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You don’t always have to pay a hefty transfer fee to get quality players
In fact, sometimes you don’t have to pay any transfer fee at all. There are plenty of high potential and high OVR players in FIFA 15 who will join your team for nothing, and the only payments you have to make are for their wages. That can be especially useful if you’re doing a career with a lower league team where money is tight, but any team can benefit from free transfers.
So if you’ve never tried getting players for free in FIFA 15 before, I’ve put together this series to help you find the best free players available to buy.
How do I get players for free in FIFA 15?
That’s easy – once you’ve found the player you want, just find them in the January transfer window and press ‘approach to sign on contract expiry’. Just wait a couple of days for them to mull over the contract, and if they accept then they will join your team at the end of the season.
But you can’t sign any player this way – they must be aged 23 or above by the time the January transfer window ends and have a year left on their contract (i.e. it will expire at the end of the season).
How do I find these free players?
Well, you could send your scout to various countries looking for players whose contracts are expiring. Of course, the problem with that is that it all depends on the quality of your scout – poor scouts might miss plenty of free players.
But given how unreliable that is, you’re much better off coming here and checking out my guides. Just have a browse of the list below – I’ve included every player who can be signed for free and has a minimum potential of 75, so you know you’re getting top quality players all round (and check out my other guides in this series for more free players).
All the OVRs listed below are true at the start of a career. When they join your team their OVR is likely to have changed, so you can expect the players to be even better than how they’re listed below, provided they’re not aged over 30. If they are, don’t be surprised if their OVR has declined.
Let’s check out my recommendations.
Recommendations
Kiko Casilla could still grow after joining your team
The elite option
If you’re looking for a fantastic all-round shot stopper, then Kiko Casilla is hard to beat. He’s very well balanced – 82 diving, 81 handling, 78 kicking, 80 positioning and 79 reflexes mean there will be very few situations in which he does not excel. Some goalkeepers have lightning fast reflexes but lack the handling or positioning to make them a truly safe pair of hands, but there’s no need to worry about that with Casilla – he can do it all.
At 27, he’s still not old for a goalkeeper. Given that he’s already at his potential, I’d say there’s a very good chance that he’ll be able to exceed his potential and grow towards the mid 80s. Although his wages are the most expensive in this article, I’d say that the fact he is already so good and can still grow more means that he is absolutely worth it – especially seeing as you won’t have to pay a penny in transfer fees.
Norberto Neto is young and has great potential
The mid-range option
Coming in slightly cheaper and slightly younger is Norberto Neto of Fiorentina. He’s the highest potential player in this article with 83 potential, giving him a great chance to exceed that and grow into the mid/high 80s (much like Casilla). It’s extremely rare to be able to get a free player with such high potential (in fact, as of writing there are only three free players with potential 83 or higher, including Neto), so this is a player you should seriously consider.
In terms of stats, his reflexes and diving are exceptional at 84 and 82 respectively. He’s going to be able to react quickly to keep out close range shots the likes of which even Casilla may struggle to deal with. That’ll be absolutely vital if you expect a tough season – when you’re penned back and barely able to get out of your own box, having a keeper who can quickly react to shots from inside the area can be a lifesaver.
Kim Seung Gyu is fantastic for his price
The budget option
With wages of £70,000 and £60,000 respectively, Casilla and Neto will not be affordable to everyone (even without having to pay a transfer fee). But fear not, because there is an excellent free goalkeeper who turns out to be super affordable as well – Kim Seung Gyu. His wages are just £10,000 which, when combined with his free price tag, will put him firmly within the budgets of a whole host of lower league teams.
Like Casilla, Kim is very well balanced and should be able to handle most attacks that come his way. He’s still young for a goalkeeper but is only expected to grow four points to his potential; I would therefore expect him to easily outgrow his potential as he has close to ten years of growth left in him (goalkeepers can keep growing into their 30s, unlike outfield players). That makes him an even more attractive prospect – he may well grow into the 80s, all the while asking for one of the most affordable wages in this article. If that’s not a bargain then I’m not sure what is.
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.
Anyway, let’s check out the list in full:
| Pos | Name | OVR | Pot. | Age | Wages (£) | Club | Foot | Weak foot | Skills | Traits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Norberto Neto | 78 | 83 | 24 | £60,000 | Fiorentina | Right | 2 | 1 | |
| GK | Itumeleng Khune | 77 | 80 | 27 | £60,000 | Kaizer Chiefs | Right | 5 | 1 | GK long throw |
| GK | Kiko Casilla | 80 | 80 | 27 | £70,000 | RCD Espanyol | Right | 2 | 1 | |
| GK | Fehmi Mert Günok | 73 | 79 | 25 | £30,000 | Fenerbahçe SK | Right | 2 | 1 | |
| GK | Helton | 79 | 79 | 36 | £50,000 | FC Porto | Right | 3 | 1 | GK long throw |
| GK | Felix Wiedwald | 73 | 78 | 24 | £30,000 | Eint. Frankfurt | Right | 2 | 1 | |
| GK | Thomas Kraft | 76 | 78 | 25 | £45,000 | Hertha BSC | Right | 4 | 1 | |
| GK | Kim Seung Gyu | 73 | 77 | 23 | £10,000 | Ulsan Hyundai | Right | 3 | 1 | GK long throw |
| GK | Brad Friedel | 77 | 77 | 43 | £30,000 | Spurs | Right | 2 | 1 | |
| GK | Sergio Romero | 75 | 77 | 27 | £40,000 | Sampdoria | Right | 3 | 1 | GK long throw |
| GK | Antonio Mirante | 77 | 77 | 30 | £45,000 | Parma | Right | 2 | 1 | |
| GK | Christian Abbiati | 76 | 76 | 36 | £50,000 | Milan | Right | 2 | 1 | |
| GK | André Hansen | 68 | 75 | 24 | £8,000 | Rosenborg BK | Right | 2 | 1 | |
| GK | Robin Olsen | 70 | 75 | 24 | £15,000 | Malmö FF | Right | 2 | 1 | |
| GK | Balázs Megyeri | 70 | 75 | 24 | £15,000 | Olympiakos CFP | Right | 2 | 1 | |
| GK | Samir Ujkani | 70 | 75 | 25 | £15,000 | Palermo | Right | 2 | 1 | |
| GK | Julián Speroni | 75 | 75 | 35 | £20,000 | Crystal Palace | Right | 3 | 1 | One club player, team player |
| GK | Esteban Alvarado | 72 | 75 | 25 | £20,000 | AZ | Right | 3 | 1 | |
| GK | Erwin Mulder | 71 | 75 | 25 | £20,000 | Feyenoord | Right | 3 | 1 | |
| GK | Javi Varas | 75 | 75 | 31 | £30,000 | Real Valladolid | Right | 3 | 1 | |
| GK | David Cobeño | 75 | 75 | 32 | £30,000 | Rayo Vallecano | Right | 3 | 1 | |
| GK | Artur Moraes | 75 | 75 | 33 | £30,000 | SL Benfica | Right | 3 | 1 |
Thanks for reading! I’d like to hear if you have any thoughts about the format of this article. Did you find it useful? Conversely, do you think it was missing something that you’d have liked me to include? Make sure you leave all your thoughts and ideas in the comments section below.
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