Well here we are, back for another series of Lower League Gems articles! The idea behind these articles is providing quality players to teams limited funds. With that in mind, none of the players in these articles cost more than £1m.
As before, remember 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.
As you can see from the length of the table below, this has been a great year for cheap players on FIFA. So much so in fact, that I’ve had to make the minimum potential 76 (last year it was 74) because there are just so many cheap, talented players out there! So the players on these lists will have a minimum potential of 76, will cost no more than £1m and will be aged no older than 25. Never let it be said that I don’t spoil you for choice!
Here are my recommendations for goalkeepers:
- Alessio Cragno
- Simon Sluga
- Rafael
- Fabian Spiess
A lot of people have been talking about Alessio Cragno, and with good reason. I actually recommended him on my So You Want A… article for goalkeepers. For his potential he should cost way, way more than £375,000. Growth in FIFA 13 is way better than last year, so give him plenty of playing time and don’t be surprised to find his OVR in the 70s and rising by his second or third season.
Another one from the So You Want A… list is Simon Sluga. A very promising young goalkeeper and he’s only valued at £240,000. I think FIFA 13’s valuation system must be broken or something, so take advantage and get Sluga while he’s cheap. Don’t worry about his OVR, that’ll shoot up and he’ll become a very solid shot stopper.
My third recommendation is for Rafael, currently playing for Cruzeiro in Brazil. He’s only got a year left on his contract so you can get him for around £650,000. Considering he’s got the GK long throw trait and has great diving and reflexes, that’s a real steal. Cruzeiro already have a quality goalkeeper in Fábio and Rafael won’t get much of a chance there, so bring him to your team and you won’t look back.
Fabian Spiess is my final recommendation. He’s another ridiculously cheap option, but like Rafael he only has a year on his contract, so you’ll only need to shell out around £150,000 for him! On FIFA 13, if players play consistently well then they can go way over their potential, so you could even see Spiess reach 80 OVR or more. For £150,000 that’s downright scandalous.
Silviu Lung Jr. and Gael Perdomo are free agents so they’ll be assigned to a random team at the start of your career. Just search for their last name if you want to buy them.
Players are ordered by potential, then cost, so it should be pretty simple to find someone who meets both your budget and ability/potential requirements.
Finally, if you’ve had any experiences of good players’ prices changing wildly (especially if their 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Alessio Cragno | 60 | 85 | 18 | 375,000 | 1,000 | Brescia | Y/2 | Right | 1 | 1 | ||
| GK | Alphonse Aréola | 65 | 82 | 19 | 900,000 | 3,000 | PSG | Y/4 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Koen Casteels | 64 | 81 | 20 | 925,000 | 2,000 | 1899 Hoffenheim | Y/3 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Simon Sluga | 59 | 80 | 19 | 240,000 | 1,000 | H. Verona | Y/4 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Rubén Blanco | 58 | 80 | 16 | 240,000 | 2,250 | Celta Vigo | N/5 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Simone Colombi | 65 | 80 | 21 | 725,000 | 2,000 | Modena | Y/3 | Right | 1 | 1 | ||
| GK | Mattia Perin | 67 | 80 | 19 | 850,000 | 4,000 | Pescara | - | Right | 2 | 1 | On loan from Genoa | |
| GK | Rafael | 68 | 80 | 23 | 1,000,000 | 4,000 | Cruzeiro | Y/1 | Left | 2 | 1 | GK long throw | |
| GK | Artur Nigmatullin | 61 | 79 | 21 | 400,000 | 1,500 | Volga | - | Right | 3 | 1 | On loan from CSKA Moskva | |
| GK | Vid Belec | 67 | 79 | 22 | 825,000 | 6,000 | Inter | Y/3 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Kin Seung Gyu | 66 | 79 | 21 | 900,000 | 3,000 | Ulsan Hyundai | Y/3 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Leandro Chichizola | 66 | 79 | 22 | 900,000 | 3,000 | River Plate | Y/3 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Jonathan Ligali | 60 | 78 | 21 | 400,000 | 1,750 | Montpellier HSC | Y/2 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Boy de Jong | 62 | 78 | 18 | 425,000 | 1,750 | Feyenoord | N/3 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Marco Silvestri | 62 | 78 | 21 | 450,000 | 2,000 | Padua | - | Right | 2 | 1 | On loan from Chievo Verona | |
| GK | Sean Johnson | 65 | 78 | 23 | 600,000 | 3,000 | Chicago Fire | Y/2 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Andrea Seculin | 65 | 78 | 21 | 650,000 | 3,000 | C. Stabia | - | Right | 3 | 1 | On loan from Fiorentina | |
| GK | Mejías | 67 | 78 | 23 | 725,000 | 2,000 | RM Castilla | Y/1 | Right | 2 | 1 | GK up for corners | |
| GK | Tom Mickel | 67 | 78 | 23 | 725,000 | 4,000 | Hamburger SV | Y/1 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Miroslav Lobantsev | 66 | 78 | 17 | 750,000 | 1,500 | Lokomotiv | Y/4 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Colin Coosemans | 66 | 78 | 19 | 775,000 | 1,500 | Waasl.-Beveren | - | Right | 3 | 1 | On loan from Club Brugge | |
| GK | Łukasz Skorupski | 66 | 78 | 21 | 825,000 | 1,000 | G. Zabrze | Y/1 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Marco Bizot | 67 | 78 | 20 | 825,000 | 4,000 | FC Groningen | N/2 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Renan | 67 | 78 | 21 | 825,000 | 2,000 | Estoril | - | Right | 2 | 1 | On loan from Corinthians | |
| GK | Rafael Romo | 66 | 78 | 22 | 825,000 | 3,000 | Udinese | Y/1 | Right | 2 | 1 | GK long throw | |
| GK | Rubén Miño | 69 | 78 | 23 | 925,000 | 4,000 | RCD Mallorca | N/3 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Mitchell Langerak | 68 | 78 | 23 | 925,000 | 5,000 | Bor. Dortmund | Y/4 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Gustavo Busatto | 69 | 78 | 21 | 1,000,000 | 4,000 | Grêmio | Y/2 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Mathew Ryan | 68 | 78 | 20 | 1,000,000 | 1,000 | Central Coast | Y/1 | Right | 3 | 1 | GK long throw | |
| GK | Jason Steele | 68 | 78 | 21 | 1,000,000 | 4,000 | Middlesbrough | Y/3 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Pierrick Cros | 68 | 78 | 21 | 1,000,000 | 4,000 | FC Sochaux | Y/3 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Nigel Bertrams | 62 | 77 | 19 | 425,000 | 2,000 | PSV | Y/1 | Right | 1 | 1 | ||
| GK | Silviu Lung Jr. | 65 | 77 | 23 | 550,000 | 3,000 | Y/4 | Right | 3 | 1 | Free agent | ||
| GK | Thomas Kaminski | 67 | 77 | 19 | 700,000 | 4,000 | RSC Anderlecht | Y/5 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Kepa Arrizabalaga | 66 | 77 | 17 | 750,000 | 2,250 | Athletic Bilbao | Y/4 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Danilo Fernandes | 69 | 77 | 24 | 775,000 | 4,000 | Corinthians | Y/3 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Bill Hamid | 66 | 77 | 21 | 825,000 | 3,000 | D.C. United | Y/2 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Adan Larsen Kwarasey | 68 | 77 | 24 | 875,000 | 2,000 | Strømsgodset IF | Y/0 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Vítor Golas | 69 | 77 | 21 | 925,000 | 4,000 | Sporting CP | Y/2 | Right | 3 | 1 | Strength | |
| GK | Giedrius Arlauskis | 71 | 77 | 24 | 1,000,000 | 7,000 | Rubin Kazan | Y/2 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Fabian Spiess | 59 | 76 | 18 | 240,000 | 750 | Notts County | Y/1 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Richard Sánchez | 59 | 76 | 18 | 240,000 | 1,000 | FC Dallas | Y/3 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Hassen Mouez | 57 | 76 | 17 | 240,000 | 1,750 | OGC Nice | Y/3 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Loris Karius | 61 | 76 | 19 | 300,000 | 2,000 | 1. FSV Mainz 05 | Y/2 | Right | 3 | 1 | GK long throw | |
| GK | Benjamin Leroy | 65 | 76 | 23 | 550,000 | 3,000 | Tours FC | Y/2 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Mickey van der Hart | 64 | 76 | 18 | 550,000 | 1,750 | Ajax | N/3 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Jay Lynch | 64 | 76 | 19 | 575,000 | 3,000 | Bolton | N/1 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Konstantinos Lamprou | 65 | 76 | 20 | 600,000 | 3,000 | Feyenoord | Y/3 | Left | 3 | 1 | GK long throw | |
| GK | Gael Perdomo | 64 | 76 | 22 | 600,000 | 3,000 | Y/1 | Right | 2 | 1 | Free agent | ||
| GK | Abdoulaye Diallo | 66 | 76 | 20 | 725,000 | 3,000 | Stade Rennais | Y/1 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Darren Keet | 66 | 76 | 22 | 725,000 | 3,000 | KV Kortrijk | Y/3 | Left | 2 | 1 | GK long throw | |
| GK | Marwin Hitz | 69 | 76 | 24 | 775,000 | 5,000 | VfL Wolfsburg | Y/1 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Alex McCarthy | 69 | 76 | 22 | 925,000 | 4,000 | Reading | Y/3 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Stephen Henderson | 71 | 76 | 24 | 1,000,000 | 6,000 | West Ham | Y/3 | Right | 3 | 1 | GK long throw | |
| GK | Vito Mannone | 70 | 76 | 24 | 1,000,000 | 10,000 | Arsenal | Y/2 | Right | 3 | 1 |