FIFA 14 | Lower League Gems (summer) – Goalscorers


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 article.

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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: Muamer Tanković is a free agent, so his price, wages and contract length may vary depending on which club he is assigned to by the game.

In this series I’ve divided the strikers into two groups: goalscorers and target men. Simply put, goalscorers excel with their feet and are good at dribbling and finishing. By contrast, target men use their size and strength to their advantage and are excellent in the air.

Now here are the goalscorers I recommend:

  • Islam Feruz
  • Nixon
  • Souleymane Coulibaly
  • Nadir Çiftçi

He’s certainly raw, but Islam Feruz will grow into a fantastic player for your team. His main assets are his pace and dribbling, and his low centre of gravity and 86 balance will enable him to weave in and out of defenders with ease. These attributes also mean he will be just as comfortable on the wing as he will be playing through the middle, and you can also try pairing him with a target man who can hold the ball up and play him into space for maximum effect. Around £400,000 should be enough to buy him.

My next suggestion is Nixon, and he brings a whole host of skills with him. He has one of the best finishing/heading accuracy combinations in this article (finishing 72, heading 71), but is also good with his feet thanks to his 73 dribbling and 70 ball control. He’s got decent pace on him and his price is so affordable that you can actually get him for less than the price your scout suggests, which is very unusual (I got him for £500,000, for example). All this means he’s a very well-rounded player and should have something to offer in every situation.

Perhaps even more of a bargain is Souleymane Coulibaly. Because Spurs have tons of strikers in the game, they only want £350,000 for Coulibaly. I got him for £230,000, but you could probably get him for less than £200,000 with a bit of luck. And don’t think he’s cheap rubbish, he has some really excellent stats. For instance, one thing that makes him stand out is that his sprint speed (74) is as good as his strength (72), so as he develops he’ll become one of those rare players who are strong and fast, something which will be devastating in the box. He’s got a ferocious shot (80 shot power), and his 79 agility and 74 balance will help him evade challenges and get him into goal-scoring positions. All that makes Coulibaly a fantastic player at a rock-bottom price.

My final recommendation is Nadir Çiftçi. He’s a bit like a more developed Coulibaly, albeit one that you can’t bid for straight away. His acceleration, sprint speed and strength (all 81) enable him to hold his own and brush past defenders, while his 75 dribbling and 74 ball control shows there’s far more to him than just physicality. Even better, he’s got five star skills, making him a delight to play with. So whether you want to sprint past the opposition, deceive them with tricks or just strong-arm your way through, Çiftçi is the man for the job.

Now let’s have a look at the list in full:

[table id=131 /]
Have you tried any of these strikers 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.And don’t forget to follow FIFA Scouting Tips on Twitter and like the Facebook page for all the latest scouting tips and tricks!