Well it took a while, but I’ve finally been able to update the FIFA 14 Lower League Gems series for summer! If you want promising players for an absolute bargain, you’re in the right place.
If you’re not sure what these articles are all about, click the bold link below. Otherwise, let’s get straight in to the recommendations.
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These articles aim to highlight young, high potential players that are priced at £1m or less. If a player is not available to buy straight away, their maximum price (in the ‘Cost’ column; see below) is £500,000. Most articles will showcase players with a minimum potential of 77 (although in some cases having a minimum potential of 78 brought back more than enough players).
This year I made a couple of exceptions to the price rules. I have included players whose clubs want £1.1m for them (as opposed to a maximum price of £1m) because you can negotiate this down to under £1m, and in some cases excluding these players meant to articles were lacking players you could actually buy straight away! For the same reason I have bumped the £500,000 rule up to just under £600,000 (e.g. £525,000, £575,000, etc).
The ‘Cost’ column refers to the price your scout will bring back after he’s looked at the player. The ‘They want’ column refers to the price you will be quoted by the team if you enquire about their player. These enquiry prices are negotiable, so don’t be afraid to bid below what they want.
The ‘Avai?’ column is short for ‘Available?’ and refers to whether the player is available to buy in the first transfer window. The first letter indicates this (Y for yes, they are available and N for no, they are not), whilst the number refers to the length of their contract. Y/1 means the player’s contract is about to expire, so you should be able to get them for a discount price.
Finally, because EA release update squads every week, this could mean that some of the players listed in the article below are slightly different on your game. Furthermore, players sometimes exceed their potential, while it has been noted that occasionally players don’t grow as hoped. Therefore these stats are a guide only.
These are the goalkeepers I recommend:
- Rubén Blanco
- Jonathan Bond
- Miroslav Lobantsev
- Loris Karius
I’m sure some readers will recognise my first pick, Rubén Blanco, because I absolutely love the guy. His handling stat (rated at 75) is ridiculously good for his OVR, while his diving (at 69) is also superb. When you’re using a team with a small budget your first concern is often making sure you concede as few goals as possible, so it can be incredibly frustrating when you have a goalkeeper who spills shots in the box and allows strikers an easy opportunity to score. That shouldn’t be a problem with Blanco, because his fantastic handling means he should be keeping shots well under control, minimising costly goalmouth errors. I got him for £750,000.
My second recommendation is Jonathan Bond. While Blanco had a couple of real standout attributes, Bond’s strength lies in how well-balanced he is. This means he’s equally well suited to shot-stopping as he is to holding on to shots. When he starts approaching his potential he’s going to be superb across the board, able to deal with whatever the opposition tries to throw at him. You should be able to get him for just over £300,000, which is an absolute bargain.
Miroslav Lobantsev is next, and I’ve chosen him because, like Blanco, he has a standout stat that you don’t often find in young goalkeepers. While he is a well-balanced keeper like Bond, Lobantsev’s positioning stat (at 71) is where he really excels. What this should mean is he’s less likely to get caught out in the wrong position. He will cover the angles well and cut down on the number of cheap goals that are given away, which is often something that can make the difference with a lower league team. Like Bond, you should be able to get him for just over £300,000.
My final recommendation is Loris Karius, and I picked him because he is a superb shot-stopper. If you want to ensure your keeper has the reflexes and diving to get across the goal quickly and prevent certain goals, he’s your man. His diving (74) and reflexes (75) make him extremely agile, something that will just get better and better as he grows. His OVR is also one of the best in this article, but you can get him for just over £500,000, which is a brilliant price for such a good goalkeeper.
Just a quick note about the final three keepers: Silviu Lung, Benjamin Leroy and Mitchell Langerak. Lung is a free agent, so his price and contract length will vary depending on which team he’s put on. Leroy’s contract is expiring at the end of the first season, and because he’s 24 you can actually get him for free if you bid for him in January. He’ll join your team at the end of the season, by which point he should have grown a decent amount too. Finally, Langerak is on Dortmund’s transfer list so he doesn’t have a set price; I managed to get him for £600,000. His wages are high, but if you reorganise your wage/transfer fee balance then you may be able to afford him.
Here’s the complete list of goalkeepers:
| Pos | Name | OVR | Pot. | Age | Cost (£) | They want (£) | Wages (£) | Club | Avai? | Foot | Weak foot | Skills | Traits | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Fabrice Ondoa | 62 | 80 | 17 | 110,000 | 625,000 | 1,000 | FC Barcelona B | Y/2 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Rubén Blanco | 65 | 80 | 17 | 170,000 | 1,000,000 | 2,250 | Celta Vigo | Y/4 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | José Sá | 68 | 80 | 20 | 400,000 | - | 6,000 | C. Funchal | N/4 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Marijan Ćorić | 59 | 79 | 18 | 45,000 | 275,000 | 2,250 | Parma | Y/5 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Gregor Zabret | 61 | 79 | 17 | 70,000 | - | 2,250 | Swansea City | N/2 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Daniel Bachmann | 60 | 79 | 18 | 80,000 | 250,000 | 2,250 | Stoke City | Y/1 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Alexandre Marfaing | 57 | 78 | 17 | 45,000 | 275,000 | 750 | Angers SCO | Y/5 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Jérôme Prior | 63 | 78 | 17 | 110,000 | 400,000 | 2,000 | Bordeaux | Y/1 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Anton Mitryushkin | 63 | 78 | 17 | 110,000 | 500,000 | 2,000 | Spartak Moskva | Y/4 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Luca Lezzerini | 62 | 78 | 18 | 110,000 | - | 2,250 | Fiorentina | N/4 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Alfred Gomis | 65 | 78 | 19 | 190,000 | * | 4,000 | Crotone | - | Right | 2 | 1 | On loan from Torino | |
| GK | Jonathan Bond | 64 | 78 | 20 | 220,000 | 425,000 | 4,000 | Watford | Y/3 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Miroslav Lobantsev | 66 | 78 | 18 | 230,000 | 450,000 | 1,500 | Lokomotiv | Y/2 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Loris Karius | 69 | 78 | 20 | 400,000 | 850,000 | 6,000 | 1. FSV Mainz 05 | Y/2 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Gustavo Busatto | 69 | 78 | 22 | 400,000 | 925,000 | 6,000 | Grêmio | Y/1 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Vid Belec | 69 | 78 | 23 | 475,000 | * | 10,000 | S.C. Olhanense | - | Right | 3 | 1 | On loan from Inter | |
| GK | Thomas Strakosha | 61 | 77 | 18 | 70,000 | - | 2,250 | Lazio | N/2 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Daniel Bentley | 61 | 77 | 19 | 90,000 | 450,000 | 750 | Southend United | Y/3 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Maxime Dupé | 62 | 77 | 20 | 140,000 | 525,000 | 3,000 | FC Nantes | Y/2 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Luis Guilherme | 64 | 77 | 21 | 220,000 | 300,000 | 4,000 | Botafogo | Y/2 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Kepa Arrizabalaga | 66 | 77 | 18 | 230,000 | 825,000 | 3,000 | Athletic Bilbao | Y/3 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Bill Hamid | 67 | 77 | 22 | 300,000 | 750,000 | 6,000 | D.C. United | Y/1 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Łukasz Skorupski | 67 | 77 | 22 | 300,000 | - | 10,000 | Roma | N/4 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Silviu Lung | 68 | 77 | 24 | 425,000 | 1,000,000 | 6,000 | Y/1 | Right | 3 | 1 | Free agent | ||
| GK | Benjamin Leroy | 68 | 77 | 24 | 425,000 | 1,200,000 | 6,000 | Tours FC | Y/1 | Right | 3 | 1 | Contract expiring | |
| GK | Mitchell Langerak | 70 | 77 | 24 | 725,000 | 25,000 | Bor. Dortmund | Y/3 | Right | 3 | 1 | Transfer listed |
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