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The Guardian recently released their list of the top-ten transfer targets who are under 23 years of age. Obviously, our first thought when we saw this was, who should we sign for our FIFA 16 Career Mode? Specifically, who are the FIFA 16 Career Mode top picks among these young players? So, we decided to dig through their FIFA ratings to find out. Enjoy.
All FIFA stats pulled from sofifa.com. All values are in Euros.
FIFA 16 Career Mode Top Picks – Young Players
1. Ousmane Dembele - Rennes
Photo: @EIFdotcom | Twitter
Age: 18
Value: €7 Million
Nationality: France
Position: RW, LW, CAM
The wunderkind that every club wants right now, Dembele's stock has been growing and growing since he made his debut last year. He's currently ranked a 75 in FIFA but he has a potential of 88. He's cheap, can play across all forward positions, and is good with both feet.
Verdict: Sign him up!
2. Renato Sanches - Benfica
Photo: @zesty_arsenal | Twitter
Age: 18
Value: €6.5 Million
Nationality: Portugal
Position: CM
Another kid who has seen his value rise this season, Sanches has been the key component to Benfica's rise to the top of the Primeira Liga. Like Dembele, Sanches is a 75 in FIFA with a potential of 88. He is a fantastic box-to-box midfielder with bountiful energy and a decent shot. However, FIFA have understated his tackling ability quite a bit, giving him only 68 and 64 for standing and sliding tackle respectively.
Verdict: You'll have to train up his tackling skills in order for him to have the same impact in FIFA 16 as he does in real life, but he's worth it. Do it.
3. Julian Weigl - Borussia Dortmund
Photo: @MCFCInfo | Twitter
Age: 19
Value: €4.3 Million
Nationality: Germany
Position: CDM, CM
The rise of Julian Weigl has been a key component of Thomas Tuchel's resurgent Dortmund side this season. However, he has only earned a 74 rating in FIFA for his efforts. While he can get up to an 84, Wiegl is one of those lightweight playmaker midfielders that tends to get dominated by the refurbished, midfield-centric physics of FIFA 16.
Verdict: Skip him. Get Youri Tielemans instead. You get the same passing skills, but you also get a better goal threat and a more physical presence in midfield.
4. Jose Maria Gimenez - Atletico Madrid
Photo: @Fichajes_futbol | Twitter
Age: 21
Value: €17.5 Million
Nationality: Uruguay
Position: CB
Gimenez has been a big part of why Atletico Madrid have been so hard to beat. Along with his compatriot Diego Godin, Los Rojiblancos have averaged one goal conceded every two games. He is the most ready for first-team action out of this list with a rating of 80 and a potential of 87. He is extremely aggressive and boasts good jumping, marking and tackling stats making him an almost complete defender. Just work on his passing a little bit, and he'll be a star.
Verdict: Yep. Ditch John Stones and sign this kid instead. Put him alongside Daniele Rugani and BAM...world-class center back pairing for years.
5. Michy Batshuayi - Marseille
Photo: @UEFAEURO | Twitter
Age: 22
Value: €14 Million
Nationality: Belgium
Position: ST
Batshuayi has been one of only a few bright spots for Marseille this season, as the club has slowly descended into a full meltdown. Rated at a 79 with a potential of 84, he has some admirable qualities, namely his strength, speed and finishing abilities, but he is undone by the fact that there are just too many other strikers who can better him, such as Paolo Dybala and Paco Alcacer.
Verdict: Nah. Unless you're constricted by budget, go after someone like Dybala, Alcacer or Real Madrid's Jese Rodriguez.
6. Mahmoud Dahoud - Borussia Monchengladbach
Photo: @AnfieldHQ | Twitter
Age: 20
Value: €4.6 Million
Nationality: Germany
Position: CM
Dahoud has been a surprise for many this season. He only made his debut in October, but he is now knocking on the door of Joachim Low's Germany squad. Despite that, his FIFA rating is pretty low, at a mere 73. He has the potential to get to 85, but like Weigl, he is the type of midfielder that could get overrun far too easily.
Verdict: The amount of effort it would take to train Dahoud up to a midfield master is a little too much to make it worth it. Again, just get Tielemans instead.
7. Leroy Sane - Schalke 04
Photo: @Fichajes_MD | Twitter
Age: 20
Value: €8 Million
Nationality: Germany
Position: RM, LM, CF
It feels like Leroy Sane is linked with a new club every week. The Schalke star has proven himself to be one of the brightest young talents to emerge in the past year, however he has struggled for form since the turn of the year. Despite that, he is an insanely tricky winger who is rated at a 76 with a potential of 87. He has good dribbling skills and he is insanely fast, though he could do with some training on his finishing.
Verdict: Train up his finishing ability a bit and this guy will absolutely destroy. Sign him up.
8. Eric Bertrand Bailly - Villarreal
Photo: @centralcmdperu | Twitter
Age: 22
Value: €13 Million
Nationality: Ivory Coast
Position: LB, RB, CB
Eric Bailly was brought in to replace Gabriel Paulista for the Yellow Submarine, and he has consistently impressed this season. He is a 79 in FIFA with a potential of 87, but what really sets him apart is his pace and physicality, which makes him a good fit pretty much anywhere along the backline.
Verdict: Bailly is a great utility man with a rare combination of pace, power and tactical nous. His ability to deputize at both full back positions and center back makes him a pretty obvious pick. Do it.
9. Sofiane Boufal - Lille
Photo: @Actualites_FOOT | Twitter
Age: 22
Nationality: Morocco
Position: CAM, RW, LW
Another player that has been linked with pretty much every Premier League club with cash to burn, Boufal is an incredibly tricky winger whose tally of 11 goals and five assists has made a sale this summer extremely likely. He is a 78 on FIFA with a potential of 84, and he has absurd speed and dribbling skills. That being said, his finishing and crossing attributes need a lot of work. We don't know about you, but we've signed those type of wingers before and they are infuriating. All skill and flash with no final product.
Verdict: If you need a tricky winger, Boufal is definitely your man. However, his stats are heavily skewed towards that aspect of his game, which means you'd need to put in a lot of work to balance him out. Sign him at your own risk.
10. Gianluigi Donnarumma - AC Milan
Photo: @EIFdotcom | Twitter
Age: 17
Value: €4.1 Million
Nationality: Italy
Position: GK
The heir to Gigi Buffon is a comment not thrown around lightly, but it is more than earned by Donnarumma. He is still incredibly young but he has already established himself as the first-choice keeper for the Rossoneri. He is a slightly disappointing 73 in FIFA, but he does have the potential to get up to 86. The only slight on him is that his jumping stats are pretty low, which could be a problem on set pieces. However, he's so young that you have more than enough time to build him up.
Verdict: Absolutely. He's only 17, which basically means you have a fantastic keeper for 20 seasons. When the world ends and your console is caked in nuclear ash, Donnarumma will still be killing it. We think that's more than enough justification.
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