FIFA 14 | So You Want A… Left back UPDATE


Next in the look at full backs, we’ve got left backs. Here’s who I’ve chosen to recommend:

  • Jetro Willems
  • Sead Kolasinac
  • Ronan

First on the list is perhaps a familiar name: Jetro Willems. I’ve recommended him in the past and I’m doing it again because he is simply a fantastic player. He’s quick, he’s got 73 strength and he’s got excellent stamina, and all these will get better and better, making him a real force. His dribbling is fantastic and he’s got four star skills as well, a very rare talent for a full back that will give him an edge when he pushes forward. And to top it all he’s an excellent defender and passer, making him a very talented all-rounder.

It’s not often that you find a full back with 77 acceleration, 85 sprint speed and 84 strength, but that’s exactly what you get with Sead Kolasinac. His combination of speed and power makes him very versatile, so he can fill in at CB if you need him to. He’s got a thunderous shot as well, so I’d actually recommend keeping him at LB where he can bomb forward and get a sight on goal. An offer of £3m should be enough to get him on your team.

My third recommendation is Ronan, and he’s a great little hidden gem for any lower league team with a limited budget. He’s already got a low asking price of £525,000, but with only a year left on his contract that can be knocked down to around £300,000. His wages are dirt cheap as well, but for such a small cost you get a very pacey player who is equally at home defending and attacking. A few years of growth and he’ll end up one of the best cheap purchases you’re ever likely to make.

NOTE: Ronan isn’t in the latest squad update and it seems EA are unlikely to update the squads further before FIFA 15 comes out. If you’ve started a career and can’t find Ronan, try Declan John for another cheap option. He’s fast like Ronan, but his technical stats are even better and he’s equally good defending as he is attacking. He’s a little more costly but more than makes up for it in quality.

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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]

Below is the list in full:

[table id=112 /]

And don’t forget to check out the other articles in this series by going to the ‘So You Want A…’ button in the top menu!