With a new season of FIFA fully underway, it might be helpful for some of you if we provided some of the young players that could become genuine stars of tomorrow. You might recognize some of these names from your favorite teams, but for the most part, even pronouncing their names is challenging. The big miss in the list released by EA, in my opinion, is Manchester United’s Anthony Martial, who they paid about $55 million for. He had a fantastic debut goal against Liverpool and showed flashes of his talent during his time in Monaco. The least EA could’ve done is give him a potential of 86(instead of 85), at the very minimum. Note: I am not a Manchester United supporter, and sorry if I disappointed you.
The rest of the hidden gems list published by EA is actually quite similar to the one in FIFA 15, except obviously, since Paul Pogba is 22 now, he is not there. Otherwise, Youri Tielemens, the player that was top dog after Pogba, has gone through a boost in his potential, now being predicted to go up as high as 90. I need to seriously watch some of his skill videos on YouTube to get an idea about this dude. But, when I’ve played with him, I could relate some of his traits on the ball with that of Pogba, though he lacks the strength of the French midfielder.
Tielemens is the person that you want controlling your midfield. He is an excellent passer of the ball, and he is good at doing the ‘dirty’ work as well. He will even get in the box every now and then to score goals. In short, the player that you have to have to epitomize success in Career Mode.
Overlooking his lack of form since making the move to Manchester United, Memphis Depay plays second fiddle this year behind Tielemens, with a potential predicted to rise to an 89. He is the ‘next Ronaldo’ if you want to call him that, in Career Mode, where, at his peak, he can convert free-kicks with little to no effort, and score long range goals in a similar fashion. He is also quite the dribbler, though unlike Cristiano, heading the ball is not one of his strengths. If you want to play Career Mode for a long term, you just cannot ignore him. On the other hand, if you want to play for just five to seven seasons in Career Mode, you will be just fine with Neymar or Eden Hazard.
Paco Alcácer has been in a ridiculous form with the Spain National Team, though unable to emulate something that spectacular for Valencia. It might not be his fault, though, as Valencia are currently going through a rough patch with new manager Gary Neville struggling in his first few games. Alcácer is actually more useful as a quality finisher especially when you dominate the ball or play at the counter all the time. He needs players around him that have at least the same amount of imagination and creativity that he does. So, if your team fits into that category, he will bag you 20+ goals every season, depending on whether you simulate the games compared to when you physically play in them. He is projected to rise to an overall of 88 if all goes well, and he has gone a bit higher than that, to a 91, in most of my experiences.
Next up is Manchester City’s £49 million summer signing, Raheem Sterling, who, I’ve found, I don’t quite get in FIFA. That, however, seems to have changed this season. You see, last season, Sterling had unbelievable pace combined with quite low dribbling stats. But, this year, they’ve changed it so that not only is he a speed demon, but he can also make those sharp turns and blow past the small gaps when you need him to. His potential is expected to rise up to 88 if everything goes accordingly.
Luke Shaw is a player that we haven’t talked about in a long while, it would seem, due to the horrific injury that he suffered during a Cup game for Manchester United. Remember that infamous tackle by Hector Moreno?
Anyways, he is the best option in your left-back department as he is projected to grow to an overall of 88 in that position, and he should be fairly easy to acquire, given that he starts out at an overall of just 77.
Paulo Dybala is one of my personal favorites to play with in Career Mode. It’s almost like you have the next Messi in your team already. Though he can take a long time to grow, believe me, he will be worth it. He will grow past the overall of 88 that he’s projected to grow to, and should easily bag you 30 goals a season. I don’t even acquire him for that, though. It’s just his pure dribbling abilities that I acquire him for. He is just so much fun to play with that it’s quite spoiling if you are a guy who is a result-freak.
Check out the rest of the list published by EA and comment on who you like the best!
