Welcome to the Lower League Gems series for the winter update to FIFA 13! If you want promising players for an absolute bargain, you’re in the right place.
These articles aim to highlight young, high potential players that are priced at £1m or less. The pre-winter update version of this series had 76 as the minimum potential, but there were simply so many eligible players this time round that I’ve had to up it to 77.
This year EA have been updating the game week by week. This means that player OVRs and potentials can change slightly depending on real world performances. As such, please note that the player stats on your game may slightly vary from those depicted in the table below. I tried to be as accurate as possible, but it’s conceivable that if you download the squad update in, say, two months time, some of the stats may be different.
Just remember that this year players can exceed their potentials if they play enough games and play well enough. Thus take this table to be a guide only. A player listed with potential 78 could reach the mid 80s (or even higher) if he consistently plays well!
As a final note, people have asked me what the ‘Avai?’ column is for. ‘Avai?’ is short for ‘available?’ (there is not enough space for the full word), and it refers to whether or not each player is available to buy in the first transfer window. ‘Y’ means yes, they are available, whilst ‘N’ means that they’re not. The number after the ‘Y’ or ‘N’ is the amount of years left on their contract. So ‘Y/2’ means that yes, they are available to buy in the first transfer window and that they have 2 years left on their contract. Similarly, ‘N/5’ means they’re not available to buy right away and that they have 5 years left on their contract. The ones to look out for are ‘Y/1’, as you should be able to get these players for less than their listed value. Players who are on loan will have a “-” in this column because information on their contracts is not available.
Anyway, my recommendations are below:
- Alphonse Aréola
- Fabrice Ondoa
- Timo Horn
- Daniel Bachmann
Coming back after being recommended in the “So You Want A…” article on goalkeepers is Alphonse Aréola. As I said in that article, he is a brilliantly well-rounded keeper and will grow into a player that can cover all the bases. He may be on the more expensive side, but his high potential and multiple abilities more than make up for this.
Second is another player recommended before, Fabrice Ondoa. Unlike many young goalkeepers, his handling is excellent, and he also has very good diving. This is a great combination because it means that not only will he be able to make it to the ball, but he’ll be able to hold on to it as well, meaning fewer risky spills in the box. I once scouted a keeper who ended up with 90 diving and 88 handling, which made him feel absolutely unbeatable; this is exactly the type of player that Ondoa could become.
Number three is Timo Horn. He is an excellent shot stopper, with his reflexes and diving already being very good for his age. In addition to this, he has one of the highest OVR stats in this article, and I simply refuse to believe that he will only grow 10 points in 10 years. He should easily exceed his potential, so you should be able to expect years of growth from a very promising young keeper.
Finally, it’s hard to ignore Daniel Bachmann. Although his OVR isn’t great at this stage, he has great potential and he is very cheap, with only has a year left on his contract. You should be able to get him for around £250,000, which is a fantastic bargain for someone who could conceivably reach the mid 80s and beyond if he plays well enough.
Also note that Silviu Lung Jr. is a free agent and will be assigned to a random team at the start of your career. If you want him, just search for his name.
See below for the list in full:
| Pos | Name | OVR | Pot. | Age | Cost (£) | Wages (£) | Club | Avai? | Foot | Weak foot | Skills | Traits | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Gabriel | 67 | 83 | 19 | 925,000 | 5,000 | Milan | N/5 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Alphonse Aréola | 65 | 82 | 19 | 900,000 | 3,000 | PSG | Y/4 | Right | 2 | 1 | Strength | |
| GK | Koen Casteels | 66 | 81 | 20 | 975,000 | 2,000 | 1899 Hoffenheim | Y/3 | Left | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Rubén Blanco | 58 | 80 | 16 | 240,000 | 2,250 | Celta Vigo | N/5 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Fabrice Ondoa | 62 | 80 | 16 | 550,000 | 1,000 | FC Barcelona B | Y/3 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Simone Colombi | 65 | 80 | 21 | 725,000 | 2,000 | Modena | - | Right | 1 | 1 | On loan from Atalanta | |
| GK | Przemysław Frąckowiak | 66 | 80 | 18 | 825,000 | 1,000 | L. Poznań | Y/5 | Right | 1 | 1 | ||
| GK | Alex Smithies | 66 | 80 | 22 | 900,000 | 3,000 | Huddersfield | Y/3 | Right | 2 | 1 | GK long throw | |
| GK | Lys Gomis | 67 | 80 | 22 | 900,000 | 4,000 | Ascoli | - | Right | 2 | 1 | On loan from Torino | |
| GK | Rafael | 68 | 80 | 23 | 1,000,000 | 4,000 | Cruzeiro | Y/4 | Left | 2 | 1 | GK long throw | |
| GK | Daniel Bachmann | 60 | 79 | 17 | 375,000 | 2,250 | Stoke City | Y/1 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Artur Nigmatullin | 61 | 79 | 21 | 400,000 | 1,500 | Volga | - | Right | 3 | 1 | On loan from CSKA Moskva | |
| GK | Nigel Bertrams | 62 | 79 | 19 | 550,000 | 2,000 | PSV | Y/4 | Right | 1 | 1 | ||
| GK | Vladimir | 67 | 79 | 22 | 825,000 | 4,000 | Santos | Y/2 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Leandro Chichizola | 67 | 79 | 22 | 825,000 | 4,000 | River Plate | Y/4 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Vid Belec | 67 | 79 | 22 | 825,000 | 5,000 | Inter | N/5 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Kim Seung Gyu | 66 | 79 | 21 | 900,000 | 3,000 | Ulsan Hyundai | Y/4 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Timo Horn | 69 | 79 | 19 | 975,000 | 4,000 | 1. FC Köln | Y/4 | Left | 4 | 1 | ||
| GK | Jonathan Ligali | 60 | 78 | 21 | 400,000 | 1,750 | Montpellier HSC | Y/2 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Mejías | 63 | 78 | 23 | 425,000 | 1,000 | RM Castilla | Y/1 | Right | 2 | 1 | GK up for corners | |
| 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 | Antonio Donnarumma | 65 | 78 | 21 | 650,000 | 3,000 | Genoa | N/3 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Benjamin Siegrist | 64 | 78 | 20 | 650,000 | 3,000 | Aston Villa | Y/2 | Right | 1 | 1 | ||
| GK | Miroslav Lobantsev | 66 | 78 | 17 | 750,000 | 1,500 | Lokomotiv | Y/5 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Nicola Leali | 67 | 78 | 19 | 775,000 | 1,000 | Lanciano | N/5 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Łukasz Skorupski | 67 | 78 | 21 | 825,000 | 2,000 | G. Zabrze | Y/2 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Renan | 67 | 78 | 21 | 825,000 | 2,000 | Estoril | - | Right | 2 | 1 | On loan from Corinthians | |
| GK | Rubén Miño | 69 | 78 | 23 | 925,000 | 4,000 | RCD Mallorca | N/4 | 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 | Jason Steele | 69 | 78 | 21 | 1,000,000 | 4,000 | Middlesbrough | Y/3 | 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 | Pierrick Cros | 68 | 78 | 21 | 1,000,000 | 4,000 | FC Sochaux | Y/3 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Gabriel Gasparotto | 60 | 77 | 19 | 375,000 | 1,000 | Santos | Y/5 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Silviu Lung Jr. | 65 | 77 | 23 | 550,000 | 3,000 | - | Y/5 | Right | 3 | 1 | Free agent | |
| GK | Anthony Lopes | 65 | 77 | 21 | 600,000 | 4,000 | Olympique Lyon | Y/1 | Left | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Adam Larsen Kwarasey | 67 | 77 | 24 | 625,000 | 2,000 | Strømsgodset IF | Y/6 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Andrea Seculin | 64 | 77 | 21 | 650,000 | 3,000 | C. Stabia | - | Right | 3 | 1 | On loan from Fiorentina | |
| GK | Thomas Kaminski | 67 | 77 | 19 | 700,000 | 4,000 | RSC Anderlecht | Y/5 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Ørjan Håskjold Nyland | 67 | 77 | 21 | 725,000 | 4,000 | Molde FK | Y/3 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Kepa Arrizabalaga | 66 | 77 | 17 | 750,000 | 2,250 | Athletic Bilbao | N/1 | Right | 3 | 1 | ||
| GK | Danilo Fernandes | 69 | 77 | 24 | 775,000 | 4,000 | Corinthians | Y/4 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Bill Hamid | 66 | 77 | 21 | 825,000 | 3,000 | D.C. United | Y/2 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Ricardo | 68 | 77 | 25 | 875,000 | 4,000 | Santa Catarina | Y/2 | Right | 2 | 1 | ||
| GK | Vítor Golas | 69 | 77 | 21 | 925,000 | 4,000 | Sporting CP | Y/2 | Right | 3 | 1 | Strength | |
| GK | Mauro Goicoechea | 70 | 77 | 24 | 1,000,000 | 10,000 | Roma | Y/5 | Right | 2 | 1 |