FIFA 14 | So You Want A… Central midfielder

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We’re going to have a look at central midfielders now, but because there are so many of them – and so many different types of CM – I’ve chosen a few more players than normal and divided them into categories – attacker, passer and box-to-box. Let’s get started with my recommendations:

• Attackers
• Tonny Vilhena
• Charles Aránguiz
• Gary Gardner
• Passers
• George Green
• Rubén Pardo
• Box-to-box
• Adrien Rabiot
• Isaac Cofie

Tonny Vilhena has been a favourite of mine for a while now. He’s got such a fantastic range of attacking stats that it seems strange he’s not rated higher. Stats like 84 ball control, 77 vision, 77 short passing, 74 dribbling and 75 shot power are highly unusual on a player rated 73, and with his potential of 85 he’s a seriously tempting prospect. A £4m bid should be enough to get him on your team.

Charles Aránguiz is next. Like Vilhena, he has some fantastic stats for his OVR – 88 stamina, 82 vision, 81 short passing and 80 agility to name a few. He’s also very adept on the wing, so brings a bit of flexibility to your squad. But the best part? You can sign him for free, as his contract is about to expire. Just click on his name, then click ‘Approach to sign on contract expiry’.

My third attacking choice is Gary Gardner. This player is a midfield powerhouse with a thundering shot – 82 for both long shots and shot power – a great range of passing and real aerial presence. He can take a wicked free kick as well, and because he’s in the last year of his contract your should be able to get him for less then £1m.

My first passing choice may seem a little unconventional to those who have never seen him in the game – George Green. Sure, his OVR doesn’t appear great and he seems a little untested, but there’s one stat that stands out head and shoulders above other players of his OVR – his short passing, rated 81. This is going to cause serious problems for opposition defences, so put him in an advanced role (or ensure he makes plenty of forward runs) and combine him with a speedy forward and you’ll be scoring goals for fun. All this for less than half a million.

For those who need a more established passer, Rubén Pardo is your man. 83 short passing, 81 long passing and 76 vision make will him the pivot around which your midfield operates. He’s got great balance and agility as well, so will be very hard to dispossess, and his powerful shot will come in very handy on his forward forays. An offer of around £2.5m for this pass master should be successful, securing you a real bargain.

Box-to-box players are, as the name suggests, useful at both ends of the pitch. They can defend, score and everything in between, and Adrien Rabiot is just the man for the job. His appearance will no doubt spark comparisons with Marouane Fellaini, but his stats too are very reminiscent of the big man. With 80 strength he’s the strongest player on this list, and he combines this with some very decent defending stats to make him a rock at the back. But his high vision, ball control and all round passing mean he’ll be starting attacks as well as breaking them up, and he’s even got a decent long shot on him to cause further worry for the opposition. Again, £2.5m should do it.

The final pick on this list is Isaac Cofie, but don’t think that this makes him an afterthought. He’s just as accomplished as Rabiot, and although he’s not as strong, he has pace that Rabiot doesn’t. So if you’re looking for a box-to-box player who is more of a workhorse than an enforcer, Cofie warrants some serious consideration. You can’t get him straight away, but wait until January and he could be yours.

[expand title=”What are these articles all about?” tag=”center” trigclass=”noarrow”]

The articles in this series should give you some ideas if you’re looking for a new signing in a key area. There is one article for each position on the pitch to make it easy for you to quickly find players to bolster your squad.

All of the players given here have a minimum potential of 80, so you know you’re getting quality. The maximum OVR for each player is 73, both to keep transfer prices down and to avoid presenting you with too many options and thus making it too difficult to choose the player you need.

The ‘Avai?’ column is short for ‘available?’ and refers both to whether or not you can buy the specified player at the start of the first season and how long their current contract is. Let’s take Y/2 as an example – Y means that yes, you can buy him at the start of a new career, and the number means he has two years left on his contract. Similarly, N/3 would mean that no, you can’t buy the player straight away, and he has three years left on his contract. These ‘no’ players are often available for transfer if you wait until the January transfer window, however. For some players this column is blank – this means that they are out on loan at the start and are therefore unavailable for purchase until the second season.

Initial player costs may seem very low this year. The figure in the player cost column refers to the price you are given if you scout the player. But I’ve also added a new column this time round – ‘They want’. This refers to the price the other team want for the player if you enquire about him. Often there is a large difference between the player cost obtained through scouting and that obtained through an enquiry. This leaves a lot of room for negotiation, so don’t be put off if a price in the ‘They want’ column is high, as you can usually get the player for much less. Try bidding lower than what you think will be accepted – you may be surprised at their response. If the ‘They want’ column is blank it’s because the team refused to give a price, either because the player has just joined them or because they are loaning him in.

And as a final note, in FIFA 14 EA update player OVRs and potentials every week. Mose of the time these are very minor changes, and most players won’t be affected at all unless they have had a very noteworthy week. Furthermore, some players occasionally disappear if they have been put in the reserve squad that week. So just bear in mind that these figures should be read as a guide only and not a definitive account of player costs, potentials, etc, for the entire season.[/expand]

Here’s the list in full: