FIFA 14 | Best Free Transfers – Target men


FIFA 14 best free transfers - target men

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

Recommendations

The elite option

Robert Lewandowski

This choice was extremely easy to make: Robert Lewandowski. He’s got so many green stats it’s hard to know where to start. He’s a standout target man with 84 jumping, 81 strength and 83 heading, so he’ll be winning aerial battles with ease. But he’s also one of those rare players who has pace as well as strength, with 81 acceleration and 81 sprint speed to his name. Physically speaking, he’s going to be extremely hard to stop.

His technical stats are something to marvel at as well. If his 87 finishing, 84 dribbling and 86 ball control weren’t enough, he’s got 81 shot power, 80 long shots and 86 positioning as well. He has brilliant balance and agility, while his 82 short passing will see him contributing goals in addition to scoring them. Oh, and he’s got four stars for his weak foot and skill moves. In short, there’s pretty much nothing this guy can’t do in attack, so if you can afford the wages he should be a no-brainer.

The mid-range option

Mame Diouf

If his wages are too much for you, however, fear not – Mame Diouf makes for an excellent replacement. He’s lightning quick with 86 acceleration and 90 sprint speed, but his 91 jumping and 83 heading means he’s no slouch in the air either. He’s got 78 strength so can hold the ball up well, so he’s ideal whether you like crossing or playing through the middle. And as an extra bonus, he should arrive pretty much at his potential, so you could easily grow him beyond that.

But I’m aware that Diouf may still be on the expensive side, so if that’s the case you can’t go far wrong with André. He’s basically a slightly toned-down version of Diouf, so he’s got pace, aerial ability and fantastic finishing all rolled into one. He doubles as an excellent dribbler as well, so will be more than capable of getting the job done wherever he finds himself. At £25,000, his wages are very reasonable.

The budget option

Germán Cano

The previous target men have all been excellent all-rounders, and that continues to the budget option: Germán Cano. Though he is 5’9″, his 81 jumping and 76 heading mean that’s not going to be much of an issue, and the Power header trait he has should confirm that. He too has pace and good dribbling ability, and his 75 positioning will have him getting into the right place to finish your attacks.

He also has a very powerful shot – he starts with 78 shot power and 75 long shots, so by the time he gets to your club I’d imagine that will be up into the 80s. All of this combines means he’s going to be able to put away chances wherever the ball drops, and for £750 in weekly wages he’s affordable to even the most frugal club.


NOTE: Although Simón Romerón and Nestor Veldevés (clones of Salomón Rondón and Nelson Haedo Valdez respectively) are in the game, it seems impossible to find them. Searching for their name or for strikers who match their ages and nationalities still brings up nothing, but I’ve decided to keep them in the article just in case someone manages to work out how exactly you’re supposed to find them! If you do, make sure you share your method in the comments below.

Furthermore, because Romerón and Veldevés are free agents, I’ve left their wage and club entries blank. Their wages will depend entirely on the team they are assigned to, as will their contract lengths. Although the game says they should have a one year contract, it doesn’t always work out that way, so they could have more than just a year left and therefore will be unavailable for a free transfer (if you can find them).

Finally, 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:

[table id=143 /]
Have you tried any of these free target men in your career? Is there a target man not in this article that you’d thoroughly recommend? Tell us what you think in the comments below.

And don’t forget to follow FIFA Scouting Tips on Twitter and like the Facebook page for all the latest scouting tips and tricks!