This is an update from my Shimizu S-Pulse save in the J1 league, Japan. The in-game date is May 2025, and I have set up my recruitment team and have begun to scout players. I thought I would show how I intend to find and sign players in FM26, as it is a bit different to what I have done in previous years. You can read my save introduction here.
This post will be broken down into the following sections:
Orange Samba
Backroom Staff
Recruitment Focuses
TransferRoom
Shortlists
Results
1. Orange Samba
Shimizu wears orange, and we’re focussing on signing Brazilians in this save. Put these two things together and we have Orange Samba. This will be the name of the club culture I will reference throughout the blog series. In Season 1 we already have five foreign players and the J1 league restrictions prohibit more than this in a matchday line up. However, there are upcoming changes to the Japanese leagues from August 2026 which I am very excited about:
The league will move to a ‘European’ format, beginning in August and ending in May. It is intended that this will make it easier for Japanese clubs to do business.
Squad size will change from 25 maximum players to a whopping 99.
No restrictions on foreign players.
With all the above in mind, it is important I lay down the ground work now in order to have a long list of scouted players for Shimizu S-Pulse in time for Summer 2026.
2. Backroom Staff
Navigate: Club/Staff
Setting up a good recruitment team and organising my scouting is key to this save as I have decided not to use the ‘Player Database’ (formerly known as ‘Player Search’). This means I solely rely on staff recommendations and agent offers to add an extra challenge to my save.
On Day 1 of the save, Shimizu had no recruitment staff whatsoever. So, Orange Samba starts with me building a predominantly Brazilian recruitment team. Now, with FM26, I am unsure how much of this makes a difference in the new era of FM…but my reasoning for recruiting Brazilian staff is pretty logical. (1) they already have a comprehensive knowledge of their home country + domestic leagues and (2) they help increase the likelihood of Brazilian newgens coming through into the club youth teams. This was also the case in previous FMs, so I hope it helps this time round in FM26. To find staff I head to Recruitment/Staff Database and use search filters.
I have maxed out on the number of Scouts allowed by the Board, I also recruited a Chief Scout and Director of Football to handle transfer negotiations. This takes our recruitment team to a total of six, five Brazilians and a solitary Japanese guy who will be stationed at home so he can scout our own domestic J leagues.
3. Recruitment Focuses
Navigate: Recruitment/Recruitment Focuses
Once I have a team in place, I will use Recruitment Focuses for ongoing Orange Samba scouting in Brazil. Here are the two recruitment focuses I set up for Brazil:
Brazil Youth (15-23)
Number of scouts: 2
Probably the most important Recruitment Focus for Orange Samba is the Brazilian Youth focus. I’ve chosen 15-23 year olds who have a minimum 3 star Potential Ability, for Current Ability I have set zero stars. Remember: the idea of this save is not to chase stars, but to find hidden gems instead who can improve.
Brazil Série B
Number of scouts: 2
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players are likely to be out of our range in terms of transfer fee and likely wage. Instead I have targeted Campeonato Brasileiro Série B sides, in order to see if any players meet my recruitments. I have gone with a minimum ability of 2 stars for Current Ability and 2.5 starts for Potential Ability. No restrictions of age, or anything else really. Just show me who is decent in Série B and who could hold their own in the J1 league.
I also have a couple of domestic Recruitment Focuses too. This is because the majority of my squad still needs to be domestic players in order to comply with 2025 J1 league rules. Here is what I have set up:
Japan J1
Number of scouts: 1
I have set a current ability of 2.5 stars and potential ability of 3 stars. This is reflective of the J1 league status.
Japan J2
Number of scouts: 1
I have set 2.5 stars for both current and potential ability. Despite being from a league below, I want the J2 players to be competitive with the current make-up of our squad.
4. TransferRoom
Navigate: Recruitment/Transfer Room In (or Out)
I will be using TransferRoom Out for outgoing players, I have often struggled with selling players in previous FMs. I loaned out a couple of players this season using the approach, and I think it will also be useful for permanent outgoings too.
It is perhaps TransferRoom In that I have enjoyed more, despite not yet using to sign a player. It has opened my eyes up to a few targets I would not have seen from my Recruitment Focuses. I see TransferRoom In as a way to fill a gap in the squad in a relatively short period of time. Have you had a long term injury rock you with a couple of weeks to go before the transfer deadline approaches? Use Transfer Room In, you will be offered players who are willing to come (for the right price and wage of course).
Note - unfortunately, at the time of writing, the TransferRoom In requests are pertinent to the time of your enquiry and do not seem to update (i.e the suggested sum of players do not change). So, you may want to strategically time your adverts within Transfer Windows and perhaps publish several. It is unclear if this is a bug, by design or just some quirk with my saves so far. The official feature blog stated: “Your ad will be circulated to every club in the game, and they’ll have the ability to come back to you with players they have that might fit your needs. Your Director of Football will make recommendations to you based on what the clubs come back to you with, with you then able to approach their agent, scout the player for yourself, make an offer or wait for more options to arise”.
5. Shortlists
Navigate: Recruitment/Shortlists
Once targets are identified, I will move the players into Shortlists (Right Click/Add To Shortlist). These will usually be A-B recommendations. From here I will review the scout reports and then initiate my Director of Football to start making bids. I do this by right clicking on the player and selecting ‘Transfer/Add As Transfer Target’.
If you want to see how it’s going, I go to the Director of Football workflow in Transfer/Recruitment Activity. The Negotiating attribute is the key Director of Football attribute here. Mazinho Patrão is ‘Good’, and I have captured what FMPedia says about Negotiating too:
When asking the Director of Football to make the deal I will set the agreed playing time, right now FM26 is defaulting to ‘Surplus to Requirements’ for me…I would advise giving an agreed playing time that is reflective in how you intend to use this player when they arrive. Overpromise and you may get an unhappy player soon into their contract. Another thing I set is the wage amount. I usually match their current wage and increase it slightly. Most people in life want a bit more money when they change jobs. The below is how it currently looks like in my save, as I chase a few domestic end of contract signings when we are legally allowed to do so in about 6 weeks time…
6. Results
I have been successful with two signings so far from two Recruitment Focuses (Brazil Série B and Japan J1).
Daniel Cruz - Shimizu’s Number 9
Daniel Cruz is a good example of the kind of signing I want to make on this save, not a household name and unlikely to get any opportunity at Club Athletico Paranaense; even with them being in Série B. The signing made sense because he can play in three forward roles in my 4231 (something i will write about in a future blog). He can play the right sided winger well (Acceleration, Dribbling, First Touch and Off The Ball all being 14s) and he also has the attribute spread to play Wide Forward and Centre Forward with relative ease (Finishing, Flair, Pace and Strength all 13s). The scout report says he is unlikely to improve considerably, but I think can do well in Japan. He joins on loan with an option to buy for €350k, should he settle in well. Orange Samba is up and running!
Kei Chinen - Deadline Day Signing
Whilst the Transfer Deadline Day interface was not added back into Unity FM26, I did experience the drama of a deal running down to the last hours of a Transfer Window. It is unclear if this is ‘by design’, but I had agreed both the €1.4m transfer with Kashima Antlers and contract with Box to Box Midfielder Kei Chinen 20-or-so days before the deadline was due. However, Gamaba Osaka were also trying to sign Chinen and were having their loan bids rejected by Kashima. It looked like the player held out until the final moments before joining us at Shimizu. I really liked this, as it felt realistic to how a lot of deals go in real life.
Kei Chinen is a brilliant Box To Box Midfielder, high attribute scores in Determination, Off The Ball, Stamina, Teamwork and Work Rate. Like Daniel Cruz, he also has the versatility to play in a couple of other roles in the 4231: Defensive Midfielder and Advanced Playmaker. I have made him one of my higher earners on €400k annual salary.
Next Up
My next post on the blog will most likely be a summary from Season 1, where I still have 6 months of J League football left to play. Let’s see how Daniel Cruz and Kei Chinen settle into life at Shimizu S-Pulse.
Thanks for reading/sharing and caring.
Tony / FM Grasshopper