Today I’ll be posting guides to centre midfielders, including defensive midfielders and attacking midfielders as well. Even if you don’t explicitly have a CDM position in your starting lineup, it’s always essential to have at least one midfielder who is capable of defensive duties and mopping up any threats before they reach your back line.
Although I usually limit the maximum OVR of players on these lists to 73 in a bid to save you money, this time I have upped the limit to 74 because, as you will see, there were very few inspiring CDMs rated 73 or below apart from Fernando! As usual, I have listed the players by cost, with the cheapest at the top of each sub-group (players are grouped by potential).
My recommendations today are:
- Fernando
- Adilson
- Gueïda Fofana
Now, before you panic, I obviously don’t advise you to go for Fernando straight away! His price is simply insane, especially considering he’s not even in the starting lineup at Grêmio. However, be patient and wait a season and his price more than halves. This is the time to go for him, as it seems that thereafter his price starts rising again. However much you pay for him, he will be worth it. I have him on a save and he has the speedster, acrobat and strength specialities, whilst his vision and interceptions are phenomenal (and he hasn’t even reached his peak yet). Buy him and you won’t regret it.
Adilson, Fernando’s teammate at Grêmio, is another good one to go for. He is only marginally more expensive than Mariga and Mulumbu, but crucially his potential is 2 points better than theirs. You must move quickly for him, however – unlike Fernando, he is in Grêmio’s starting lineup, so his OVR rises quickly, and with it his pricetag.
Finally, Gueïda Fofana is one of the cheapest choices and thoroughly worth it. He already has 92 stamina when you start, meaning he can play game after game, giving him more of a chance to grow. His jumping and tackling stats are also excellent, meaning he can easily slot into defence if needed, making him a great all-round defensive player at a bargain price.
Finally, if you’ve had any experiences of good players’ prices changing wildly (especially if their price drops), please post it in the comments!
So, without further ado, here are the players:
| Pos | Name | OVR | Pot. | Age | Cost (£) | Wages (£) | Club | Foot | Weak foot * | Skills * | Specialities/traits | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CDM | Fernando | 70 | 87 | 19 | 13,000,000 | 15,000 | Grêmio | Right | 3 | 2 | - | Price fluctuates wildly - keep checking him |
| CDM | Casemiro | 74 | 86 | 19 | 7,000,000 | 20,000 | São Paulo | Right | 3 | 2 | - | |
| CDM | Adilson | 74 | 84 | 24 | 5,000,000 | 15,000 | Grêmio | RIght | 2 | 2 | - | |
| CDM | McDonald Mariga | 74 | 82 | 24 | 4,600,000 | 15,000 | Real Sociedad | Right | 3 | 2 | Strength | On loan from Inter |
| CDM | Youssouf Mulumbu | 74 | 82 | 24 | 4,600,000 | 15,000 | West Brom | Right | 4 | 2 | - | |
| CDM | Rafael Carioca | 74 | 82 | 22 | 5,500,000 | 15,000 | Spartak Moskva | Right | 4 | 3 | Flair | |
| CDM | Chico | 71 | 81 | 24 | 2,100,000 | 10,000 | Palmeiras | Left | 3 | 2 | - | |
| CDM | Gueïda Fofana | 68 | 81 | 20 | 2,100,000 | 10,000 | Olympique Lyon | Right | 3 | 2 | - | |
| CDM | Rodney Strasser | 71 | 81 | 21 | 3,000,000 | 10,000 | Lecce | Right | 3 | 2 | - | |
| CDM | Sebastian Rudy | 74 | 81 | 21 | 6,000,000 | 15,000 | 1899 Hoffenheim | Right | 3 | 3 | - | |
| CDM | Luca Marrone | 68 | 80 | 21 | 2,000,000 | 10,000 | Juventus | Right | 3 | 3 | Power header | |
| CDM | Adrien Silva | 71 | 80 | 22 | 2,500,000 | 10,000 | Académica | RIght | 4 | 2 | - | On loan from Sporting CP |
| CDM | Emmanuel Frimpong | 71 | 80 | 19 | 2,800,000 | 15,000 | Arsenal | Right | 3 | 2 | Power free-kick | |
| CDM | Carlos Alberto Sánchez | 73 | 80 | 25 | 3,000,000 | 15,000 | Valenciennes FC | Left | 4 | 2 | Long passer | |
| CDM | Tomás Rincón | 73 | 80 | 23 | 3,500,000 | 15,000 | Hamburger SV | Right | 3 | 3 | - | |
| CDM | Deivid | 72 | 80 | 22 | 3,600,000 | 10,000 | Atl. Paranaense | Right | 3 | 3 | - | |
| CDM | Gelson Fernandes | 74 | 80 | 24 | 3,700,000 | 15,000 | Leicester City | Right | 3 | 3 | - | On loan from Saint-Etienne |
| CDM | Radosav Petrović | 73 | 80 | 22 | 3,800,000 | 15,000 | Blackburn Rovers | Right | 2 | 2 | - |