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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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.
Now here are the attacking midfielders I recommend:
- José Cevallos
- Elber
- Farès Bahlouli
- Eduardo
He might still be raw, but José Cevallos shows a whole lot of promise. What makes him such a good option is not just his high potential, but also his stature – at 6’2″ and with strength as one of his main assets, Cevallos can hold his own where many CAMs simply get brushed off the ball. He’s got a powerful long shot and specialises in free kicks, so should become a very handy dead ball master in a few years time. Give him a try if you’re looking for a powerful attacking midfielder with bags of potential.
If you want a speedy, winger-type CAM on the other hand, I suggest Elber. With 86 acceleration, 84 sprint speed, 83 balance and 78 dribbling, he should have no trouble weaving his way past defenders. This gives him a bit more flexibility than Cevallos – put him out wide to provide assists for your main striker or deploy him down the middle and have him surge through on goal. He’s well suited to either, and should only cost you around £800,000.
What makes Farès Bahlouli such an exceptional player is that he combines the best elements of both Cevallos and Elber. He’s fast (81 sprint speed) and can dribble (78 dribbling, 73 ball control), so makes an excellent speedy CAM. However, he also has 78 strength, and that combination of speed and strength is very rare, especially in a CAM. Whether you want him to sprint past defenders or batter his way through them, he should be able to handle whatever is thrown at him. Given stats like these I’m surprised his OVR is only 64, but in a way perhaps we should be thankful – it makes his price and wages much more affordable and means he should play better than his OVR would suggest.
Finally, I would recommend Eduardo if you want an attacking midfielder who excels at passing. His 76 short passing is the highest on this list and means he’ll be providing pinpoint balls to your forwards all game. He should work well with a quick striker in front of him who can feed off his through balls, and with 79 potential he’ll become an absolute god at it in a couple of years’ time. A bid of around £750,000 should do the trick.
Now let’s have a look at the complete list:
| Pos | Name | OVR | Pot. | Age | Cost (£) | They want (£) | Wages (£) | Club | Avai? | Foot | Weak foot | Skills | Traits | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAM | José Cevallos | 61 | 83 | 18 | 160,000 | - | 3,000 | Juventus | N/3 | Right | 4 | 3 | Long shot taker | |
| CAM | Elber | 68 | 82 | 21 | 775,000 | 1,100,000 | 7,000 | Cruzeiro | Y/4 | Right | 3 | 3 | Acrobat | |
| CAM | Zana Allée | 64 | 81 | 19 | 375,000 | * | 4,000 | AJ Auxerre | - | Right | 4 | 4 | Flair | On loan from Stade Rennais |
| CAM | Andreas Pereira | 55 | 80 | 17 | 70,000 | 425,000 | 2,250 | Manchester Utd | Y/3 | Right | 4 | 3 | ||
| CAM | Robert | 60 | 80 | 16 | 160,000 | - | 750 | Fluminense | N/2 | Right | 3 | 3 | ||
| CAM | Zakarie Labidi | 60 | 80 | 18 | 160,000 | - | 2,000 | Olympique Lyon | N/4 | Left | 3 | 3 | ||
| CAM | Abdallah Yaisien | 61 | 80 | 19 | 170,000 | * | 3,000 | Trapani | - | Right | 3 | 4 | On loan from Bologna | |
| CAM | Nathan | 63 | 80 | 17 | 230,000 | 925,000 | 1,000 | Atl. Paranaense | Y/2 | Right | 4 | 3 | ||
| CAM | Patrick Roberts | 62 | 80 | 16 | 230,000 | 1,100,000 | 2,250 | Fulham | Y/3 | Left | 2 | 3 | Flair | |
| CAM | Farès Bahlouli | 64 | 80 | 18 | 375,000 | - | 5,000 | Olympique Lyon | N/4 | Right | 4 | 4 | ||
| CAM | Pedro Castro | 66 | 80 | 20 | 575,000 | * | 4,000 | RCD Espanyol | - | Right | 3 | 3 | On loan from Santos | |
| CAM | Bryan Carvalho | 62 | 79 | 16 | 230,000 | 1,000,000 | 750 | Colo-Colo | Y/5 | Right | 3 | 3 | ||
| CAM | Jay Fulton | 63 | 79 | 19 | 240,000 | 850,000 | 3,000 | Swansea City | Y/3 | Right | 3 | 2 | ||
| CAM | Eduardo | 62 | 79 | 20 | 275,000 | 1,100,000 | 3,000 | Fluminense | Y/2 | Left | 3 | 3 | ||
| CAM | Welinton Júnior | 65 | 79 | 20 | 425,000 | 1,100,000 | 750 | Goiás | Y/3 | Right | 4 | 4 | ||
| CAM | Duane Holmes | 59 | 78 | 18 | 100,000 | - | 1,500 | Huddersfield | N/1 | Right | 3 | 3 | ||
| CAM | Filip Janković | 59 | 78 | 18 | 100,000 | - | 2,250 | Parma | N/5 | Right | 3 | 2 | ||
| CAM | Liam Kelly | 57 | 78 | 17 | 100,000 | - | 1,500 | Reading | N/3 | Right | 2 | 2 | ||
| CAM | Bicho | 60 | 78 | 17 | 160,000 | 875,000 | 1,000 | RC Deportivo | Y/3 | Left | 3 | 3 | ||
| CAM | Joseph Minala | 61 | 78 | 16 | 160,000 | - | 2,250 | Lazio | N/4 | Right | 3 | 3 | Flair | |
| CAM | Antonio Loi | 60 | 78 | 16 | 160,000 | - | 2,250 | Cagliari | N/5 | Right | 2 | 3 | ||
| CAM | Valdivia | 65 | 78 | 18 | 375,000 | 700,000 | 2,000 | Internacional | Y/1 | Right | 3 | 3 | ||
| CAM | Zé Paulo | 64 | 78 | 19 | 375,000 | 1,000,000 | 4,000 | Corinthians | Y/2 | Right | 4 | 3 | Long shot taker | |
| CAM | Clifford Aboagye | 65 | 78 | 18 | 375,000 | - | 2,250 | Granada CF | N/5 | Right | 3 | 3 | ||
| CAM | Marc Stendera | 64 | 78 | 17 | 375,000 | - | 2,000 | Eint. Frankfurt | N/2 | Right | 3 | 2 | ||
| CAM | Nabil Fékir | 64 | 78 | 19 | 375,000 | - | 7,000 | Olympique Lyon | N/3 | Left | 2 | 4 | ||
| CAM | Alexis Zapata | 66 | 78 | 18 | 500,000 | * | 2,250 | Sassuolo | - | Left | 3 | 3 | On loan from Granada CF | |
| CAM | Tomas Rogić | 66 | 78 | 20 | 575,000 | - | 1,000 | Melb. Victory | N/4 | Left | 3 | 4 |