Click here to skip straight to my recommendations
You don’t always have to pay a hefty transfer fee to get quality players
In fact, sometimes you don’t have to pay any transfer fee at all. There are plenty of high potential and high OVR players in FIFA 15 who will join your team for nothing, and the only payments you have to make are for their wages. That can be especially useful if you’re doing a career with a lower league team where money is tight, but any team can benefit from free transfers.
So if you’ve never tried getting players for free in FIFA 15 before, I’ve put together this series to help you find the best free players available to buy.
How do I get players for free in FIFA 15?
That’s easy – once you’ve found the player you want, just find them in the January transfer window and press ‘approach to sign on contract expiry’. Just wait a couple of days for them to mull over the contract, and if they accept then they will join your team at the end of the season.
But you can’t sign any player this way – they must be aged 23 or above by the time the January transfer window ends and have a year left on their contract (i.e. it will expire at the end of the season).
How do I find these free players?
Well, you could send your scout to various countries looking for players whose contracts are expiring. Of course, the problem with that is that it all depends on the quality of your scout – poor scouts might miss plenty of free players.
But given how unreliable that is, you’re much better off coming here and checking out my guides. Just have a browse of the list below – I’ve included every player who can be signed for free and has a minimum potential of 75, so you know you’re getting top quality players all round (and check out my other guides in this series for more free players).
All the OVRs listed below are true at the start of a career. When they join your team their OVR is likely to have changed, so you can expect the players to be even better than how they’re listed below, provided they’re not aged over 30. If they are, don’t be surprised if their OVR has declined.
Let’s check out my recommendations.
Recommendations
André Ayew can play up front if you need him to
The elite option
Where to start with André Ayew? As an out-and-out winger, he’s a fantastic choice. 79 acceleration and 82 sprint speed make him a pacey player, while his 79 crossing and 79 dribbling add to his dangerous credentials out wide. Finish that off with 81 balance and 86 agility and you’ve got a very exciting prospect.
But there’s more to him than that. 72 finishing will help him score, but even better is his 92 jumping and 77 heading. Aside from being exceptional in the air, he can shoot from distance, so could be used up front if you need a striker. He can pass, has 88 stamina and is even pretty good at tackling. In short, he can do just about anything, making him an amazing choice if you’re in need of a left winger.
NOTE: André Ayew has recently signed for Swansea City in real life, so he may not be available for free for much longer – make sure you sign him up before it’s too late!
Bakary Sako has pace and power in abundance
Speed and strength
Let’s be honest – while most wingers are fast, for the most part they’re pretty weak and easily pushed off the ball. If you’re sick of that happening to your wingers, Bakary Sako is the player for you. Not only has he got blistering pace (88 acceleration and 86 sprint speed), but he’s strong as an ox thanks to his 83 strength. Stats like that mean he can just bulldoze his way through defences on his way to goal.
He also comes with a powerful shot and 83 free kick accuracy, so he’s deadly even when he’s not running at the opposition. He can pass, cross, dribble and shoot, making him accomplished in a number of areas like Ayew. For £40,000 in wages, that’s pretty awesome proposition.
Moryke Fofana is excellent value for money
The bargain option
As always I’ve picked out a cheaper option – Moryke Fofana of Lillestrøm SK in Norway. For just £7,000 in wages you get a player with 91 acceleration and 86 sprint speed, as well as superb balance and agility. At lower league level that pace is going to be so hard to stop, meaning he’s going to have a devastating effect even against higher rated opponents.
He’s also got 74 dribbling and four star skills, so even on those rare occasions that he can’t outpace a defender, he can beat them with tricks and skills. He’s still young and has good potential, so could well exceed it and reach into the early 80s. For such a bargain price, he’s hard to pass up.
Now let’s check out the list in full:
| Pos | Name | OVR | Pot. | Age | Wages (£) | Club | Foot | Weak foot | Skills | Traits | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LM | André Ayew | 79 | 82 | 24 | 70,000 | Marseille | Left | 3 | 3 | ||
| LW | Danny | 82 | 82 | 30 | 90,000 | Zenit | Right | 4 | 4 | Flair | |
| LM | Balázs Dzsudzsák | 79 | 81 | 27 | 80,000 | Dinamo Moskva | Left | 4 | 4 | Crosser, FK specialist, long shot taker | |
| LM | Daniel Aquino | 71 | 78 | 23 | 30,000 | Atlético Madrid | Left | 3 | 3 | ||
| LW | Thomas Oar | 73 | 77 | 22 | 25,000 | FC Utrecht | Left | 4 | 3 | Early crosser | |
| LW | Raphael Martinho | 72 | 77 | 26 | 25,000 | Catania | Left | 4 | 3 | Speedster | |
| LM | Maciej Rybus | 73 | 77 | 24 | 30,000 | Terek Grozny | Left | 4 | 3 | ||
| LM | Takashi Inui | 73 | 77 | 26 | 35,000 | Eint. Frankfurt | Right | 3 | 3 | Acrobat, long shot taker | |
| LM | Diego Castro | 77 | 77 | 31 | 45,000 | Getafe CF | Right | 4 | 4 | Finesse shot | |
| LW | Ibrahim Afellay | 77 | 77 | 28 | 60,000 | Olympiakos CFP | Right | 4 | 4 | Injury prone | |
| LM | Moryke Fofana | 68 | 76 | 22 | 7,000 | Lillestrøm SK | Right | 3 | 4 | Flair, long shot taker | |
| LM | Ahmet İlhan Özek | 72 | 76 | 26 | 20,000 | Karabükspor | Right | 5 | 3 | Injury prone, finesse shot, flair | |
| LM | Leonardo | 75 | 76 | 27 | 35,000 | Jeonbuk Motors | Right | 4 | 4 | Finesse shot | |
| LM | José Morales | 73 | 76 | 26 | 35,000 | Levante UD | Right | 4 | 3 | Long shot taker | |
| LW | Nenê | 76 | 76 | 32 | 40,000 | West Ham | Left | 3 | 4 | Flair | |
| LM | Bakary Sako | 74 | 76 | 26 | 40,000 | Wolves | Left | 3 | 3 | Flair, long shot taker | |
| LM | Eric Bauthéac | 74 | 76 | 26 | 40,000 | OGC Nice | Left | 3 | 3 | ||
| LM | Vladislav Ignatiev | 72 | 75 | 27 | 20,000 | Kuban Krasnodar | Right | 4 | 3 | ||
| LW | Andrey Arshavin | 75 | 75 | 33 | 35,000 | Zenit | Right | 4 | 4 | Flair, long shot taker | |
| LM | Juan Manuel Vargas | 75 | 75 | 30 | 40,000 | Fiorentina | Left | 3 | 3 | Power free-kick, injury prone, long shot taker | |
| LM | Ivo Iličević | 73 | 75 | 27 | 40,000 | Hamburger SV | Right | 5 | 3 | Injury prone |
Thanks for reading! I’d like to hear if you have any thoughts about the format of this article. Did you find it useful? Conversely, do you think it was missing something that you’d have liked me to include? Make sure you leave all your thoughts and ideas in the comments section below.
And don’t forget to connect with me on social media. I’m running the FIFA Scouting Tips YouTube channel, and you can follow me on Facebook or Twitter for all the latest updates.