FIFA 14 | Lower League Gems (summer) – Central midfielders


Well it took a while, but I’ve finally been able to update the FIFA 14 Lower League Gems series for summer! If you want promising players for an absolute bargain, you’re in the right place.

If you’re not sure what these articles are all about, click the bold link below. Otherwise, let’s get straight in to the recommendations.

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These articles aim to highlight young, high potential players that are priced at £1m or less. If a player is not available to buy straight away, their maximum price (in the ‘Cost’ column; see below) is £500,000. Most articles will showcase players with a minimum potential of 77 (although in some cases having a minimum potential of 78 brought back more than enough players).

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.

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NOTE: Jakob Johansson, Ros and Jack Colback are all available for free in the first January transfer window, which is why they’ve been included even though they cost more than £1m in the first summer window.

Here are the central midfielders I recommend:

  • Box-to-box
    • Amidu Salifu
    • Jeff Hendrick
    • Ros
  • Passers
    • Gedion Zelalem
    • Josh McEachran
  • Attackers
    • Gary Gardner
    • Sean Murray
    • Ohi Anthony Omoijuanfo
  • Box-to-box

    The perfect box-to-box midfielder can attack, defend and pass, has decent pace and can run for days. Amidu Salifu has all these qualities and more. With 89 stamina and acceleration, sprint speed and strength all 75, he’s going to cover every blade of grass and make life extremely difficult for your opponents. He’s got good passing, tackling and long shots, making him a threat wherever he pops up. I managed to get him for £500,000 thanks to his one year contract, and that’s a bargain you don’t want to miss out on.

    The next player I’ve chosen in this category is Jeff Hendrick. Similar in many ways to Salifu, Hendrick is better at passing but slightly worse in terms of speed and strength, so which one you choose depends on your play style. But as you’d expect, Hendrick can defend just as well as he can attack, making him a great all-round package. Derby want £1.1, but a bid of around £800,000 will be enough to get him on your team.

    Ros is the final selection for this category. He has some of the best passing stats in this article (short pass 78, long pass 70, vision 74) and I was tempted to put him in the Passer category, but there is so much more to his game than that. He has a ferocious long shot, can tackle, dribble, has decent pace and excellent stamina… he’s got it all basically. Best of all, because he’s 23 and his contract is expiring, you can get him for free. Just switch some money over to wages in your transfer fee/wages ratio box and you should be able to afford this beauty.

    Passers

    He’s only 16, but Gedion Zelalem is showing all the signs of being a future superstar. He’s already got vision 71, short passing 74 and long passing 69, so when he gets near his potential those stats are going to be absolutely incredible. Given his dribbling abilities he would be well-suited to playing just behind your strikers, where his dribbling and vision will enable him to create goals and score them himself. Although Arsenal want £1.1m for him, an offer of around £750,000 should do it.

    If you’re looking for a more developed passer, try Josh McEachran. Usually when players are rated 70+ you have to pay a few million for them, but Wigan only want £925,000 for him (and he’s not on loan from Chelsea in the game either). I only had to pay £700,000 (less than Zelalem and eight OVR points higher) and I’m sure you could get him for less. For that you get a player with 78 short passing, 73 long passing and 72 vision, as well as excellent pace, balance and dribbling. As well as a more forward role, his decent tackling means you could deploy him as a deep-lying playmaker if you so wished. He’s got relatively high wages, but it’s more than worth it for what you get.

    Attackers

    The final category of central midfielder I’ve picked out is Attackers, and Gary Gardner is my first recommendation. His attacking stats are so good that you wonder why he’s not played as a striker: 82 shot power, 82 long shots, 73 finishing, 77 heading and 79 penalties, as well as 79 free kick accuracy and 72 curve. Push him up the pitch and he’ll be contributing goals wherever he gets the ball. I got him for £750,000, and I know many people (myself included) have seen him with some fantastic stats by the end of the second season, so he’s worth every penny.

    Sean Murray is up next, and he’s similar to Gardner in many ways, with excellent finishing, free kicks and long shots. He’s got more pace than Gardner and more strength too, so try him if you’re looking for a more mobile attacker. Even better, he only cost me £450,000, so is a real bargain for the quality that you get.

    Finally, Ohi Anthony Omoijuanfo is what you want if you’re looking for an attacker of a different mould. What really makes him stand out is his strength (76) combined with his decent pace. This will make him very difficult to knock off the ball, so combine that with his finishing and powerful shots and you’ve got a player with the ability to cause real problems for opposition defences. His OVR isn’t as high as Gardner’s or Murray’s, but that’s because his stats are focused on his attacking prowess; as a result, as long as you use him well, he should feel much better than his OVR suggests. He only cost me £400,000, so should be affordable to most teams out there.

    Now that we’ve covered all the recommendations, here’s the list in full:

    [table id=127 /]
    Have you tried any of these central midfielders in your career? Is there a central midfielder not in this article that you’d thoroughly recommend? Tell us what you think in the comments below.

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