The aim of this series, as last year, is to provide a shortlist of players that meet this requirement. All players have at least potential 80, and all will have an OVR of 73 or lower. The original intention of this (in the FIFA 12 series) was to keep costs down, but looking at this list I’m not sure that’s a problem any more! Still, I’ll stick to 73 or lower for the sake of avoiding overwhelming you with options.
A new addition this year is that player contracts have a huge impact. The fewer years left on the contract, the more likely you are to get a good deal. So if a player only has 1 year left on his contract you can get him for much less than his asking price. As such, I’ve added a column that says how many years are left on each player’s contract, and whether you can get him in the first transfer window. That’s the “Avai?” column (short for “available?”). To save space I’ve formatted it like this: Y/3 would mean yes, you can buy this player in the first window, and he has 3 years left on his contract. If it says something like “N/5″ that means he has a 5 year contract and you can’t get him at first (the “N” is because he’s just joined the club), but you may be able to get them in the next window. The ones to look out for are Y/1 or Y/0, as some players only have months left on their contracts. Players who are on loan will have a “-” in this column because information on their contracts is not available.
Finally, if you see that a team is low on this position when you go to buy a player, don’t be put off. On FIFA 12 this meant, essentially, that you’d never be able to buy this player, as his team would never buy backups and thus would always refuse to sell him. In FIFA 13, however, it just means that you have to pay a little extra to get him.
In the final article of the “So You Want A…” series we’ll be looking at target men. These players are big, strong strikers who can hold the ball up and support other attacking players. They’re also usually very good in the air, so will score plenty of goals as well.
NOTE: I made a mistake and forgot to include centre forwards (CFs) in this article and the one on goalscorers. It’s now been updated and Johnny Russell has been added to the list (see below). There are a few more players who have now been added to the goalscorers article, so make sure to check it out here.
I realised that there a lot of target men in this article that I like the look of, so I’ve recommended a couple more than usual. Let’s see who they are:
- Richmond Boakye
- Connor Wickham
- Jerry Mbakogu
- Johnny Russell
- Matt Lecointe
You can’t get him at first, but Richmond Boakye is well worth the wait. Fantastically quick (sprint 86) as well as strong and good in the air, he isn’t your typical slow-but-strong target man in the mould of Emile Heskey. Boakye can get around and make himself a nuisance. Imagine what he’ll be like by the time he reaches his potential of 85.
Connor Wickham is big and strong but isn’t just focused on heading – his finishing and shot power are some of his best attributes. Low down the order at Sunderland and he’s very cheap, and you can get him right away. Put him into your first team and he’ll really come into his own, and with 83 potential he’ll be banging them in.
Jerry Mbakogu is very much like Richmond Boakye. His physical stats are even better, however – 87 acceleration, 92 sprint, 91 jumping, 79 strength. His technical stats aren’t quite as good as Boakye’s but that doesn’t matter, because thanks to the speed of growth on FIFA 13 he’ll shoot up in no time. This is one of those players who definitely plays better than their rating would suggest, and for £1.1m you can hardly ignore him.
Slightly more expensive is Johnny Russell, but he is unquestionably worth it. 95 jumping and power header make him a real threat, but in addition to that he’s a speedster (90 acceleration and 90 sprint), has 82 stamina, great dribbling and a powerful shot. He’s fast enough to go on the wing and good enough in the air to play as a target man. It’s just down to you to decide where you need him most.
I’ve included one final option because Matt Lecointe is such an unbelievable bargain. He’s priced at £200,000, which is amazing, but because he’s only got 1 year on his contract you can get him for even less – I got him for £140,000 on my test career! OK, so he’s not the greatest player right now, but he’s strong and decent in the air, and he’s only going to get better and better. Buy him as a future investment and by the end of it you’ll be wondering why on earth he was so cheap.
As in FIFA 12, make sure you keep checking these players, as their prices and OVR may fluctuate radically after over time. If you’ve had any experience of this (especially if a player’s price drops), please post it in the comments.
Here’s the complete list:
| Pos | Name | OVR | Pot | Age | Cost (£) | Wages (£) | Club | Avai? | Foot | Weak foot | Skills | Traits | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ST | Manolo Gabbiadini | 73 | 86 | 20 | 4,100,000 | 9,000 | Bologna | - | Left | 3 | 3 | On loan from Juventus | |
| ST | Richmond Boakye | 70 | 85 | 19 | 2,700,000 | 6,000 | Sassuolo | N/3 | Right | 3 | 2 | ||
| ST | Khouma Babacar | 65 | 83 | 19 | 1,100,000 | 3,000 | Padua | - | Right | 4 | 3 | On loan from Fiorentina | |
| ST | Connor Wickham | 69 | 83 | 19 | 1,500,000 | 5,000 | Sunderland | Y/3 | Right | 3 | 2 | ||
| ST | Valentín Viola | 69 | 83 | 20 | 1,600,000 | 4,000 | Sporting CP | N/5 | Right | 3 | 3 | ||
| ST | Jürgen Locadia | 66 | 82 | 18 | 1,200,000 | 1,750 | PSV | Y/2 | Right | 5 | 2 | ||
| ST | Rogelio Funes Mori | 70 | 81 | 21 | 2,400,000 | 7,000 | River Plate | Y/3 | Right | 3 | 3 | ||
| ST | Morata | 70 | 81 | 19 | 2,400,000 | 10,000 | Real Madrid | Y/3 | Right | 3 | 2 | ||
| ST | Matt Lecointe | 55 | 80 | 17 | 200,000 | 750 | Plymouth Argyle | Y/1 | Right | 2 | 2 | ||
| ST | Jack Sampson | 63 | 80 | 19 | 675,000 | 2,000 | Bolton | Y/1 | Right | 3 | 2 | ||
| ST | Vincenzo Rennella | 64 | 80 | 23 | 850,000 | 3,000 | Córdoba CF | Y/2 | Left | 3 | 3 | Injury prone | |
| ST | Jerry Mbakogu | 67 | 80 | 19 | 1,100,000 | 4,000 | C. Stabia | Y/3 | Right | 3 | 3 | ||
| ST | Michy Batshuayi | 67 | 80 | 18 | 1,100,000 | 2,000 | Standard Liège | Y/4 | Right | 3 | 2 | ||
| ST | Abou Diop | 66 | 80 | 18 | 1,100,000 | 2,250 | Torino | Y/2 | Right | 3 | 3 | ||
| ST | Gianmario Comi | 66 | 80 | 20 | 1,100,000 | 3,000 | Reggina | Y/4 | Right | 3 | 3 | ||
| ST | Mushaga Bakenga | 68 | 80 | 19 | 1,400,000 | 4,000 | Cercle Brugge | - | Right | 4 | 3 | On loan from Club Brugge | |
| ST | Jonathas | 71 | 80 | 23 | 2,100,000 | 7,000 | Pescara | N/4 | Right | 3 | 3 | Power free-kick, power header | |
| ST | Gilberto | 71 | 80 | 23 | 2,100,000 | 7,000 | S. Recife | - | Right | 4 | 2 | On loan from I. Porto Alegre | |
| ST | Dominique Malonga | 70 | 80 | 23 | 2,100,000 | 7,000 | Vicenza | - | Right | 3 | 3 | On loan from Cesena | |
| ST | Stefano Okaka Chuka | 71 | 80 | 22 | 2,300,000 | 4,000 | La Spezia | - | Left | 3 | 3 | On loan from Parma | |
| ST | Robert Acquafresca | 73 | 80 | 24 | 2,900,000 | 10,000 | Bologna | Y/2 | Right | 3 | 2 | Power header | |
| ST | Victor Anichebe | 73 | 80 | 24 | 2,900,000 | 15,000 | Everton | Y/3 | Right | 3 | 3 | Injury prone | |
| CF | Johnny Russell | 73 | 80 | 22 | 3,300,000 | 10,000 | Dundee United | Y/2 | Left | 2 | 3 | Speedster, power header | |
| ST | Christian Benteke | 72 | 80 | 21 | 3,300,000 | 9,000 | Aston Villa | N/4 | Right | 4 | 2 | Strength, power header |