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The FIFA 19 La Liga wonderkid XI
Looking for a FIFA 19 star of the future? Here’s our pick of young talents from Spain’s top division.
There’s incredible young talent everywhere you look in La Liga right now. Barça have Ousmane Dembélé and Malcom, Real Madrid have Vinícius Júnior and even Real Sociedad winger Mikel Oyarzabal is thought to have big things ahead of him.
But if you’re shopping on FIFA 19 and don’t want to spend the big bucks, players like that are off limits, so we’ve put together a list of the La Liga players with the highest potential that won’t set you back more than about €20m. The only other criteria? They must be 21 or under and available to sign in the very first transfer window of a career mode game, so no recent signings or players already out on loan.
If you can’t sign the players on this list for the exact prices we’ve quoted that’s because it’s not an exact science, but every transfer fee listed is one we’ve paid in the game, so they are possible. You might even be able to get them cheaper, even without adding sell-on clauses to sweeten the deal.
FIFA 19’s La Liga Wonderkid XI
© EA Sports
Goalkeeper
GK: Unai Simón (Athletic Bilbao)
With Kepa leaving for Chelsea in the summer, Unai Simón has found himself first-choice between the sticks at San Mamés this season. While Athletic’s performances haven’t been up to much so far, the 21-year-old ‘keeper is by no means out of his depth – and his FIFA 19 stats back that up. With mid-70s for diving, positioning, handling and reflexes he might be better suited to a mid-table team right now, but goalkeepers tend to improve with age and Simón’s potential rating of 83 reflects that. The Basque club won’t drive a hard bargain either, so you should be able to pick up the 1.9m tall stopper for around €3.5m.
Defence
LB: Antonio Lato (Valencia)
What are the chances, eh? No sooner has academy graduate José Luis Gayà made the left-back position at Valencia his own, but another youngster comes through in exactly the same position. Toni Lato is a similarly attack-minded full-back, with 80 for crossing already, 82 for acceleration, 80 for balance and 75 for stamina. He’s a decent dribbler too, plus his tackling’s decent, with 74 for sliding and 72 for standing. Gayà has the potential to be even better, but Lato can still reach 83 with the right training. Disregard the €17.3m release clause and you should be able to pick him up for a touch under €9m.
CB: Jesús Vallejo (Real Madrid)
If you’re going to learn how to play in the centre of defence from anyone, it might as well be Sergio Ramos and Raphaël Varane at Real Madrid – and with Jesús Vallejo that really shows. With an overall rating of 78, the 21-year-old is already good enough to slot into most teams, with 81 for sliding tackles and 82 for interceptions the standout stats. Composed on the ball, he’s got a good range of passing as well, but it’s the potential to reach 86 overall that makes him a very sound investment indeed. A price of €14.5m sounds cheap considering all that, but factor in the high wage demands and things do start to add up, which might limit him to bigger teams.
CB: Unai Núñez (Athletic Bilbao)
Athletic Bilbao don’t seem to struggle when it comes to producing highly talented centre-backs and Unai Núñez is just the latest one to attract attention from some of Europe’s biggest clubs. While not yet a first-team regular, the 21-year-old has all the necessary attributes to excel. He gets the basics right, with 77 for standing tackles, 79 for interceptions and 78 for strength, but with 71 for ball control and 74 for short passing, Núñez doesn’t just resort to hoofing it clear. As central defenders go he’s not too slow either. There’s a €19.5m release clause in his contract but sit down with Athletic’s representatives and you should be able to thrash out a deal with around €9.5m.
RB: Pedro Porro (Girona)
At a glance Pedro Porro’s stats make him look more like a winger than a full-back and there’s no denying he’s most comfortable when going forward, but at just 18 years old and rated 68 overall, there’s plenty of time to improve the defensive side of his game. His 73 for crossing, 75 for ball control and 76 for agility stand out right now, but with just 66 for stamina and 64 for standing tackles there are obvious weak spots to work on before he’ll be ready for regular first-team football. Ignore the €4.35m release clause and offer Girona just over €1.5m in order to bag your man and eventually he could pay you back with an overall rating of 83.
FIFA 19’s La Liga Wonderkid XI
© EA Sports
Midfield
CDM: Marc Roca (Espanyol)
When Espanyol’s Marc Roca was included on this list for FIFA 18 it was as an emerging talent in La Liga, but he’s now cemented his place as one of the most promising midfielders around. What the 21-year-old lacks in pace he makes up for, well, pretty much everywhere else. His defending stats are all in the mid-70s, making him a decent shield for your back four, but with 80 for short passing and 74 for long passing, he can also dictate the play from deep. It’s a role he’ll only improve in as he gets more experienced and with the potential to hit 86 overall, the €10m you’ll need to pay to secure his services will only look more bargainous as the years go by.
CM: Federico Valverde (Real Madrid)
With signs that Luka Modrić could be on the verge of moving on, Real Madrid’s midfield will soon have a hole that needs filling. First in line to do that will be Mateo Kovačić when he returns from his loan spell at Chelsea, but with Dani Ceballos also eyeing it up, offering 19-year-old Federico Valverde the chance of some first-team football might be enough to convince him to leave the Bernabéu. With an excellent range of passing, 75 for vision and a fierce shot from long range the Uruguayan is more than ready for high-level football, with the potential to go on and reach 83 overall. Real can be convinced to let him leave for just under €6m, but bear in mind he’ll have fairly hefty wage demands.
CM: Carles Aleñà (Barcelona)
La Masia graduate Carles Aleñà has been on the fringes of the Barcelona first team for a little while now, which is probably why the Catalan club isn’t interested in selling him. Fortunately for you, the 20-year-old has a €9.1m release clause in his contract, so you can cut out the middleman and go straight to the player with cheque book in hand. And it’s worth doing, because while his overall potential’s been slashed from 87 to 83, his ball control, dribbling, balance and agility are already in the mid-70s, making him an excellent prospect for that metronomic midfield role that Barça-like teams rely on.
Attack
LW: Emre Mor (Celta Vigo)
Celta Vigo’s Emre Mor is versatile enough to play pretty much anywhere behind a main striker, but with 88 for acceleration, 95 for agility and 93 for balance, his talents are probably best deployed out wide. While his crossing and finishing could do with some work, 84 for dribbling and 79 for ball control means he’ll be able to cause panic in opposition defences just by getting into the box. The former Dortmund man has a €21.8m release clause, which doesn’t seem too bad considering he can hit 85 overall, but go into transfer negotiations with around €13.5m to spend and that should be enough to convince Celta to let him go.
RW: Ferran Torres (Valencia)
Valencia aren’t exactly short of young attacking talent at the moment, with Carlos Soler on one flank and Gonçalo Guedes on the other, but try to prise either of them away from the Mestalla and you’ll be presented with a very large asking price. Waiting in the wings is 18-year-old Ferran Torres, whose 73 for crossing and 72 for finishing make him a real danger in the final third. He’s not as fast as other wingers out there, but 75 for ball control and 79 for dribbling mean it’s still a job to get the ball off him. The club has slapped a €19.1m release clause on his head but you can ignore that and offer in the region of €7.5m to tempt him away. Eventually he could reach 86 overall.
ST: Abel Ruiz (Barcelona)
With an overall rating of just 67, don’t expect Abel Ruiz to slot straight into your first-team plans at many big clubs, but with an asking price of just over €1.5m this is a player who might just be worth taking a punt on for the future. The only one of his stats to currently break into the 70s is his strength, but with high 60s dotted around his card, including 69 for finishing, 66 for positioning and 67 for long shots, plus overall potential of 83, the 18-year-old is showing signs of developing into a very potent goalscorer indeed. He’s been compared to the great David Villa and if he becomes even half the player El Guaje was at his peak, €1.5m will seem like quite the bargain.
