FIFA 13 | So You Want A… Left Midfielder

Follow @FIFAscouting

The aim of this series, as last year, is to provide a shortlist of players that meet this requirement. All players have at least potential 80, and all will have an OVR of 73 or lower. The original intention of this (in the FIFA 12 series) was to keep costs down, but looking at this list I’m not sure that’s a problem any more! Still, I’ll stick to 73 or lower for the sake of avoiding overwhelming you with options.

A new addition this year is 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.

Finally, if you see that a team is low on this position when you go to buy a player, don’t be put off. On FIFA 12 this meant, essentially, that you’d never be able to buy this player, as his team would never buy backups and thus would always refuse to sell him. In FIFA 13, however, it just means that you have to pay a little extra to get him.

As with wide right players, there are two types of wide left players in FIFA 13 – the forward-lying left winger (LW), and the deeper left midfielder (LM). Wingers are typically very fast, have good dribbling and skill moves, and have good finishing. They are often used in an attacking trio – two wingers and a striker. The LM is typically better at crossing, and is expected to create goals, not necessarily to score them. As before, if you’re considering buying a player make sure you look up his stats to see which type of player he is, and whether this fits in with what you need in your squad.

I recommend these three players:

• Viktor Fischer
• Lucas Piazon
• Gary Mackay-Steven

The idea that you could get someone with 87 potential at around £1.4m would have been absurd a year ago, but here it is – Viktor Fischer. He’s quick and strong and has a 5 star weak foot, making him an invaluable player. He will become one of the best wide players in the world, and because he isn’t that important at Ajax and only has 2 years left on his contract, you can get him for a fraction of what he should cost.

It seems with every version of FIFA or squad update Lucas Piazon changes position, but his potential has always been very high. He’s been a ST, a CF and now a LW and will exceed at each position. I’ve seen people saying they’ve got him to 71-74 by the end of the 2nd season, and for less than half a million you’d be a fool not to buy him. He’s got great skills and a strong weak foot too, making him even better.

My third choice was a really tough one – it could have been any one of Gary Mackay-Steven, Raheem Sterling or Jesé Rodríguez. In the end I went for Mackay-Steven because the thing that puts him above the other two is that he has 5 star skills and the flair trait, and that is very rare and a fantastic asset for a winger. He’s also super fast, very agile and has superb dribbling. It’s also definitely worth having a look at Raheem Sterling and Jesé Rodríguez though, as they’re both fantastic players. I just don’t have space to recommend them all!

Finally, Charles Aránguiz is a free agent. He’ll be assigned to a random team, so if you want to buy him, just search for his name. Sifiso Myeni plays for Orlando Pirates, who aren’t listed in the “Rest of World” league. If you want him, go to the search box and set the league to “Rest of World”, then enter his name and press search. He should show up then.

As in FIFA 12, make sure you keep checking these players, as their prices and OVR may fluctuate radically after over time. If you’ve had any experience of this (especially if a player’s price drops), please post it in the comments.

Here’s the complete list: