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The best buys from Calcio B in FIFA 18 Career Mode
Forget Juventus, AC Milan and Napoli, if you’re looking for hidden gems, it’s Italy’s second tier you need to plunder.
Serie B – or Calcio B as it’s known in FIFA 18 – is a fertile hunting ground for clubs with smaller transfer budgets, so we’ve trawled through the squads to find 11 of the best and most promising players currently plying their trade in the Italian second division.
Some will be ready for first-team football quicker than others, but all of them are available for transfer in the first window of a FIFA 18 Career Mode game – that means none are out on loan or have only just signed for their current club.
The prices quoted are those we managed to get the selling club to agree to, but FIFA 18’s transfer market isn’t an exact science and you can usually reduce the fee if you include a sell-on clause, particularly for a high-potential player whose value is only likely to increase.
Our pick of Italy’s lower-league gems
© EA Sports
Goalkeeper
GK: Josip Posavec (Palermo)
Palermo’s young Croatian ‘keeper isn’t up to a top-division standard just yet but the 21-year-old is showing signs of developing into a real talent. With 73 for diving and 75 for reflexes, with overall potential of 81, he’s a good choice if you’re looking for a goalkeeper who will grow with your team, and with an asking price of just under €2m he won’t break the bank for a club with a lower budget. Besides, if he reaches his potential he’ll easily pay that back in performances or, if you choose to cash in on any inevitable interest, cold hard funds.
Defenders
LB: Alessandro Crescenzi (Pescara)
A product of Roma’s youth set-up, Alessandro Crescenzi spent many years out on loan before settling at Pescara. Comfortable playing on either side of a back four, his rating of 83 for stamina will keep him running up and down the wing all day, and what he lacks in tackling stats, he makes up for in aggression. With pace, agility and balance stats all in the high 70s he’s a danger on the ball, although with limited potential for growth, the 26-year-old is probably suited to smaller sides. Considering he’ll only cost just over €1m, though, that means he’s well within reach.
CB: Marco Varnier (Cittadella)
As a country famed for its defensive heritage, it should come as no surprise that there are some very promising young centre-backs in Italy’s second division. Cittadella’s Marco Varnier leads the way, with the potential to reach 81 overall with the right training. For now his stand-out stat is his strength of 83, while 73 for sprint speed should mean that he won’t be easily outpaced by more nimble forwards. 70 for standing tackles is the best of his defensive stats, but that’s not a bad starting point for a 19-year-old who will set you back just €2m.
CB: Michele Fornasier (Pescara)
Similar to Varnier, albeit a few years older and with slightly lower potential, Pescara’s Michele Fornasier could be a good addition to a bottom-half top-flight team. With both strength and jumping rated 73, he won’t be easily beaten to the ball, and while he’s not as quick as the Cittadella man, his tackling numbers are better all round. That lower potential is reflected in the 23-year-old’s asking price, which means you can pick him up from the Delfini for just over €1m.
RB: Lorenzo Dickmann (Novara)
So many full-backs these days are converted wingers, meaning they’re stronger with the ball than without it, but Lorenzo Dickmann’s strongest area right now is his tackling. With 73 for acceleration and 72 for sprint speed, his pace isn’t far behind, meaning he can play as a wing-back as well if required. Rated 67 overall at the moment, but with low wage demands and the potential to hit 76, the 20-year-old is a good option if you’re looking long term, particularly considering Novara will accept just €1m for his services.
Midfield
CM: Gastón Brugman (Pescara)
In the market for a versatile playmaker with the ability to get up the pitch and play behind the attackers, or to dictate the pace of the game from deeper? Look no further than Pescara’s Gastón Brugman – just don’t expect him to do much tackling. The Uruguayan has the technique and vision to pick a range of passes, with the agility, balance and turn of pace to get himself out of trouble if things get congested. At 24 years old, he’s just entering his peak years, and with the potential to add five points to his overall score of 71, the €3m you’ll have to pay for him will be money well spent.
Our pick of Italy’s lower-league gems
© EA Sports
CM: Moses Odjer (Salerno)
Ever since Leicester City won a surprise Premier League title, everybody is looking for ‘the new N'Golo Kanté’ – and Moses Odjer certainly shares a lot of similar attributes, including the Chelsea midfielder’s lack of height. What Salerno’s 20-year-old Ghanaian lacks in strength he makes up for with excellent stamina (92), impressive acceleration (83) and great balance (84), so you should be able to rely on him to break up opposition attacks in front of your back four. Work on his tackling and passing and he should reach his overall potential of 81. Not bad for a player who’ll only cost you about €1.5m.
CM: Ivaylo Chochev (Palermo)
Palermo’s Ivaylo Chochev is comfortable playing anywhere down the middle of the park, but his talents are best used if you allow him to get up the pitch as much as possible, with 71 for long shots and 75 for shot power making him a danger when arriving late into the box. He’s not particularly quick and his tackling could be better but with stats in the mid-70s for long and short passing, dribbling and ball control, he’s the kind of player you need in the middle of the pitch to keep things ticking over. With the potential to reach 78 overall, his €5.5m asking price is well worth paying.
Forwards
LW: Gianluca Sansone (Novara)
He might be 30 years old but Novara’s Gianluca Sansone still has plenty to offer out on the wing. His acceleration and sprint speed stats are both in the mid-80s, with agility and balance rated 91 and 88 respectively, so he’s not the kind of player the opposition defence will want running at them. Even if they do manage to keep him at arm’s length, 73 for long shots and 80 for shot power mean he can still do damage from outside the box, plus he’s pretty handy from dead ball situations too. Ignore the €5.9m release clause and offer around €3.5m to bag your man.
ST: Jerry Mbakogu (Carpi)
With that deadly combination of pace and power, Carpi’s Jerry Mbakogu is a bit like a bargain-basement Didier Drogba. Just under €5m will get you a 1.8m-tall striker with 92 for acceleration, 85 for sprint speed and 83 for strength, so opposition defenders will have a job stopping him from running in behind them. If that doesn’t work, 90 for jumping gives him a good chance of beating them to the ball in the air instead. 74 for finishing is decent rather than deadly, but one-on-one with the goalkeeper you’d still back him to find the back of the net more often than not.
RW: Cristian Galano (Bari)
There’s not a lot of point being blessed with lightning pace if it means you have to come off after an hour, but that’s not a problem for Cristian Galano. 92 for stamina means you can make use of his 92 for sprint speed and 91 for acceleration for the whole game, which, when combined with 95 for agility and 91 for balance, make him a real menace with the ball at his feet. Work on his crossing, passing and shooting in training and you’ll have a real gem on your hands, and with his contract in its final year, Bari will let him leave for just under €3m.
