clubs and look at three things that matter in the first transfer window: expiring contracts on key prospects, squad size, and the weakest unit (attack, midfield or defence).
Club worth is the in-game club value (a guide to budget only). Your actual transfer budget is set when the career starts. Player values are estimates based on OVR, potential and age. The career starts on 1 July 2026.
First-season checklist for every club
| Club | Club worth | Squad | Weakest unit | Prospects with 2027 contracts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rotherham United | €6.5M | 28 | Balanced (62–63) | Jayce |
| Bristol Rovers | €5.5M | 25 | Defence 62 | None |
| Port Vale | €5.5M | 27 | Attack 57 | None |
| Exeter City | €4.5M | 24 | Attack 61 | Lakyle, E. Sutherland |
| Chesterfield | €4M | 31 | Attack/Defence 63 | R. Lamptey |
| Gillingham | €4M | 33 | Defence 60 | None |
| Northampton Town | €4M | 28 | Attack 61 | L. Briggs |
| Shrewsbury Town | €4M | 23 | Attack/Midfield 60 | S. Proctor |
| Swindon Town | €4M | 30 | Midfield 61 | J. Pearman, J. Debayo, Munda |
| Walsall | €4M | 28 | Attack 61 | R. Dixon |
The last column only covers each club's top three young players. A 2027 contract means only one year is left once your first season ends. Leave it too long and renewal gets harder, and other clubs start bidding.
Step 1: Renew your prospects (Swindon, Exeter, Rotherham)
Swindon Town is the most urgent case in the league. All three of its best young players are on deals that end in 2027:
- J. Pearman, 20, CAM/ST, 61 OVR → 78 POT, estimated €2.2M
- J. Debayo, 20, CB, 60 → 74
- Munda, 19, CM, 58 → 74
Take Swindon and you should plan the order of these renewals before you sign anyone. Pearman comes first because he has the highest potential.
Exeter City has both of its young full-backs on 2027 deals. Lakyle is a 20-year-old RB (60 → 74) and E. Sutherland is a 20-year-old LB/LW (58 → 74). Both have 74 pace, and losing them together would leave both flanks empty.
Rotherham United only has one case, but it is the important one. Jayce, a 19-year-old CM (61 → 80, estimated €2.3M), is the club's most valuable prospect. At Walsall, the 21-year-old RB R. Dixon (64 OVR, 90 pace) is also out of contract in 2027.
Step 2: Trim the squad or add depth
Trim first: Gillingham (33 players), Chesterfield (31) and Swindon (30). Sell or loan out players who won't make the bench. That lowers the wage bill and gives your prospects minutes.
Add depth first: Shrewsbury (23), Exeter (24) and Bristol Rovers (25). One or two injuries can break these squads, so pick up free agents or loans as cover. All three also have a youth development rating of 8, so sending youth scouts out early is a cheap way to fill the gaps.
Step 3: Spend on the weakest unit
Port Vale has the best overall rating in this group (64), but its attack sits at 57. Keep developing 19-year-old striker Keyrol (61 → 76, 78 pace), but put your first real money into a striker who can score now.
Gillingham's weak spot is defence (60). The 19-year-old CB J. Daley (58 → 73, 67 physical) isn't ready to start yet, so a centre-back is the first signing. The squad is also overloaded, so the simplest plan is to raise money from sales and spend it at the back.
Shrewsbury Town rates 60 in both attack and midfield. It has two attacking prospects in M. Golding (20, CAM, 62 → 77) and K. McMahon-Brown (17, ST, 58 → 76), but they need time. Until they develop, you need a forward who can play right away.
First transfer window, in order
- Check prospects with 2027 contracts and start renewals.
- If you have 30+ players, trim. If you have 25 or fewer, add depth.
- Spend what is left on your lowest-rated unit.
- At clubs with youth development 8 (Bristol Rovers, Exeter, Shrewsbury), send youth scouts out early.
Once you've picked a club, open the Career Helper to see signings that fit your budget. The link opens Swindon; change the club value in the URL for any other team.
Summary
- Budgets among the richest League Two clubs are close, so the order you do things in matters more than the money.
- Swindon Town is the most urgent renewal case, with all three top prospects on 2027 deals.
- Gillingham and Chesterfield should trim first. Shrewsbury and Exeter should add depth first.
- Spend on the weakest unit: attack at Port Vale, defence at Gillingham.