EA SPORTS FIFA 15 Future Stars - The Bargains

Need to buy top players for your club without breaking the bank? Then you’ve come to the right place.

This week we’re looking at ten career mode wonderkids with a potential Overall rating between 76 and 84 who are all realistic signings for teams that don’t have multiple millions to spend on transfers.

If money isn’t a problem then you’ll want to take a look at the more expensive future stars we’ve already covered, which you can find here and here.

Otherwise stay tuned and start signing…

LEVIN OZTUNALI
CDM * Bayer Leverkusen * 18
STARTING OVR: 63
POTENTIAL OVR: 84

 ASKING PRICE: £1.6m
ACTUAL COST: £850k
Leverkusen star Oztunali is primarily a holding midfielder but, thanks to good ball control and passing attributes, he can easily play further forward and contribute to attacks. Although his strength rating is only just below 60, he’s a competent tackler and he starts off with enough speed to escape pressure when need be. You can sign Oztunali on loan straight away but if you’ve got the cash then I definitely recommend buying him as, with such high potential, he’ll quickly soar in value.

GEDION ZELALEM
CM * Arsenal * 17
STARTING OVR: 62

 POTENTIAL OVR: 82


 ASKING PRICE: £1.6m

 ACTUAL COST: £900k

 Zelalem is more of a creative midfielder than a defensive one – he doesn’t have the greatest ball-winning skills but his key attacking attributes like vision, long passing and short passing are all very good for a player with a starting Overall of 62. He feels comfortable on the ball and has plenty of acceleration, which you’ll need to use to dodge tackles as he can get shrugged off the ball by stronger opponents fairly easily. If you can’t get the £900k together then Zelalem is also available on loan.

MAMADOU TOUNKARA

 ST* Lazio * 18
STARTING OVR: 61

 POTENTIAL OVR: 81

 ASKING PRICE: £1.4m
ACTUAL COST: £1m
Tounkara starts off with more than enough pace and power to trouble lower league defences. I’ve been using him as a lone striker for one of my teams and he’s perfectly suited to that role as he’s also comfortable in possession, so is able to hold the ball up without too much effort. If you do sign him – he’s available to loan or buy from the start – then try to work the ball on to his stronger right side before shooting, as he only has a three-star weak foot.

DONIS AVDIJAJ
ST * Schalke * 18
STARTING OVR: 60

 POTENTIAL OVR: 80

 ASKING PRICE: £1.4m
ACTUAL COST: £950k
Some of the goals I’ve scored with Avdijaj are the kind you’d expect to see from forwards with Overall ratings in the mid 80s, he’s like the Messi of the lower leagues in one of my saves! Quick, nimble and a good finisher, he feels great in possession from the first game and improves quickly – at the start of season two he’s bumped his Overall up to 65. Like many of the players here Avdijaj is loan listed in the first window but his price rises rapidly, so best to seal a permanent deal if you can.

FEDERICO BONAZZOLI
ST * Inter * 17
STARTING OVR: 60
POTENTIAL OVR: 80
ASKING PRICE: £1.4m
ACTUAL COST: £1.1m
At 6ft 4in tall and with a starting strength attribute of 84, Italian striker Bonazzoli would be a great signing if you're looking for a target man. He's got low acceleration and sprint speed ratings so is definitely more bulldozer than speedster, but get the ball to him in the box – on his head or to his feet – and you'll see he's a good finisher for his Overall level. The left-footed striker is also a useful penalty taker and can be signed on loan.

RYAN LEDSON

 CM * Everton * 17
STARTING OVR: 59

 POTENTIAL OVR: 80

 ASKING PRICE: £1.7m
ACTUAL COST: £1.3m
Midfield wonderkid Ledson only signed as a pro with The Toffees last summer, so they won't sell him to you straight away but will consider a loan deal. By the time I was able to sign him I had to pay £1.3 million, which is a lot of cash to get together if you're playing as a lower league club but is still a giant bargain in the grand scheme of things, as it won't take too long for him to be worth much more than that. Primarily a creative player, Ledson has good passing ability and enough speed to get past defenders or evade tackles. He feels comfortable on the ball and I've used him as a CM, CAM and a right-winger at League One and Championship level with good effect.

GIAN-LUCA WALDSCHMIDT

ST * Eintracht Frankfurt * 18
STARTING OVR: 59

POTENTIAL OVR: 79

 ASKING PRICE: £925k
ACTUAL COST: £700k
If you like your forwards to be quick and reactive then have a look at Eintracht Frankfurt star Gian-Luca Waldschmidt, who you can loan or buy straight away. The left-footed finisher, who can also play as a winger, has bags of acceleration, balance and agility, which you'll notice as soon as you take control of him. He can also do three-star skill moves. At the end of season one in a recent save game he improved his Overall by five.

CALLUM BURTON
GK * Shrewsbury Town * 18
STARTING OVR: 50
POTENTIAL OVR: 78

 ASKING PRICE: £160k
ACTUAL COST: £120k
Shrewsbury GK Callum Burton has the potential to improve his Overall rating by a massive 28 points – the highest of any player we've looked at so far – but you'll have to either loan him from the start or wait until at least January before The Shrews will sell. When you do sign Burton I recommend playing as many matches as possible rather than simming, as he should improve faster that way. His top attribute is his diving, followed closely by his GK reflexes.

JOSE LUIS SIERRA
ST * Union Espanola * 17
STARTING OVR: 55

 POTENTIAL OVR: 78

 ASKING PRICE: £725k
ACTUAL COST: £445k
Sierra starts off with enough acceleration and sprint speed to get away from most defenders in the lower leagues although – with a dribbling attribute in the 50s and two-star skill moves – he’s better suited to bursting on to passes rather than taking players on. He’s tall, feels stronger than his strength attribute suggests and is a good finisher with his head or feet. Sierra isn’t listed for loan but Union Espana will accept a loan deal.

RUBEN LOFTUS-CHEEK
CM * Chelsea * 18
STARTING OVR: 56

 POTENTIAL OVR: 76

 ASKING PRICE: £625k
ACTUAL COST: £475k
Chelsea wouldn’t take anything less than £475k for Loftus-Cheek when I was negotiating, but that’s still a small chunk of what he’ll be worth after a few seasons of bossing your midfield. The 6ft 3in left-footed centre-mid has plenty of acceleration and sprint speed so he’s the kind of player who seems to be everywhere when you’re defending and attacking, although he’s better suited to the latter.

Loftus-Cheek has good passing stats and made a lot of goals for the teams I used him with.

That’s all for now on career mode’s future stars. Thanks very much for reading and please pop back next week, when we’ll be looking at tips to help you score more goals from corners.

As always, thanks very much for reading and have a great weekend.

Thanks for reading,
Darren
@darren_cross