Free Agents are certainly an interesting part of any FIFA 16 Career Mode game; whether you're signing them to keep your squad full during injuries, to bolster your lower division team, or simply to sell for a decent profit when you have too much wages on hand, Free Agents add a different aspect to any career game.
If you followed our 6 Tips and Tricks for a successful FIFA 16 Career game, you'll have a good idea on how to make the best use of Free Agents. But the question becomes, which ones should you pick, and why?
We've compiled a list of the top 15 Free Agents available in your first season for your convenience. This list includes some of the highest rated players in each position, as well as some younger players with a potential for growth within your team. Without further ado, let's get started!
1. Ales Hruska
We start the list off with Hruska (I’ll avoid letter variants, as you don’t need them to search for players in-game). A well-rounded keeper, Hruska is certainly the best Free Agent below 30 in this position, and he does grow by a few ratings throughout.
He’s also an impressive 6’3”, and has good reactions and decent handling stats. While he’s certainly not a top tier shot-stopper, he fares quite well as a secondary keeper when you can’t afford an expensive one for your bench (or reserves).
2. Marvin Bejarano
Next up is our top pick for Left Back, Marvin Bejarano. (Don’t confuse him with Diego or Danny Bejarano.) A decent player for a tough-to-fill position, he makes up for his average pace and offensive stats with amazing stamina and a great work rate.
He doesn’t generally grow a whole lot, but comes in quite handy if you lack other left-footed players to fill the role -- or just want someone to fill the spot for a season and then sell for a hefty profit. He goes for $1 to 1.5 million within a season depending on form.
3. Aleksander Aleksandrov
Our first Centre Back is Aleksandrov. With good strength, aggression and decent marking stats, he is a quite a reliable CB. His 6’1” height and good jumping stats also make him a dominating force in the air.
Due to his lack of offensive stats, and his average stamina, he is perfectly suitable as your last man. His height and heading accuracy also make him very viable in corners, generally scoring quite well from headers.
He typically doesn’t grow much, however, and his price often stays in the $600 – 800 thousand range throughout the game.
4. Alejandro Melean
Our next CB is more well-rounded, albeit equally strong and domineering. At 6’1”, with a fantastic strength and heading accuracy, as well as decent jumping, pace and defensive stats, he is certainly a good player to have on your team.
He also has some potential for growth, often gaining mental and defensive stats...although slowly. His price also increases quite a bit, going anywhere between $800 thousand and 1.2 million within a few seasons.
5. Pedro Quinonez
While a CDM on paper, his pace, stamina, crossing and shot power make Quinonez an even better choice for Right Back. He performs quite well in the position, especially if you give him more offensive instructions. While a left-footed player, he has a 4 star weakfoot, making him equally adept with his right. You could theoretically play him as a Left Back too.
His biggest disadvantages are his age and his abysmal strength, but you don’t need to worry about that all that much, as we’ll explain later in the guide. His growth is also minimal, but he does go for a bit of profit if you sell him before he starts losing rating. His price varies a great deal based on his form, but I’ve sold him for as high as $2 million.
6. Josepmir Ballon
Next up is our choice for CDM, Ballon. He is a very well rounded player (at least within his tier) and boasts a decent pace, strength and stamina -- as well as particularly good interception, aggression and vision, making him a perfect Defensive Mid.
He lacks attack position, finishing and crossing, and isn’t all that good with his head, so you’ll probably want to stick to defensive instructions with him -- especially during corners, as his 5’10” doesn’t really provide you with much help.
Ballon’s potential is quite irregular, at times growing by as much as 4 ratings overall, and at other times barely gaining 1. He usually goes for anything between $750 and 950 thousand within a season or two.
7. Nejc Pecnik
Pecnik is yet another player you should play out of his assigned position. While he is meant to be played as a RM, his generally low physical stats and great ball control, dribbling, and vision make him much more useful as an Attacking Mid.
Pecnik also comes with some decent free kick accuracy and penalty stats, making him a good choice for a team lacking in this area. Do keep in mind that if you prefer a more narrow style of play you could also use him as a Right Mid, or better yet, a Right Centre Mid.
His biggest downside is the fact that he seems to start declining quite early on. With his physical stats being as low as they are, this could make him redundant unless the rest of your midfield is pacey enough to make up for it. That being said, you can still easily sell him for over a million, especially if he’s had some game time.
8. Yu Hai
Hai is a rather pacey player, at times outperforming his actual stats by quite a bit. This, in combination with his fantastic crossing, dribbiling and long passing, makes him a perfect choice for a wide left wing position. This is definitely the case if you like to cross the ball in and head it in with your strikers.
Outside of this he becomes somewhat useless. While his pace and crosses make him superb as a winger, his lack of defensive stats as well as his short height make him less reliable. Do keep in mind however, that you could use him as a great boost of speed to bring off the bench in a tight spot. You could even play him as a Striker. At 6’0” he is at a decent height for such a pacey player.
Yu Hai is also one of the more profitable investments, often gaining a few ratings and not declining for at least three full seasons. You can sell him early on for $1.2 million, or wait a few seasons and sell him for as high as 1.5 million.
9. Wu Xi
Another winger, Wu Xi is far more well-rounded than Hai, and also younger. He is probably much better to use in a more narrow style of play. However with some good instructions he will do equally well in a wide formation.
He has an above average pace, ball control and passing stats, as well as decent vision and dribbling. He’s also 5’11”, which again, while not tall, is certainly decent for a winger. He does lack in most physical stats however, and his low stamina make him a bit of a liability at times.
Despite his disadvantages, he is only 26, and can grow well if he’s given some play time. He can sell for $1.3 million within a season, but can grow as much as 6 ratings overall, and go for nearly $3 million in just three seasons.
10. Tamas Priskin
Next up we have the first of our two Strikers; Priskin. Standing at 6’2”, with an exceptional strength and decent jumping ability, heading accuracy and finishing, he is a real force in the air. Accordingly, he fits perfectly with a cross-and-header style of play.
He’s not too bad on the ball either, boasting a decent ball control and vision, as well as his high shot power that makes him a force to be reckoned with.
Despite his many advantages, Priskin generally doesn’t grow much, and would go for no more than $1.5 million in a season or two.
11. Salah Ashour
The final player in our first 11 is none other than Ashour. A phenomenally well-rounded Striker, he performs well at every aspect of attack, and at 6’0” is equally capable with his head. His great finishing and decent dribbling make him a perfect companion to Priskin’s more aerial attacks.
Possibly the best bonuses with Ashour are his remarkable long shots and shot power stats, which in combination with his finishing, make him a serious threat from anywhere in the pitch. He is also quite adept at penalties. And while his free kick accuracy is low on paper, he does tend to do well with short free kicks.
His growth is more of a hit and miss, however; he can grow anywhere between a 1 and 3 rating, depending a great deal on his play time and the number of goals scored. Do keep in mind that he generally gives a lot of assists as well. His price lands anywhere between $1.3 and 2 million, depending on his growth.
With your first 11 taken care of, let’s have a look at some younger Free Agents with a decent potential
Diego Bejarano
Diego Bejrano tops the list of younger Free Agents. He has very good pace and crossing stats, and his stamina and mental stats tend to grow at a decent rate, making him a particularly good purchase for your bench.
If you recall our run-away Right Back, Quinonez, you’ll realize Bejarano is the perfect substitute for him after a few seasons. He also seems to have a decent work rate, which is always a bonus in a Full Back.
Do keep in mind however that by the time Bejarano becomes a real contender for first team action, your Youth Academy players will not be far behind. Also of import is the fact that he is far less likely to grow if you don’t purchase him within the first season. His price is also quite random, depending a great deal on when you buy him and how much you use him. He can go for around $800 thousand within the first season, or as high as $3 million in four seasons -- if you’re lucky.
On a side note, you could also loan him as soon as you buy him to maximize his growth and/or profit.
Joni Kauko
A domineering and exceptionally strong defender, Kauko can serve as either a CDM, or even a CB. His 6’2” height and above average jumping means he generally wins the aerial balls, and his stamina means you will almost never need to substitute or rest him.
His lack of any decent offensive stats, however, make him more valid as a future CB or a secondary CDM. As mentioned above, he is also quite good with his head, making him very good when it comes to corners.
His physical stats and his passing generally grow quite quickly, but most of his other stats tend to stay the same. He can go for $800 thousand in the first season, or as much as $1.5 million by the end of the second season.
Alejandro Chumacero
Next up we have Chumacero; a personal favorite, I have used him in almost all my lower-tier careers. Don’t be fooled by his stats. Despite his generally sub-par overall rating, he tends to perform very well in games and can fill any position in the midfield. As such, he can be used as a perfect substitute and even trained if you like him enough.
His biggest disadvantage is his 5’5” height, which matches his exceptionally low strength. He does have an astonishing balance however, which more than makes up for it.
Also of note, is his relatively lackluster growth, which makes his price change almost non-existent. As such, he is far more useful as a great boost from the bench, or when in a deep pinch with injuries.
Bi Jinhao
The final player on our list, is also the one that grows the most and gets you a lot of goals doing it. Jinhao stands at an impressive 6’4”, and is phenomenal with his head, at times scoring as many as 20 goals a season with his head alone.
While certainly a prolific player with the head, he is also very good off the ball and quite strong as well. He boasts decent finishing and attack position stats, while not being especially good on the ball due to his sub-par dribbling and ball control.
His biggest boon however, is his impressive growth; improving by as much as 7 rating in four seasons, he becomes a much better player in time. This also makes him a perfect Striker to bring off the bench in the last third of a match. His price however isn’t befitting of his skills, and doesn’t really go far above $1 million.
Now that we've gone through every player in the list, let's have a look at how they look in a single squad.
As you can see, this isn't a great squad, but considering the fact that every player is completely free, and go for generally low wages, they are all certainly worth a try. This is especially true when playing a low-tier team or trying to get a League Two team into the Premier League.
I'd love to know your experience with these players, so if you've gotten some of them to grow a whole lot in your careers, or found some other Free Agents especially useful, definitely let us know in the comments section below. And as always, share this article if you think its helpful!
Published: Apr 9, 2016 04:08 am