Identifying transfer targets

[The_Dizzster]

Originally Posted by Raoul Duke

They're both pussies. You need 15+ in:

Aggression
Work Rate
Stamina
Strength
Bravery
Tackling

...in my book. Ideally good natural fitness and anticipation too.

They could do the job, but there must be some sort of 6'7", 15st MAN BEAST lurking around somewhere.

The only player that fits that criteria is Franco Razzotti and has spent his time with Velez and Rapid Buc. before going to San Lorenzo.

There's little to no regens available and my other option would be Neustadter but he's getting good game time at Frankfurt and I doubt he'd jump to us as it's more of a sideways move.

Might drop the search if nothing else comes up and just play Yahiaoui as an attacking minded CM but it might waste him a little.

[The_Dizzster]

Right, here's another dilemma. I ditched my ultra-attacking formation idea when I found Ernesto Torres of Boca. According to my leading scout he'd set me back £10.5M, and I have £12M as my budget. A front three of him, Mbaye Niang and Lapa would probably improve us quite a bit.

He definitely looks the fit for £10M, but how high would you go? He's been at Boca since 12/13 and I doubt they'd let him go easily after scoring 17 in 19 last season.

[Pokerface]

Some of his mental attributes let him down a little but he looks the type to score all types of goals. Explosive speed, strong in the air, great movement and most importantly the ability to find the back of the net.

£13M would be my highest bid.

[Guido]

Originally Posted by lfc2k6

That's signing players based on statistics alone isn't it? For example, signing a winger as he has the highest number of crosses attempted/completed?

If it's what I think it is, this is what brought Liverpool to buy Downing and Henderson. Hopefully it's better in FM!

Key stats for the position a player had, yeah. Like interceptions for a defensive midfielder or crosses completed for a winger.

Originally Posted by Shrewnaldo

Forza had a thing about it in one of his games a while ago... I think it was Benfica but I'm struggling to remember.

Wasn't so much based on just stats though, was targetting key attributes such as anticipation for centre halves and placing more emphasis on them than traditional ones such as height and strength.

That's not quite what I mean, Moneyball focusses on key statistics for a specific position.

[Shrewnaldo]

Originally Posted by Guido

That's not quite what I mean, Moneyball focusses on key statistics for a specific position.

Yeah I know what you mean about Moneyball but, and I'm just doing this from a rather hazy memory, I think Forza tried to extend it to include key attributes from outside those normally considered due to the relative lack of statistics available in-game (compared to ProZone / opta / etc).

[lfc2k6]

Have to say I've never tried it. I usually bring in my own scouts and then trust them 95% and have a good look over their attributes myself.

Then I decide if it's a goer or not

[Bulfin]

I've thought about doing a game using moneyball but it would require me to sign established players, which I rarely do, and it would also require a lot of leagues to be loaded so you get 'true' stats for a lot of players.

[ezkalan]

In the past couple of years in my save I've been buying quite a lot of young talents as they come through the game, and with a couple of them on loan I'd never realized how many I had. Looking at it now I find that I have a couple too many centerbacks and am considering selling some, raising some money in preparation of building a new stadium. I already have a rough idea on who's leaving and who's staying but I was hoping to get a second opinion here.

Tom Baker

Spoiler:

One of the member's in my first team last season, labelled as wonderkid when he was 19. Good in the air and grabs quite a few goals from set-pieces.

Stephan Esser

Spoiler:

My other main CB last season, he's got great stats all around but his jumping stats let him down somewhat.

Natan

Spoiler:

My rotation CB last season, labelled wonderkid when he was 19. Also great in the air.

Martin Schroder

Spoiler:

Missed part of last season due to injury but played well when called upon.

Luca Fiorini

Spoiler:

Had a great season out on loan at Blackpool last season, winning the FA cup there.

Oliver Mazel

Spoiler:

Also on loan last season, had a decent season at Malaga.

Primo

Spoiler:

Was once first-choice, now has been struggling in competition with others for a place.

So these are the players I have, who would you guys keep and sell, and how much would you sell them for?

[lfc2k6]

Sell Natan, Mazel and Primo.

All 3 of those players should be considered back up for the others, yet they are on higher wages than your 2 starting centre backs.

Could do with freeing up the money and wages and spend in other areas/youth.

[ezkalan]

sold natan, hes now at man city at 215k a week
fiorini got sold by my chairman

[Forza]

Evening lads I have a situation in my save at the moment that you may be able to help with.

I'm at the start of my 2025/26 season with Ajax with a largely home grown team. As a whole my squad is well covered but I identified a medium term need in the defensive midfielder position - I play with three.

I've used my normal filters to identify two targets but I can't decided which to take - or whether to take both!

Damiano Ferri - Ferri will cost me a relatively cheap £10M from Bayern with a contract agreement already in place for a £40K per week deal with appearance fee of £7K. His personality is listed as model professional although any tutoring options will be mitigated by his PPM's, argues with officials and dives into tackles.

Andre Rodriguez - Is four years younger than Ferri which is why I've considered taking them both. He will cost £7.5M and has agreed a £15K per week deal. He's ambitious and doesn't have any PPM's yet which makes me feel he's a perfect base to build on.

Money is no real issue but I have a number of home grown players in this position that are developing and have potential. What do you guys think?

[Nick]

What a decision to have to make.

What do your scouts say about Rodriguez? How many stars of potential does he have left in him?

[Pokerface]

Ferri every day of the week.

[Forza]

Originally Posted by Nick

What a decision to have to make.

What do your scouts say about Rodriguez? How many stars of potential does he have left in him?

My scouts rate his CA as 2* and his PA 4*. As I said he has the base of a player that could be special whilst Ferri is already the finished product.

Originally Posted by Pokerface

Ferri every day of the week.

The immediacy is tempting. I played the whole of last season with a 16 year old in that position. Whilst he was superb and will become brilliant I'm wary of putting too much pressure on.

[Vim]

As you say, Ferri is already a finished product. His passing, teamwork and creativity are higher, albeit by little, so he should be the better playmaker. He is also better going forward than Rodriguez, so that might help, though that is really depending on how you set up your defensive midfielder.

If your DMC runs a lot though, Rodriguez's awesome stamina would be of great help.

[Nick]

Originally Posted by Forza

My scouts rate his CA as 2* and his PA 4*. As I said he has the base of a player that could be special whilst Ferri is already the finished product.

Rodriguez then. He'll be better than Ferri when he reaches 22. Depending on how you want him to to play, the dives into tackles PPM also goes against Ferri.

[The_Dizzster]

Originally Posted by Pokerface

Some of his mental attributes let him down a little but he looks the type to score all types of goals. Explosive speed, strong in the air, great movement and most importantly the ability to find the back of the net.

£13M would be my highest bid.

Got him for £11.75M and he's pretty much transformed my attacking mentality; we can go out into every game now and score goals and pretty much every player can find the back of the net. Scored 7 in 7 in the Bundesliga and can't even speak German yet

Forza: How does the 16 year old compare to Ferri and Rodriguez in terms of potential? If he could be better than them both I'd go for Ferri, as he can come in and make an immediate impact whilst your other prospect improves and to put it simply, he's an excellent player anyway.

[Forza]

Originally Posted by Vim

As you say, Ferri is already a finished product. His passing, teamwork and creativity are higher, albeit by little, so he should be the better playmaker. He is also better going forward than Rodriguez, so that might help, though that is really depending on how you set up your defensive midfielder.

If your DMC runs a lot though, Rodriguez's awesome stamina would be of great help.

The defensive midfielders neither run far nor do they attack all that much. My system is very much based on possession though which is where the passing and teamwork certainly come into it.

Originally Posted by Nick

Rodriguez then. He'll be better than Ferri when he reaches 22. Depending on how you want him to to play, the dives into tackles PPM also goes against Ferri.

Originally Posted by The_Dizzster

Got him for £11.75M and he's pretty much transformed my attacking mentality; we can go out into every game now and score goals and pretty much every player can find the back of the net. Scored 7 in 7 in the Bundesliga and can't even speak German yet

Forza: How does the 16 year old compare to Ferri and Rodriguez in terms of potential? If he could be better than them both I'd go for Ferri, as he can come in and make an immediate impact whilst your other prospect improves and to put it simply, he's an excellent player anyway.

That's actually a point I hadn't considered.

Dirk Kole

He has the same CA and PA ratings as Rodriguez and is already looking special. I have one or maybe two players in the youth team that can play in the DM role but I have a system that I'm trying to stick too.

Decision time has come now. I'm leaning towards signing both and seeing how Rodriguez comes on. The only stumbling block is his fee since if I have to sell him on I can't see the profit margin being all that high.

[Vim]

I'd get Ferri and keep developing Kole who looks a good prospect, if you can get his teamwork up.

[Shrewnaldo]

Ferri for me. His first touch, technique and decisions will come in handy for that role. He's also still young enough that you can make a significant profit once Kole gets to 20 / 21.

Also, with your standing in the game you should have an outside chance of getting a decent coach to get him to "unlearn" that PPM.

[RayMolla]

What does PPM mean?

[Shrewnaldo]

It stands for Player Preferred Moves. If you click on the "positions" screen of a player's profile then you'll see the list of PPM's which that player has. These are basically traits which a player has which means they are more likely to do something. For example, a player with "shoots from distance" PPM will always have their long shots set to often.

[The_Dizzster]

My squad has reached the period that the youth I brought in a few seasons ago have developed well into first team players, but can't improve much more. We're 6 points clear of 2nd place with 11 games remaining and I'm looking ahead to see where I can improve the squad for next season, as we've been far from perfect.

I'm not sure if I could improve centre back but we could use strengthening in that position. Luis Bonilla and Leandro Gioda. Bonilla is a good goal scoring centre back but is inconsistent and Gioda is getting old. Coming through I have youngster Roderick Chircop who I'm looking to have as our top centre back when he develops further, but I'm unsure whether to bring in another alongside him or not.

Lindomar has never had a standout season and is very much an average left back. He wouldn't be missed too much. Coming through to replace him I have Mohamed Hussein but I'm not sure if he is ready yet, or if he will be a good attacking fullback.

I've got three strikers and frankly I'm not sure how much longer I can play them all at the same time. Mbaye Niang, Lapa and Ernesto Torres lead the line but I feel they could score more if I played 2 strikers instead of 3 which would also give us room to play a defensive minded MC, but I'm torn over which I should drop.



Also, I've got a few younger players that I don't have any clue what to do with, simply. If Milan Nedved fills his potential he could be excellent but he is 3rd choice, and I'm considering loaning him out to a feeder in the 3. Liga. Also, I'm unsure if Dino Durkov is worth keeping in the side or whether I should look to cash in after a few years. The same applies to Denis Gaunitz, Daniele Api, Tolga Veli and Aytek Yildirim, I'm just not sure how good they could potentially be or how much playing time I should give them ahead of other players, or whether I should try loaning them out.

Feedback on the weak areas I've mentioned and the youth players would be much appreciated

[Lebohang Mokoena]

I’ve got one of those good problems.

At the moment I’m on a save with PSV, just hit 2016 and newgens are just starting to make a real difference. I’ve been tracking a few different ones and so far I’ve got the following two players coming at the end of the season, to help with my strikers. I currently play a diamond 442 with a poacher and a treq up front.

Spoiler:

I signed him as he’s looking like he’s going to be a great forward. Brilliant heading skill, pretty well developed for his age, especially his movement and reading of the game. 1.5 ability, 3.5 potential.

Spoiler:

I’ve also got this kid on the way, who I’m pretty excited about; you can probably see why. A good chance for a creative striker who can also score with his head or his feet, plus that penalty taking attribute will come in handy. 2.0 ability, 4.5 potential (Same as Messi!)

My idea was originally to play these two in rotation with my current strikers, but I’ve been tracking this guy for a year and a half, and having had an 8 million bid knocked back in the summer they’re now willing to let him go for about three million.

Spoiler:

As you can see, he’s going to be a pretty handy target man, though I reckon he can play a complete forward role and even a treq if I can find away round his low flair.

Thing is, I already have Carlos Fierro, Dries Mertens and Papiss Cisse, who are all pretty good and banging in goals like it’s nobody’s business. I’m planning on getting rid of Cisse, but that still leaves five strikers into four team places.

What would you guys do? Would you sign Rodriguez knowing you’ve got those two already on the way? Is one of them not going to compliment my other strikers? I’ve noticed they all lack pace and bravery, but have they got any other weaknesses I’m missing?

Or, would you just sign all of them and either change your tactic, rotate the hell out of them or keep a couple in your reserves for a season?

Plus, any general advice you can give to help them reach their maximum potential will always be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[Pokerface]

Abramov doesn't quite match up for me. He lacks pace and he doesn't possess the dribbling required to play in a creative role. His low natural fitness would also be a worry, especially on this year's version were long-term injuries can really stagnate a player's development.

[Lebohang Mokoena]

Yeah, see where you're coming from actually. Merten's isn't the fastest, but he does have the dribbling skills... Maybe I'll try him as an advanced playmaker for a bit, see how that Goes. I've got Strootman there at the moment, and despite a lack of dribbling, pace or flair, he does an OK job.

As for the natural fitness, he's already lost half a star due to a six month injury, afraid you might be on to something there! Ah well, at least I know now.

[Shrewnaldo]

Ok, so I've found this player:

Spoiler:

And he's clearly an absolute gem. He is the perfect player that I require to play the AMC role in my 4-2-3-1. The problem is that his club are playing proper hard ball when it comes to the fee and I'm getting twitchy.

My question is this: how much would you pay?

To give you a bit of background: we've just been promoted to Serie A for the first time in our history and we're a tiny club. However, I've done well with the finances and we have just over £5m in the bank. Having said that, I fully expect to get relegated this season and we'll be losing a good chunk of that money in monthly debt. I think the rest of my squad is sorted now, barring a couple of late additions if I spot anything irresistible. The AMC role is the one position that I'm really short in. Would you go all out to get him or would you back out once it reached a certain price?

[Gerd]

If you think you can get his Determination up then I would buy him and focus on his speed/tackling

[Pokerface]

I definitely wouldn't go all out. Your finances aren't great and if you're expecting relegation then signing him would only serve to hurt you financially next season. He looks a tidy player on the face of things, but his physicals aren't up to much and his low determination and teamwork attributes tell me he's not winner.

P.S. I may be returning to Italy.

[Shrewnaldo]

I've got a tutor lined up to help raise the determination (plus professionalism judging by the personalities). I've got him agreed to a "squad rotation" contract on only £1200 a week (from memory) so the on-going risk is low. He'll also have massive re-sell potential and there are no future fee clauses or even money going to him from any sales.

I'm 99% sure I'm going to sign him but if they had bargained any higher then I'd have been thinking long and hard. I'll tell you how much I'm going to pay once people start giving me some fees they would pay. (just so I don't look too stupid hopefully)

[Pokerface]

Somewhere in the region of £3M.

[Shrewnaldo]

Ah good. I was getting worried there.

I paid £1.5m straight up for him. My coaches currently rate him as 2* with 5* potential.

[Nick]

£1.5m is a bargain. Even if the worst does happen and you're relegated, you'll make that back easily and probably have a 50% sell on fee in there. Every club needs a player you can build the team around.

[Pokerface]

Marcel Schweika.

After searching long and hard all summer for a suitable striker, I've finally come across exactly that in the young German. To my amazement a bid of £9m was accepted immediately and the contract negotiations began. To my surprise the Dortmund striker wanted a wage packet of £110,000 p/w. After going back and forth, I got his agent to ease down slightly and the negotiations were concluded at £100,000 p/w. I've yet to seal the deal and would really appreciate bringing in a few sensible heads.

Pros:

• The transfer fee is cheap and the resale value looks fantastic
• Strong with both feet
• Physical adept (suits my direct style)
• Has won two youth titles with Germany

Cons:

• Taking bonuses into account, his contract is worth £6m a year
• Low teamwork attribute
• I have two players with the match highest earner clause, which means a further £30,000 p/w

Thoughts?

[Nick]

The two-footedness seals the deal for me.

[Shrewnaldo]

Depending on how you're going to use him, that teamwork attribute would worry me.You also can't improve it on a personalised focus for his training...

Other than that, he's fantastic and if I could afford it and only needed a striker to complete my team then I'd go for it.

I wonder if that low teamwork attribute might make him take longer to settle in too. (this is just conjecture as I don't know if it has any impact)

[Vim]

He's the kind of 'complete poacher' that I love using. I'd seal the deal immediately.

If you want him to play as a mostly goal-scoring player, then teamwork is not exactly a priority.

[moley]

I'm in November, my board have just pumped in £27m and it's coming up to the January sales in my first season as Spurs. I'm lacking depth and quality in two positions on my field. I play a 4-1-2-2-1, a flat back four, a defensive midfielder, two central midfielders, two attacking wingers and a poacher.

Currently sitting 5th in the premiership, still in all competitions and going strong, but I want to break into the top four and start challenging for the title already.

I am looking for a poacher who can both put the ball in the back of the net and have a bit of creativity so when he is out wide he can whip in the ball for the wingers to bang home. My crossing is set to on the floor and to the far post, also I like my midfield to feed him running onto the ball. What attributes should I be looking for in order to start a decent search for the perfect player?

The second player I am looking for is RCM, I play this position as my playmaker and have set the position as "Advanced Playmaker" with attack. I like him to put through balls through to either my striker to score or for my wingers to whip in dangerous balls to the far post. Next to him and behind him are the defensive players of midfield so I don't need any sort of defensive abilities from him. What sort of attributes will I be looking for in order to maximise the potential of this position?

[Pokerface]

Poacher - Finishing, Composure, Anticipation, First touch, Off the ball

Playmaker - Passing, Technique, Creativity, Decisions, Flair

Players to recommend from my own experience would be:

• Oscar
• Alexander Merkel
• Kadlec
• Fierro

[Raoul Duke]

PF - what is that German's personality? That'd be the clincher for me.

[moley]

I had a look at those players, Oscar is at Chelsea, no chance of signing him, Merkel isn't in my game, Kadlec and fierro are too young to make an instant impact to this season.

[Pokerface]

Originally Posted by Raoul Duke

PF - what is that German's personality? That'd be the clincher for me.

Ambitious, which is a trait shared by a few squad members. I've never fully understand the mechanics of players and their attitudes. I think model professionals make good tutors, but that aside it's a bit wishy washy.

Have a gander at these, Moley...

Nilmar
Moussa Sow
Douglas Costa
Marvin Martin

[Raoul Duke]

Originally Posted by Pokerface

Ambitious, which is a trait shared by a few squad members. I've never fully understand the mechanics of players and their attitudes. I think model professionals make good tutors, but that aside it's a bit wishy washy.

Yeah, Model Pro is the daddy, but ambitious is decent (assuming you're going to be a team challenging for honours).

I'd take him on that basis.

[moley]

Signed Kadlec and Martin.

[The_Dizzster]

I think I've posted this somewhere before, but here we go.

So I have Ernesto Torres up front, and he is probably one of the best strikers in the world. Last season he scored 37 goals in 35 games, and he and his strike partner Lapa are probably the reasons why we have had so much success over the past three seasons.

But, Torres can't really stay fit. He has fought with injuries and now I've resorted to having to drop him if there's a CL game after a Bundesliga game (or vice versa) because he isn't fit enough to start the next game.

Gladbach striker Maciej Zajac is my obvious option and with him I'd be £25m+ out of pocket (money doesn't come into the matter as I have more than enough), but I've got Aytek Yildirim, Tobias Demuth and Kofi Diallo as strikers. Obviously they aren't as good as Zajac, but they're capable enough to step up when called upon.

So, do I spend the money and break the record for transfer record spent at my time with 1860 Munich and buy the best marksman in Europe Zajac, or stick with the strikers I have now and soldier on without him?

[Raoul Duke]

My two cents:

- Yildirim isn't good enough physically. He'll score goals but be crippled/dead by 29.

- Demuth is just a pace merchant and lacks the composure and natural fitness I'd look for.

- Diallo is easily the best out of them but needs training on composure and ideally some tutoring by someone with decent mentals.

- Zajac is second best but I believe that Diallo will be better longer term.

[The_Dizzster]

Yildirim didn't actually score any league goals in about 12-15 appearances last season, and Demuth is someone I've brought up from the youth academy. Diallo, out of those three, is definitely the best option.

Wayne Smith wants out of Man Utd so I may try and use that to my advantage and try and bring him in instead of Zajac if I can get him for the same price.

[Raoul Duke]

Can't see that because of this Gyazo shit

[The_Dizzster]

Man Utd wanted £36m + Lapa, so no chance of that one happening anyway.