How far can training change attributes?

Can training dictate which attributes will develop the most in youngsters? I'm asking this because FM Scout shows the current and potential attribute values, and I'm unsurr if it's just an estimate or attributes are really capped for each player.

One more question: to what extent can I mold >25 year old player attributes through training?

Can training dictate which attributes will develop the most in youngsters?

That's the whole point of training someone - you can shape their attributes to develop the players how you want.

I'm asking this because FM Scout shows the current and potential attribute values, and I'm unsurr if it's just an estimate or attributes are really capped for each player.

I have no idea what FM Scout does, but it sounds like a 3rd party add on and therefore shouldn't be relied on. Individual attributes are only capped by the maximum value allowed, which is 20. However a player overall is capped by their Potential Ability (PA) and each individual attribute score goes some way towards this overall PA.

One more question: to what extent can I mold >25 year old player attributes through training?

It all depends on where they are compared to their PA value, which normally you wouldn't know. Coach and scout reports will give you an idea of whether a player has reached their potential or not.

That's the whole point of training someone - you can shape their attributes to develop the players how you want.

I have no idea what FM Scout does, but it sounds like a 3rd party add on and therefore shouldn't be relied on. Individual attributes are only capped by the maximum value allowed, which is 20. However a player overall is capped by their Potential Ability (PA) and each individual attribute score goes some way towards this overall PA.

It all depends on where they are compared to their PA value, which normally you wouldn't know. Coach and scout reports will give you an idea of whether a player has reached their potential or not.

As Herne says it depends on where they are in their career, at 25 most of their development has already been done and I'm not sure about FM Scout myself as I don't use it.

However, certain attributes carry a different weighting so a striker for example will have finishing as a top weighted attribute so therefore it carries a heftier deduction to his CA

If it's the same as previous iterations then acceleration & pace cost a lot of CA points for most outfield players.

I would not trust or even use FM Scout because it all depends on how you train them, FM Scout does not take into account how you might choose to train someone

Can training dictate which attributes will develop the most in youngsters? I'm asking this because FM Scout shows the current and potential attribute values, and I'm unsurr if it's just an estimate or attributes are really capped for each player.

One more question: to what extent can I mold >25 year old player attributes through training?

FM Scout does indeed show you the 'hidden' CA/PA values, but it is important to stress that CA/PA alone doesn't necessarily make a good player. A player can have buckets of current/potential ability and yet still have the wrong attributes for his position or role. Sure, they'll have a lot of points to work with, and you certainly could make them super-beasts, but sometimes people get hung up on CA/PA far too much.

If you're wondering what they do; Potential is the upper limit of their full attributes when they have been fully developed. It doesn't usually change unless the player suffers a serious injury. Current Ability is their current 'total' spread of attributes (modified by the weighting system) and is how far away they are from reaching their potential.

From the ages of 15-23 is when players will make their biggest gains. You can double/triple their attribute gains by getting them regular first team football, even if its just a few sub appearances here or there. However, this is also dependent on their attitude. Professional and ambitious players will knuckle down and train efficiently. Slack players won't do this, and may not develop ideally. This is why you'd prefer to tutor high potential youngsters to a more positive personality.

Once they've hit 23-4+ their attribute gains won't be as spectacular, but they will still improve incrementally. Usually if they've reached their potential at this point, then further training simply maintains their current attributes or juggles them around by detracting from other attributes in order to increase the ones under training - But these are usually very small gains.

If they haven't reached their potential, then they may very well never progress further at that point in their career. Ashley Young for example, as a balanced player with a wide spread of attributes very rarely became a worthwhile player once he hit 25-26+ in most of my Manchester United saves, because he has neither the attitude nor the time/age to catch up.

That said, if you ever must pick between attributes and CA/PA values, focus on attributes. A low CA/PA player can still be a godly/world class player if he has the necessary attributes for the position/role you play him in. Personally, the best thing you can do is not be reliant on FM Scout, the in-game scouts are generally pretty accurate, and there's no greater feeling than unearthing a diamond in the rough without using external tools.