FIFA 13 | Lower League Gems – Left backs (Winter update)

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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.

Here are my recommendations:

• Raphaël Guerreiro
• Nicola Murru
• Joakim Våge Nilsen

My first pick is Raphaël Guerreiro. He’s already got pace to burn, and with potential 83 he’s going to become a very high quality left back. Don’t forget that he can easily exceed his potential because he’s still very young. Did I mention he’s only priced at £275,000? Although you can’t get him in the first window, make sure you try again in January because this is not a player you want to miss.

If you can’t wait for Guerreiro to become available but still want a left back with great potential, then Nicola Murru should be your next option. Don’t be fooled by his relatively humble stats, he is going to grow and grow into a brilliant left back; because he’s only 17 he will still grow well even if you can’t give him much game time. He’s only got 2 years left on his contract so you won’t have to pay much over his asking price either.

Joakim Våge Nilsen (of FK Haugesund in Norway) is number three, and he’s being recommended because he is just so well rounded. Every single physical stat is more or less even (mid 70s) and they should all rise together as he improves. He is just as capable of posing a threat going forward as he is defending his own goal – he can cross and has a great shot from distance, but he can mark and tackle as well. He can also grow into a deadly free kick taker with time, so he really is a multi-talented player. Try him at left midfield if you already have a decent left back, as his crossing and shooting will be a real asset for your team.

Finally, if you need a full back who can last all game, game after game, then have a look at Fabio Daprelà and Cristiano Biraghi. They are both rapid players and have stamina 94 and 92 respectively, so are definitely worth considering.

Anyway, the full list is below: