FIFA 13 | Lower League Gems – Left midfielders (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 choices this time:

• Amin Affane/Fabián Castillo
• Jack Grealish
• Soslan Gatagov
• Mathias Abero

What is it with left midfielders? Once again I’ve found it impossible to only choose a couple of recommendations. Aptly demonstrating that are my joint first choices, Amin Affane and Fabián Castillo. I just couldn’t choose between these players. They’re both fast and have great agility. They both have fantastic dribbling and a powerful shot. They both have four star skill moves. Affane has slightly higher potential, a better weak foot rating and the flair trait, but you can’t buy him straight away. I’d advise you to have a really good look at both of these and decide which one fits your plans better, because I can’t choose!

Next up was Jack Grealish, and he was a clear enough choice for me. Although he’s not the quickest, he has amazing balance and dribbling, so he will be able to easily make a mockery of opposition defences. His great dribbling ability means he could also be very useful as an attacking midfielder, wriggling past defenders and earning penalties or scoring goals. He’s also got fantastic potential, so move fast to get him before his price rises.

Soslan Gatagov is number three, and I chose him because he is such an all-round left-sided player. He’s quick and can cross, so is useful as a left midfielder, but both his defending and shooting stats are very decent. He can easily fit in at left back if you need him to, but his shooting means that he can also pose a threat when going forward. He’s got excellent potential and so will grow into a brilliant player no matter where you put him.

My final choice is Mathias Abero. Much like Ohi Anthony Omoijuanfo in the right midfielders Lower League Gems article, Abero is a very powerful player who relies on his strength to hold off defenders. He’s also got excellent crossing, so can make a real nuisance of himself and provide assists for your team. Although you can’t buy him in the first window, he is well worth a shot if you want to try something new with your wide players.

See below for the full list: