FIFA 14 | Best Free Transfers – Goalscorers


FIFA 14 best free transfers - goalscorers

What better way to try something new before FIFA 15 hits the shelves than delve into the free transfer market? There are tons of high quality players out there that you don’t even need to pay a fee for, provided you make a move for them at the right time. If you’ve never tried it before you’re in luck, because I’m here to guide you through the best free transfers in FIFA 14, position by position.

How do I get players for free in FIFA 14?

It’s actually really straightforward to purchase players for free in FIFA 14 – at least, once you know who you’re looking for. They just need to be aged 23 or over when the January transfer window rolls around, and must have less than a year left on their contract (i.e. it will expire at the end of the season).

If you’ve identified the player you want, find them using the ‘Search Players’ option in the Transfer tab, click on them then click ‘Approach to sign on contract expiry’. You then just need to offer them a contract and wait a few days to see if they accept. If they do, they will join your team at the end of the season.

That’s the easy bit – the hard part is finding players who match those criteria. You can send your scout to find players in a certain country who have a year left on their contract and are 23 or older, but if you don’t have a very good scout you may not find many matching players.

Luckily I’ve done the heavy lifting for you. Simply browse the list below or have a look at the other articles in this series and decide who you want to go for, then follow my steps above to get them to join your squad. All the players in these articles will have a minimum potential of 75, so you know you’ll be getting quality for a fantastic price.

The OVRs listed here are true for the start of a career. When the player joins you the next year it is highly likely these will be different, as they can grow (or decline) during their first season. This can be great if they grow a lot, but just be aware that any player over the age of about 30 may well be worse than you expect when they arrive.

This article is on goalscorers, strikers who specialise with the ball at their feet. For attackers who rely on their strength and aerial ability, check out my article on target men here. Now here are the goalscorers that I’ve chosen to recommend.

Recommendations

The elite option

Samuel Eto'o

Picking an elite option for this article was really difficult simply because all the best players are in their 30s. By the time they arrive at your club they will likely have declined a bit (how much is hard to say), and in terms of wages that could make them very expensive for what you get.

Still, given his high OVR you may feel Samuel Eto’o is worth a punt, although he doesn’t come cheap. Given his lower age, Dider Ya Konan is less likely to have declined much and you may find that Eto’o arrives rated 77 or even lower anyway. They’re very similar players, so it’s up to you to decide whether Eto’o is worth the risk or whether you want to stick with Ya Konan. Provided they don’t decline too much, both of them can bring real quality to your club.

The mid-range option

Odion Ighalo

Thankfully, this choice was a bit more straightforward! No risk of decline with Odion Ighalo, who is a powerful force even before his year of growth at Granada CF. What makes him a goalscorer (as opposed to a target man) is the quality he possesses with the ball at his feet, and his 81 dribbling will make light work of opposition defences.

However, what sets him apart from most goalscorers is his combination of speed and strength. If he can’t sprint past defenders (with his 77 acceleration and 82 sprint speed), he will power his way through thanks to his 79 strength. That combination will make him feel much better than his OVR indicates because he will be that much harder to stop. For £15,000 in wages and no transfer fee, that’s real value for money.

The budget option

Lulinha

If you’d prefer someone with a few tricks up their sleeve, or feel that money is tight, try Lulinha. He has fantastic pace and balance, and with four star skills he should be great fun to play with if you enjoy taking on and beating defenders. He’s got good finishing, positioning and long shots, which should make him deadly both in the box and outside it.

Finally, if you’re looking for a cheaper version of Ighalo, Luís Leal is your man. Possessing that same combination of pace and power (though he’s not quite as strong) and excellent finishing, his £1,250 in wages mean lower league clubs don’t have to miss out.


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.

Furthermore, because Diego Forlán is a free agent, I’ve left his wage and club entries blank. His wages will depend entirely on the team he is assigned to, as will his contract length. Although the game says he should have a one year contract, it doesn’t always work out that way, so he could have more than just a year left and therefore will be unavailable for a free transfer.

Check below for the list in full:

[table id=142 /]
Have you tried any of these free goalscorers in your career? Is there a goalscorer not in this article that you’d thoroughly recommend? Tell us what you think in the comments below.

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