What better way to try something new before FIFA 15 hits the shelves than delve into the free transfer market? There are tons of high quality players out there that you don’t even need to pay a fee for, provided you make a move for them at the right time. If you’ve never tried it before you’re in luck, because I’m here to guide you through the best free transfers in FIFA 14, position by position.
How do I get players for free in FIFA 14?
It’s actually really straightforward to purchase players for free in FIFA 14 – at least, once you know who you’re looking for. They just need to be aged 23 or over when the January transfer window rolls around, and must have less than a year left on their contract (i.e. it will expire at the end of the season).
If you’ve identified the player you want, find them using the ‘Search Players’ option in the Transfer tab, click on them then click ‘Approach to sign on contract expiry’. You then just need to offer them a contract and wait a few days to see if they accept. If they do, they will join your team at the end of the season.
That’s the easy bit – the hard part is finding players who match those criteria. You can send your scout to find players in a certain country who have a year left on their contract and are 23 or older, but if you don’t have a very good scout you may not find many matching players.
Luckily I’ve done the heavy lifting for you. Simply browse the list below or have a look at the other articles in this series and decide who you want to go for, then follow my steps above to get them to join your squad. All the players in these articles will have a minimum potential of 75, so you know you’ll be getting quality for a fantastic price.
The OVRs listed here are true for the start of a career. When the player joins you the next year it is highly likely these will be different, as they can grow (or decline) during their first season. This can be great if they grow a lot, but just be aware that any player over the age of about 30 may well be worse than you expect when they arrive.
Here are the right midfielders I recommend you try.
Recommendations
NOTE: Because the top players in this article actually have cheaper wages than lower potential players further down the list, I’m not going to do the normal ‘elite’, ‘mid-range’ and ‘budget’ options. Instead, I’m going to have two ‘elite’ options with the best two players, then one ‘budget’ option for a more affordable player. Seems to make more sense to do it that way in this case.
The elite option 1
The first of my two elite options is Sekou Oliseh. He’s an out and out winger: blistering speed, tricky dribbling and excellent crossing. He’s also got decent long shots and finishing, so will be able to put away chances as well as create them.
As well as that, his four star skills and 92 agility are going to make him a real handful for opposition defenders, and his £20,000 wages will bring in a better player some of the more expensive options in this article. Head to the Rest of World section and find PAOK to make your offer.
The elite option 2
My second elite choice is Carlos Carbonero. He’s a very similar player to Oliseh with the pace, crossing and dribbling ability to make him a true standout performer. While these stats aren’t quite as good as Oliseh’s, he does have his own strengths.
For instance, his long shots and show power are incredible and should be well into the 80s by the time he gets to your squad. Furthermore, he starts out with 82 stamina, so he’s going to be putting in a shift every time you play him. He’s young and has a very good starting OVR, so you could well find him growing beyond his 78 potential.
The budget option
Don’t be misled by Benjamin Moukandjo‘s OVR, because he comes with a whole host of excellent stats. He’s a speedster with 91 acceleration and sprint speed, and this combined with his 85 agility will have him zipping past defenders with ease.
Another strength he brings with him is his ability to score goals. His finishing and shot power stats are two of his best, so you could play him up front or as a CF if you wanted to use him in a more direct manner. Either way, he should have grown very close to his potential when he arrives and will make an instant impact; for £6,000 a week, that’s not bad going!
NOTE: Although I mentioned earlier that players have to be 23 to be eligible, there may be some entries in these articles whose age is 22. That’s because they start a career aged 22, but by the time January arrives they are 23 and can be signed for free.
Here’s the list in full:
| Pos | Name | OVR | Pot. | Age | Wages (£) | Club | Foot | Weak foot | Skills | Traits | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RM | Mathieu Dossevi | 74 | 79 | 25 | 20,000 | Valenciennes FC | Right | 3 | 3 | ||
| RM | Sekou Oliseh | 73 | 79 | 23 | 20,000 | PAOK | Right | 3 | 4 | Acrobat | |
| RM | Jose Carlos | 75 | 78 | 25 | 20,000 | Rayo Vallecano | Left | 3 | 3 | ||
| RM | Carlos Carbonero | 73 | 78 | 22 | 20,000 | River Plate | Right | 3 | 3 | ||
| RM | Simone Pepe | 76 | 76 | 29 | 60,000 | Juventus | Right | 4 | 3 | Injury prone, early crosser | |
| RW | Danilo Dias | 74 | 76 | 27 | 25,000 | C. Funchal | Right | 4 | 4 | Flair | |
| RW | Floyd Ayité | 73 | 76 | 24 | 25,000 | Stade Reims | Right | 4 | 4 | ||
| RM | Marc Albrighton | 71 | 76 | 23 | 20,000 | Aston Villa | Right | 3 | 3 | Early crosser | |
| RM | Boris Vukcevic | 69 | 76 | 23 | 7,000 | 1899 Hoffenheim | Left | 3 | 3 | ||
| RW | Vladimir Bystrov | 75 | 75 | 29 | 30,000 | A. Makhachkala | Right | 3 | 4 | Early crosser | |
| RM | Joe Cole | 75 | 75 | 31 | 25,000 | West Ham | Right | 4 | 4 | Injury prone | |
| RW | Jonathan Pitroipa | 74 | 75 | 27 | 30,000 | Stade Rennais | Right | 3 | 4 | ||
| RM | Benjamin Moukandjo | 69 | 75 | 24 | 6,000 | AS Nancy | Right | 3 | 2 | ||
| RM | Alberto Perea | 68 | 75 | 22 | 6,000 | Rayo Vallecano | Right | 3 | 3 |
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