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, here are my recommendations for defensive midfielders:
- Lucas Silva
- Sergei Bryzgalov
- Nampalys Mendy
- Dominik Furman
Just like before the winter update, Lucas Silva is my number one recommendation. He’s got good physical stats and great stamina, and one thing I really like about him is the fact that he has high/high work rates, so he’ll work hard all game for your team. What really makes him stand out, though, is his ability to excel going forward as well as defensively. He can pass, dribble, tackle and shoot, and with his superb work rates this means he’ll be useful for you no matter where he is.
Second up is Sergei Bryzgalov. Whilst he doesn’t possess as wide a range of talents as Lucas Silva, Bryzgalov is fantastic in his specialist area: defending. If you find your opponent is able to cut through your central midfield with ease, then this guy could be the solution to your problems. His marking, interceptions and tackling are superb, so put him in at CDM and he should shore up a leaky midfield. He also works hard in defense and could be played at CB or full back if required.
My next choice is Nampalys Mendy. He’s got excellent stamina, vital for a young player in need of game time. As well as his tackling, what makes him very useful are his ball control and passing abilities; he should be able to create goals for your team as well as prevent them, so you might want to try playing him in a slightly more advanced role. Add to that his short contract and Mendy makes a real case for himself.
Number four is Dominik Furman. Unlike many young players, Furman’s mental attributes are one of his strong points. He is able to cut out passes and then get into positions to score; combined with his shot power this makes him a decent threat going forward. He also has great vision and long passing, so will be a real asset if you use a counter-attacking style.
Finally, if you’re short of funds then Conor Coady should definitely be considered, as you can get him for around £180,000 thanks to his expiring contract.
If you want to get Lucky Baloyi then you have to search his name and set the league to “Rest of World”.
As usual, see below for the list in full:
| Pos | Name | OVR | Pot. | Age | Cost (£) | Wages (£) | Club | Avai? | Foot | Weak foot | Skills | Traits | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CDM | Emre Can | 65 | 83 | 18 | 950,000 | 2,000 | FC Bayern | N/2 | Right | 4 | 3 | ||
| CDM | Lucas Silva | 67 | 82 | 19 | 1,000,000 | 3,000 | Cruzeiro | Y/5 | Right | 3 | 3 | ||
| CDM | Sergei Bryzgalov | 66 | 82 | 19 | 1,000,000 | 3,000 | Spartak Moskva | Y/4 | Right | 3 | 2 | ||
| CDM | Richard Lašík | 65 | 81 | 19 | 750,000 | 2,000 | Brescia | N/3 | Right | 2 | 2 | ||
| CDM | Josip Radošević | 66 | 80 | 18 | 925,000 | 3,000 | Napoli | Y/5 | Right | 3 | 2 | ||
| CDM | Ilan Boccara | 66 | 80 | 19 | 950,000 | 3,000 | Ajax | N/3 | Right | 4 | 2 | ||
| CDM | Nzuzi Toko | 67 | 80 | 21 | 1,000,000 | 4,000 | Grasshopper | Y/2 | Right | 3 | 3 | ||
| CDM | Lucky Baloyi | 66 | 80 | 21 | 1,000,000 | 3,000 | Kaizer Chiefs | Y/3 | Right | 4 | 2 | Long passer | |
| CDM | Willian Arão | 66 | 80 | 20 | 1,000,000 | 3,000 | Corinthians | Y/5 | Right | 2 | 2 | ||
| CDM | Rani Khedira | 57 | 79 | 18 | 250,000 | 2,000 | VfB Stuttgart | Y/3 | Right | 3 | 2 | ||
| CDM | Sandro Weiser | 63 | 79 | 19 | 475,000 | 2,000 | 1899 Hoffenheim | Y/4 | Left | 3 | 3 | ||
| CDM | Nampalys Mendy | 64 | 79 | 20 | 800,000 | 2,000 | AS Monaco | Y/1 | Right | 3 | 3 | ||
| CDM | André Hoffmann | 66 | 79 | 19 | 950,000 | 3,000 | Hannover 96 | Y/4 | Right | 2 | 2 | ||
| CDM | Conor Coady | 59 | 78 | 19 | 275,000 | 2,250 | Liverpool | Y/1 | Right | 3 | 3 | ||
| CDM | Giuseppe Rizzo | 65 | 78 | 21 | 800,000 | 3,000 | Pescara | - | Left | 3 | 3 | On loan from Reggina | |
| CDM | Roman Zobnin | 55 | 77 | 18 | 180,000 | 1,500 | Dinamo Moskva | Y/2 | Right | 3 | 2 | ||
| CDM | Agostinho Cá | 63 | 77 | 18 | 425,000 | 1,000 | FC Barcelona B | Y/4 | Right | 3 | 3 | ||
| CDM | Thomas | 62 | 77 | 19 | 475,000 | 2,250 | Atlético Madrid | Y/3 | Right | 3 | 2 | ||
| CDM | Perry Kitchen | 62 | 77 | 20 | 500,000 | 2,000 | D.C. United | Y/3 | Right | 3 | 2 | ||
| CDM | Dominik Furman | 65 | 77 | 19 | 650,000 | 3,000 | L. Warszawa | Y/5 | Right | 3 | 2 | ||
| CDM | Daniel Łukasik | 65 | 77 | 21 | 675,000 | 3,000 | L. Warszawa | Y/2 | Right | 2 | 2 | ||
| CDM | Alan Santos | 64 | 77 | 21 | 725,000 | 3,000 | Santos | Y/4 | Right | 2 | 2 |