FIFA 16 | Best bargain central midfielders under £1m – Lower League Gems

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If you’re a team on a tight budget in FIFA 16 career mode, getting talent doesn’t have to be costly – just get one of these super cheap high potential players. If you liked my series on the best cheap high potential players in FIFA 16 but felt they were too expensive, these are the articles for you – every player will cost you £1m or less!

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 76 (although in some cases having a minimum potential of 77 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 ‘Avai?’ column is short for ‘available?’ and refers both to whether or not you can buy the specified player at the start of the first season and how long their current contract is. Let’s take Y/2 as an example – Y means that yes, you can buy him at the start of a new career, and the number means he has two years left on his contract. Similarly, N/3 would mean that no, you can’t buy the player straight away, and he has three years left on his contract. These ‘no’ players are often available for transfer if you wait until the January transfer window, however. For some players this column is blank – this means that they are out on loan at the start and are therefore unavailable for purchase until the second season.

The figure in the player cost column refers to the price you are given if you scout the player. There’s also another column – ‘Enquiry’. This refers to the price the other team want for the player if you enquire about him. Often there is a large difference between the player cost obtained through scouting and that obtained through an enquiry. This leaves a lot of room for negotiation, so don’t be put off if a price in the ‘Enquiry’ column is high, as you can usually get the player for much less. Try bidding lower than what you think will be accepted – you may be surprised at their response. If the ‘Enquiry’ column is blank it’s because the team refused to give a price, either because the player has just joined them or because they are loaning him in.

And as a final note, in FIFA 16 EA update player OVRs and potentials every week. Mose of the time these are very minor changes, and most players won’t be affected at all unless they have had a very noteworthy week. Furthermore, some players occasionally disappear if they have been put in the reserve squad that week. So just bear in mind that these figures should be read as a guide only and not a definitive account of player costs, potentials, etc, for the entire season.

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Here’s who I picked out as the best cheap, bargain central midfielders under £1m.

NOTE: Joao Rojas is a free agent. He will be assigned to a random team at the start of every career mode, so his price tag, wages, club and contract length will be different every time. Try enquiring about him to see how much he costs in your career.

Kristoffer Ajer: potential 79

FIFA 16 Lower League Gems: central midfielders

Kristoffer Ajer can play all over the pitch and excel

Kristoffer Ajer really is something to behold. He’s just 17 but at 6’5″ tall and with 80 strength, he’s already becoming a real beast. He’s not at all slow for his size, and his 82 stamina is exceptional. His technical stats are so well balanced that he’s almost equally good up front as he is at wing back (66 OVR as a striker, 64 OVR as a wing back). That versatility, though, makes him the perfect box-to-box midfielder – he’s got the energy and skills to be useful all over the pitch, and can cover for almost any player if needed. It’s a bit like buying several players but only paying once, that’s how much of a good bargain he is.

Speaking of bargains, IK Start want £1.1m for him but you can get him for as little as £750,000. His wages are £1,000.


Lucas Tousart: potential 80

FIFA 16 Lower League Gems: central midfielders

Lucas Tousart is a strong defensive rock

If you require more of a defensive player, Lucas Tousart is the player to go for. He may only be 18 but already he’s got 82 strength, so just imagine how strong he’ll be as he gets closer to his potential. His acceleration isn’t bad for a big guy, and his aerial ability is one of his strongest points. He also excels at tackling and passing plus has good stamina, so he’s not just about physicality. But that said, he’s a player who can stand up to almost anything that comes his way and makes a fantastic defensive-minded central midfielder.

In fact, if you play him at centre back his OVR goes up four points to 66 – effectively meaning he has potential 84 – meaning he’s even more value for money. You can’t get him in the first window but enquire in January (or loan him in with a view to buying him) for a chance to snag him. His wages are £2,000.


Thom Haye: potential 76

FIFA 16 Lower League Gems: central midfielders

Thom Haye will grow into an excellent playmaker

One of the key roles of any central midfielder is to act as a playmaker and create chances for his teammates, and Thom Haye excels at that. His 76 vision and 75 short passing makes him the best playmaker in this article, so he’s a great player to supply his teammates with quality passes. He’s got good acceleration and ball control too, so will be a great asset even in congested areas. Don’t worry about his potential – EA reckons he’ll only grow 7 points in his entire career, but I say that’s nonsense. Some good performances and a little training will see him exceed that and grow into the 80s.

It’s incredibly rare to get a player of his OVR for £1m or less, but that’s exactly what you get with Haye. Your scout will say he’s worth £1m – which means his club will normally ask for around £2m or more – but in fact AZ only want £1.1m for him. That means you can buy him for around £850,000 – £900,000. His wages are £5,000.


Now here are the other cheap, high potential central midfielders under £1m in FIFA 16:

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Thanks for reading! If you have any player recommendations of your own or have some ideas for the website, make sure you let me know in the comments below.

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