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The Lower League Gems series is back once again, bringing you super cheap high potential players. If you liked the series on the best cheap players in FIFA 15 but felt they were too expensive, these are the articles for you – every player will cost you £1m or less!
NOTE: Prices seem to fluctuate a bit on FIFA 15, so you may find the prices listed in this article are slightly different on your game. As such, this article aims to be a guide only and hopes to highlight some of the cheaper options when it comes to high potential players.
If you’re not sure what these articles are all about, click the bold link below. Otherwise, let’s get straight in to the article.
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This year I made a couple of exceptions to the price rules. I have included players whose clubs want £1.1m for them (as opposed to a maximum price of £1m) because you can negotiate this down to under £1m, and in some cases excluding these players meant to articles were lacking players you could actually buy straight away! For the same reason I have bumped the £500,000 rule up to just under £600,000 (e.g. £525,000, £575,000, etc).
The ‘Cost’ column refers to the price your scout will bring back after he’s looked at the player. The ‘They want’ column refers to the price you will be quoted by the team if you enquire about their player. These enquiry prices are negotiable, so don’t be afraid to bid below what they want.
The ‘Avai?’ column is short for ‘Available?’ and refers to whether the player is available to buy in the first transfer window. The first letter indicates this (Y for yes, they are available and N for no, they are not), whilst the number refers to the length of their contract. Y/1 means the player’s contract is about to expire, so you should be able to get them for a discount price.
Finally, because EA release update squads every week, this could mean that some of the players listed in the article below are slightly different on your game. Furthermore, players sometimes exceed their potential, while it has been noted that occasionally players don’t grow as hoped. Therefore these stats are a guide only.
Here are my recommendations for cheap, high potential defensive midfielders.
Dele Alli: potential 82
Dele Alli is insanely cheap for his amazing potential, and should be considered by anyone using a lower league team
Who would have thought that you can get an 82 potential player for less than £1m?! Well here’s the proof – Dele Alli. He starts with a fairly low OVR but will grow quickly thanks to his high potential, and his OVR is unlikely to be an issue if you play in the lower leagues anyway. His 73 stamina will also be an excellent asset and enable him to play game after game, thus helping his development further.
In terms of his stats, what I really like about Alli is how balanced he is. In relation to his OVR, his passing, dribbling and ball control are very good and will make him a useful player when going forward. His pace, strength, shooting, vision and heading are all respectable, and should hit the high 70s and 80s by the time he’s at his potential. And though his tackling lacks slightly behind, given his awesome potential that will soon be irrelevant. He’s a great all-rounder who can play anywhere in the centre of midfield, be that at defensive midfield, central midfield or even attacking midfield.
At it doesn’t end there. Send an enquiry to MK Dons and they want just £450,000 for him, enabling you to pick him up for around £300,000. And with wages of just £750, he is surely one of the cheapest 80+ potential players in the entire game.
Wilfrid Jaures Kaptoum: potential 80
Wilfrid Jaures Kaptoum will excel as a deep-lying playmaker, starting attacks and distributing the ball well from central midfield
And if one 80+ potential player wasn’t enough, I’ve found another one: Wilfrid Jaures Kaptoum. This guy grows into an absolute pass master – he already has 73 short passing, 66 long passing and 66 vision at just 58 OVR. I simmed forward three seasons and he ended up with 85 short passing! Not bad for less than £1m. With that in his toolbox, he’s going to add real value to your team, starting attacks with his long passing and supplying your strikers if he gets forward.
His high passing and ball control also mean that he’s much less likely to give the ball away cheaply in the middle of midfield, which can be a dangerous area. That’s an invaluable trait, especially if you’re fighting relegation. Instead, he’ll be a steady influence in the middle of the pitch and will act as a deep-lying playmaker, orchestrating your attacks and getting them underway.
FC Barcelona B want £money for him, but you can get him for as little as £money. His wages are £1,000.
Sessi D’Almeida: potential 79
Sessi D’Almeida is fantastic defensively, while his 91 stamina will be a blessing to any lower league team
If it’s an expert tackler you need, look no further than Sessi D’Almeida. He may be rated 62 OVR, but the 18 year old from Benin starts out with a superb 76 marking. Combine that with his very decent tackling, and you have a player who is going to be a nightmare for your opponents to beat. His marking is pushing on towards 80 – just think how rare it is to find any player with stats like that at his OVR and for under £1m!
What’s more is that he has decent pace and a monstrous 91 stamina rating. He’s not going to let opposition attackers have a moment’s rest, chasing them all over the midfield and winning the ball back for your team. If you play a high energy, high pressure game and like to win possession back quickly, give D’Almedia a try, because he should work perfectly with your tactics.
Bordeaux set a price of £money for his services, which can be knocked down to around £money. His wages are £1,750.
Jadson: potential 77
Jadson is perfect if you have a little more money to spend but still want an excellent bargain
Now here’s a player you may not expect to find in an article on the best cheap defensive midfielders: Jadson. Given his 67 OVR and great potential, you may be forgiven for thinking he’d cost several million. But no – he creeps in at just under £1m, giving you the perfect opportunity to add an instant burst of quality to your team.
He’s a multi-talented all-rounder, a bit like Dele Alli with a head start. Whether it’s passing, intercepting, dribbling or tackling you need, he
can do it – and well. He’s also one of the fastest players in this article, which will help him cover a ton of ground winning possession and starting attacks. His 77 potential will see him master a range of different disciplines – perfect for his position, where you may require him to perform several different roles in the course of one game.
Ask Udinese for a price and they want £975,000 for him, and you can bring that down to about £money. His wages are £6,000.
See below for all the best cheap, high potential defensive midfielders under £1m in FIFA 15:
| Pos | Name | OVR | Pot. | Age | Cost (£) | They want (£) | Wages (£) | Club | Avai? | Foot | Weak foot | Skills | Traits | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CDM | Dele Alli | 56 | 82 | 18 | 50,000 | 450,000 | 750 | MK Dons | Y/3 | Right | 3 | 3 | Flair, long shot taker | |
| CDM | Óscar Gil | 62 | 81 | 19 | 170,000 | 1,000,000 | 4,000 | Athletic Bilbao | Y/2 | Right | 3 | 2 | ||
| CDM | Wilfrid Jaures Kaptoum | 58 | 80 | 17 | 70,000 | - | 1,000 | FC Barcelona B | N/1 | Right | 3 | 2 | ||
| CDM | Sessi D'Almeida | 62 | 79 | 18 | 160,000 | 625,000 | 1,750 | Bordeaux | Y/1 | Right | 2 | 2 | ||
| CDM | Abdou-Aziz Thiam | 62 | 79 | 17 | 160,000 | - | 1,750 | AS Monaco | N/3 | Right | 3 | 2 | ||
| CDM | Aaron Kuhl | 60 | 77 | 18 | 110,000 | 525,000 | 1,500 | Reading | Y/2 | Right | 3 | 2 | ||
| CDM | Mahmoud Dahoud | 60 | 77 | 18 | 110,000 | 850,000 | 2,000 | Bor. M'gladbach | Y/4 | Right | 4 | 3 | ||
| CDM | Lewis Cook | 64 | 77 | 17 | 250,000 | - | 2,000 | Leeds United | N/1 | Right | 4 | 2 | ||
| CDM | Jadson | 67 | 77 | 20 | 400,000 | 975,000 | 6,000 | Udinese | Y/5 | Right | 3 | 2 | ||
| CDM | Hiram Boateng | 57 | 76 | 18 | 70,000 | 250,000 | 2,250 | Crystal Palace | Y/1 | Left | 3 | 3 | ||
| CDM | Álvaro Medrán | 63 | 76 | 20 | 180,000 | - | 5,000 | Real Madrid | N/5 | Right | 4 | 2 | Long passer, long shot taker | |
| CDM | Danilo | 65 | 76 | 18 | 250,000 | - | 2,000 | SC Braga | N/5 | Right | 2 | 2 | ||
| CDM | Rani Khedira | 65 | 76 | 20 | 300,000 | - | 4,000 | RB Leipzig | N/3 | Right | 3 | 2 | ||
| CDM | Andrés Robles | 64 | 76 | 20 | 300,000 | * | 1,000 | Atlético Madrid | - | Right | 3 | 2 | On loan from Wanderers |
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