FIFA 14 | So You Want A… Right back

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In the first of two articles focusing on full backs, today we’re going to be looking at finding the perfect right back for you FIFA 14 squad.

First up, here’s who I’d recommend:

• João Cancelo
• Adam Matthews
• Calum Chambers

My first pick this time is João Cancelo of SL Benfica in Portugal. This player is great for you if you play with attacking full backs. His pace, dribbling and high attacking work rate mean that he’ll be there to support your offensive play and be a constant threat to opposition defenders. He doesn’t slack on defence either, with good tackling and interceptions added to the mix. One thing that makes him stand out, though, are his free kick stats – 81 shot power for a start, and his curve and free kick accuracy are decent and will develop into a useful tool for your arsenal. All this for such a low price (try £1.7m) and high potential, and you can see why he’s number one on this list.

Adam Matthews is my second recommendation. Although he’s a bit more expensive, for his price you are rewarded with the most versatile player in this article. He’s got all the essentials for a full back – pace, crossing, dribbling, tackling – but he’s strong too and has a good jumping stat, so he’ll be a very difficult player to beat when defending. He likes to get forward, but his 81 stamina means he’s unlikely to get exhausted going forward and then caught out of position. He’s excellent at passing and has the long throw-in trait, so you can expect him to chip in with assists as well. A bid of around £4m should convince Celtic to part ways with him.

Third up is Calum Chambers of Southampton. Although he starts off a little raw, he looks to be a real star in the making, and possesses a wide range of skills for his price tag. He’s equally good in attack and in defence and has very few red stats despite his low OVR. Encouragingly, two of his best stats are his strength and stamina, and he’s not lacking in pace either, a rare combination for a full back. Think of him as a cheaper alternative to Adam Matthews – a bid of £650,000 should be enough for this bargain buy.

Manquillo also gets a mention for his fantastic crossing stat – at 77, the highest in this list. Unfortunately you can’t buy him straight away, but he is definitely one to consider if you are patient.

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The articles in this series should give you some ideas if you’re looking for a new signing in a key area. There is one article for each position on the pitch to make it easy for you to quickly find players to bolster your squad.

All of the players given here have a minimum potential of 80, so you know you’re getting quality. The maximum OVR for each player is 73, both to keep transfer prices down and to avoid presenting you with too many options and thus making it too difficult to choose the player you need.

The ‘Avai?’ column is short for ‘available?’ and refers both to whether or not you can buy the specified player at the start of the first season and how long their current contract is. Let’s take Y/2 as an example – Y means that yes, you can buy him at the start of a new career, and the number means he has two years left on his contract. Similarly, N/3 would mean that no, you can’t buy the player straight away, and he has three years left on his contract. These ‘no’ players are often available for transfer if you wait until the January transfer window, however. For some players this column is blank – this means that they are out on loan at the start and are therefore unavailable for purchase until the second season.

Initial player costs may seem very low this year. The figure in the player cost column refers to the price you are given if you scout the player. But I’ve also added a new column this time round – ‘They want’. This refers to the price the other team want for the player if you enquire about him. Often there is a large difference between the player cost obtained through scouting and that obtained through an enquiry. This leaves a lot of room for negotiation, so don’t be put off if a price in the ‘They want’ column is high, as you can usually get the player for much less. Try bidding lower than what you think will be accepted – you may be surprised at their response. If the ‘They want’ column is blank it’s because the team refused to give a price, either because the player has just joined them or because they are loaning him in.

And as a final note, in FIFA 14 EA update player OVRs and potentials every week. Mose of the time these are very minor changes, and most players won’t be affected at all unless they have had a very noteworthy week. Furthermore, some players occasionally disappear if they have been put in the reserve squad that week. So just bear in mind that these figures should be read as a guide only and not a definitive account of player costs, potentials, etc, for the entire season.[/expand]

Here’s the list in full: