Expected Player Upgrades in FM19 (Just guessing)

[Vicz]

Any players people are expected to get a nice upgrade? I have quite a few in mind but I'll start off with 5

Frenkie de Jong - don't think his true potential has been captured and considering he's been played by Ajax most of last year as a CB (though I understand not a traditional one) I think a few of his defensive stats should see an upgrade

Lucas Paqueta - has made big waves in Brazil last year, most statistically notable thing is the amount of aerial duels he's been winning, which is definitely not reflected on his current FM stats

Ciro Immobile - I don't know about any of you but I never see Immobile do particularly well on any of my saves, he's now had a few good goal scoring seasons I would think maybe FM will make him a little more potent?

Aaron Wan-Bissaka - has been a class act since his premier league debut really and he's criminally underrated on FM18 (though I don't blame them because he was an non-entity before last season)

Ryan Sessegnon - I know FM have known about him for a while but after winning championship player of the year at the age of 17/18 I think he surely has to get an upgrade

Please don't mistake this thread as me demanding for player upgrades (or inviting others to do so), just a light hearted discussion on what people might expect...

Also small side note on the converse I expect one of my favourite FM players, Adrien Silva, to get a significant downgrade, can't get a game at Leicester

P.S Be careful with CA and PA spoilers please 

[Boss]

19 minutes ago, Vicz said:

Any players people are expected to get a nice upgrade? I have quite a few in mind but I'll start off with 5

Frenkie de Jong - don't think his true potential has been captured and considering he's been played by Ajax most of last year as a CB (though I understand not a traditional one) I think a few of his defensive stats should see an upgrade

Lucas Paqueta - has made big waves in Brazil last year, most statistically notable thing is the amount of aerial duels he's been winning, which is definitely not reflected on his current FM stats

Ciro Immobile - I don't know about any of you but I never see Immobile do particularly well on any of my saves, he's now had a few good goal scoring seasons I would think maybe FM will make him a little more potent?

Aaron Wan-Bissaka - has been a class act since his premier league debut really and he's criminally underrated on FM18 (though I don't blame them because he was an non-entity before last season)

Ryan Sessegnon - I know FM have known about him for a while but after winning championship player of the year at the age of 17/18 I think he surely has to get an upgrade

Please don't mistake this thread as me demanding for player upgrades (or inviting others to do so), just a light hearted discussion on what people might expect...

Also small side note on the converse I expect one of my favourite FM players, Adrien Silva, to get a significant downgrade, can't get a game at Leicester

I'd expect both F. De Jong and De Ligt to get significant upgrades. Mbappe will probably be even better too 

[Vicz]

I expect de Ligt to be like a -10

[Brighton123]

Glenn Murray 

[decapitated]

from UK players to be upgraded to some degree

 

Billy Gilmour

Mason Greenwood

Jadon Sancho

Ben Chillwell

James Maddison

Harry Maguire

Trent Alexander-Arnold

Joe Gomez

Kieran Trippier

Rueben Loftus-Cheek

Mason Mount

 

[Boomer Ang]

Mbappè should be increased even if I don’t remember how it was in FM18 🙂

[Vicz]

13 minutes ago, Boomer Ang said:

Mbappè should be increased even if I don’t remember how it was in FM18 🙂

He's incredible already tbh. I wouldn't even say he needs an upgrade

 

49 minutes ago, decapitated said:

from UK players to be upgraded to some degree

 

Billy Gilmour

Mason Greenwood

Jadon Sancho

Ben Chillwell

James Maddison

Harry Maguire

Trent Alexander-Arnold

Joe Gomez

Kieran Trippier

Rueben Loftus-Cheek

Mason Mount

 

TAA and Gomez already very good. I'm definitely expecting an upgrade for slabhead!

[Boss]

1 hour ago, Vicz said:

I expect de Ligt to be like a -10

Yep . He's already one of the best all-round CB's in Europe - within a few years he could be the best in the world. Really is a once in a generation talent.

[Vicz]

1 minute ago, Boss said:

Yep . He's already one of the best all-round CB's in Europe - within a few years he could be the best in the world. Really is a once in a generation talent.

Yeah, when I heard there was a 17yo kid playing for Ajax in central defence I thought wow, that league is really pants. Then he literally was on the teamsheet every week and I thought, hmm, even if the league is pants that's still impressive, then he held his own in Europa league, then he held his own on the International stage, then he held his own in the Champion's League vs Bayern 

[SD]

1 hour ago, decapitated said:

Kieran Trippier

It felt so bad selling or loaning out FM Trippier while IRL Trippier was one of the best rightbacks in the Premier League last season and had a spectacular World Cup.

[Tom8983]

I think Milner needs an upgrade, he's just getting better and better with age. And most Manure players need to be brought down a lot. They've always seemed to be given ridiculously impressive stats as soon as  they sign for utd.

Other than that, from what I've seen this season I think James Maddison and David Brooks look like they may need a bump up. They've really impressed me.

[Vicz]

Few more:

Benjamin Pavard - great world cup and great season for Stuttgart, his fm18 stats aren't bad but I think hes outperformed them easily

Maximiliano Gomez - Celta Vigo revelation, should get an upgrade

Kai Havertz - He's good already on the game but with a full season behind him think he'll be seeing an upgrade

Alex Telles - something silly like 14 assists last year? from left back

Milan Skriniar - again hes already not bad on FM18 but he's also making moves to the upper echelons of the game

[yonko]

I agree about De Jong, De Ligt and Mbappe. The French wonderkid needs fixed PA as high as Messi's. And he also needs improved mental attributes. He also needs the best/highest CA of any player under 24 years old.

Joe Gomez needs a upgrade and fixed PA around 160-165. Same for TTA probably.

I also think Hirving Lozano will get an upgrade. Young Riqui Piug from Barca B should get an upgrade - he's as good and as talented as Alena.

Leon Bailey will probably be updated slightly. 

Jorginho needs to be updated.

[Vicz]

16 minutes ago, yonko said:

I agree about De Jong, De Ligt and Mbappe. The French wonderkid needs fixed PA as high as Messi's. And he also needs improved mental attributes. He also needs the best/highest CA of any player under 24 years old.

Joe Gomez needs a upgrade and fixed PA around 160-165. Same for TTA probably.

I also think Hirving Lozano will get an upgrade. Young Riqui Piug from Barca B should get an upgrade - he's as good and as talented as Alena.

Leon Bailey will probably be updated slightly. 

Jorginho needs to be updated.

Just remembered I shouldnt post PA spoilers. Anyway was gonna say TAA and Gomez has acceptable PAs for me but yes both should definitely get a CA upgrade. Jorginho I agree with too. 

[JordanMilly]

1 hour ago, Tom8983 said:

I think Milner needs an upgrade, he's just getting better and better with age. And most Manure players need to be brought down a lot. They've always seemed to be given ridiculously impressive stats as soon as  they sign for utd.

I entirely agree with this, Milner is a superb player and has just been getting better. I don't think, just because he's in his 30s, his stats should start decreasing straight from the off, I can see him being this good for another couple of years.

I also agree with Gomez and TAA deserving a bit of a boost.

 

[westy8chimp]

Guendouzi by pleasure of joining Arsenal should have increased PA. 

Arthur was already class on 18, but again... Having joined Barca and already looking like the next Iniesta, his potential should be through the roof. 

Some decrease to Man Utd rep Mourinho rep and all of their players ability would be nice. 

 

[Just-Wool]

Alisson looks like he needs an upgrade. His distribution in particular needs a significant boost as it's bad in 18.

[irish kopite]

Virgil Van Dijk. He is the best centre back in the premier league by a long way. His mental stats in particular need an upgrade.

[JordanMilly]

59 minutes ago, irish kopite said:

Virgil Van Dijk. He is the best centre back in the premier league by a long way. His mental stats in particular need an upgrade.

 

1 hour ago, monkeywool said:

Alisson looks like he needs an upgrade. His distribution in particular needs a significant boost as it's bad in 18.

Definitely these two. Alisson is one of the best keepers in the world right now, and VVD is just superb.

[Vicz]

Lol how I am getting the feeling there’s a few Liverpool fans on this thread 

I agree though

[IMT]

James Maddison without a doubt, and as a Norwich fan, I hope to see Max Aarons, Jamal Lewis and Todd Cantwells PA improved as all have broken into the first team in the past 12 months, and Aarons especially has come out of nowhere to be first choice right back.

[karanhsingh]

Fred is really bad in FM18 too. He should be upgraded.

[Sunshinelufc]

For Leeds:

Jack Clarke - Been a huge prospect in the academy for a while and this wasn't reflected in the last game. He was playing for the u23s at 16 last season and is in the first team squad this season at 17. He made his debut last Saturday against Brentford and Man City previously tried to poach him. He has been talked about tons for a while so I am hugely surprised it wasn't reflected in last year's game. Nohan Kenneh who is a 15 year old is also one to watch out for at the moment. He is a promising youngster already playing for the u18s.

Jamie Shackleton - Another who has been talked about at Leeds for a couple of seasons and it is not a surprise he is in the first team squad now. 

Tom Pearce - Broke into the first team squad last season and plays for the England u21s. Another where it was obvious from following the u23s that he would breakthrough at Championship level.

Ryan Edmondson - 17 year old who joined Leeds from York last season and made his debut in the last game of the season. Ahead of Dalby in the u23s and a squad player for the first team. Very strong and big lad.

Leeds invested a lot into the u23 team last season. There are a number of other promising youngsters some of which were fairly reflected in the last game; Halme, Strujik, Rey, Stevens, Dalby, Kun. I imagine Leif, signed this season will also be similarly rated.

Downgrades:

Alioski 

Coyle (out on loan) - lower potential 

Sacko (out on loan)

Denton (out on loan)

Potentially may be upgraded but shouldn't be yet/upgrade should be very limited:

Paudie O'Connor - broke into the first team last season due to a shortage at centre back after captaining u23 side. He had a few very promising games but he cannot break into an average League One team's side.

Hugo Diaz - Played for the first team last season due to a shortage at centre back. He is a solid player for the u23s but he is not as good as the younger Halme or Strujik.

[Vicz]

2 minutes ago, Sunshinelufc said:

For Leeds:

Jack Clarke - Been a huge prospect in the academy for a while and this wasn't reflected in the last game. He was playing for the u23s at 16 last season and is in the first team squad this season at 17. He made his debut last Saturday against Brentford and Man City previously tried to poach him. He has been talked about tons for a while so I am hugely surprised it wasn't reflected in last year's game. Nohan Kenneh who is a 15 year old is also one to watch out for at the moment. He is a promising youngster already playing for the u18s.

Jamie Shackleton - Another who has been talked about at Leeds for a couple of seasons and it is not a surprise he is in the first team squad now. 

Tom Pearce - Broke into the first team squad last season and plays for the England u21s. Another where it was obvious from following the u23s that he would breakthrough at Championship level.

Ryan Edmondson - 17 year old who joined Leeds from York last season and made his debut in the last game of the season. Ahead of Dalby in the u23s and a squad player for the first team. Very strong and big lad.

Leeds invested a lot into the u23 team last season. There are a number of other promising youngsters some of which were fairly reflected in the last game; Halme, Strujik, Rey, Stevens, Dalby, Kun. I imagine Leif, signed this season will also be similarly rated.

Downgrades:

Alioski 

Coyle (out on loan) - lower potential 

Sacko (out on loan)

Denton (out on loan)

Potentially may be upgraded but shouldn't be yet/upgrade should be very limited:

Paudie O'Connor - broke into the first team last season due to a shortage at centre back after captaining u23 side. He had a few very promising games but he cannot break into an average League One team's side.

Hugo Diaz - Played for the first team last season due to a shortage at centre back. He is a solid player for the u23s but he is not as good as the younger Halme or Strujik.

Interesting will keep a look out.

What did you think of Ronaldo Vieira?

[saihtam]

Uhh just came here and saw Leeds toughts.

But why Downgrade Alioski and Coyle?

Coyle def needs upgrade a bit both on CA and PA.

Roofie needs upgrade, but it is considered too much from this season games.

[Sunshinelufc]

1 minute ago, Vicz said:

Interesting will keep a look out.

What did you think of Ronaldo Vieira?

Vieira went backwards last season, possibly because he was playing in a team completely devoid of confidence. He has the potential to be a starter in the top leagues in the future but not as highly rated as he was in previous FMs. He is let down by technique and passing but he uses his strength really well. He was going to be back up to Phillips this season for that reason before the club sold him to the disagreement of Bielsa to raise funds.

We have seen a couple of really promising midfielders come through the academy in the last 10 years where we knew they would play for England. Whilst Vieira was decent he was no where near the standard of Delph and Cook at similar ages (not played for England yet but has been in the squad). Experience in Italy may help his game though and Leeds fans often follow their ex academy players to see how they develop.

[Sunshinelufc]

15 minutes ago, saihtam said:

Uhh just came here and saw Leeds toughts.

But why Downgrade Alioski and Coyle?

Coyle def needs upgrade a bit both on CA and PA.

Roofie needs upgrade, but it is considered too much from this season games.

Alioski is rated as Leeds' third best player on FM after Jansson and Hernandez. In reality he has been seen as a weak link in the Leeds side and is a frustrating figure. He is a winger who does not take on his full back and he has a poor final ball. He does, however, have a high workrate and he makes a lot of runs off the ball to get in behind the defence.

Coyle - I agree about his CA but why do you think he should have a higher PA?

[ajsr1982]

16 hours ago, Tom8983 said:

I think Milner needs an upgrade, he's just getting better and better with age. And most Manure players need to be brought down a lot. They've always seemed to be given ridiculously impressive stats as soon as  they sign for utd.

Other than that, from what I've seen this season I think James Maddison and David Brooks look like they may need a bump up. They've really impressed me.

This is a really interesting one about United. In theory they have a hell of a squad and a hell of a manager on paper, so you can see why they always win the league in FM18. That said, clearly they're not performing to their potential, and I'm not sure how you get that into the game. Some of the hidden attributes and personality types that mean the players don't pull for the manager?

[nico_france]

I guess French players, especially the world cup winners might deserve an upgrade

Tbh i'm already quite amazed, according me, by the overrated level of the players based in UK from PL and Championship most of all

A lot of them are nowhere near world beaters and have more than good stats so far

[ajsr1982]

52 minutes ago, nico_france said:

I guess French players, especially the world cup winners might deserve an upgrade

Tbh i'm already quite amazed, according me, by the overrated level of the players based in UK from PL and Championship most of all

A lot of them are nowhere near world beaters and have more than good stats so far

If you buy the theory that the best players are the highest paid (and there have been studies to show how strong this correlation is), and you consider that the Championship is the 8th/9th best paid league in world football, it shouldn't be all that surprising.

[Vicz]

1 hour ago, nico_france said:

I guess French players, especially the world cup winners might deserve an upgrade

Tbh i'm already quite amazed, according me, by the overrated level of the players based in UK from PL and Championship most of all

A lot of them are nowhere near world beaters and have more than good stats so far

Though I respect the basis of that French players argument, there's only a couple that played at a level not previously captured by FM18 imo. Mbappe and Pavard really. Don't think anybody else was a surprise performer.

[ajsr1982]

Usain Bolt!

[essien_5]

Speaking specifically as a Chelsea fan I would expect Callum Husdon-Odoi and Ethan Ampadu to have very high potential abilities on this year's game. I firmly believe both are good enough IRL to be playing regularly for any team outside the top 6.

Mason Mount too I would be expecting to see upgraded significantly after his season with Vitesse last year.

Interested to see how good Kepa and Jorginho will both be, as both had excellent seasons last year away from Chelsea.

In terms of downgrades I expect Barkley may be downgraded after his injuries last season, although he does seem to be back on the up IRL. I also wouldn't be surprised to see small downgrades on some of our squad players such as Moses, Zappacosta, Emerson none of which did much last season.

Although on loan, Bakayoko's technical stats should be lowered to be in line with a league 2 player.

And I can't recall what the finishing, composure and determination were for Morata last season but they should definitely be lowered!

[Amarante]

.Just noting that a players from and his ability are not directly linked. Most of the Players that get upgrades are based not only on their form but on their ability. So a player might have a stellar season but that doesn't mean his overall ability as a footballer has improved. 

[decapitated]

World cup players to be upgraded

 

Jordan Pickford (forgot to add goalkeepers to the UK list, so add Nick Pope here as well)

Benjamin Pavard

Ante Rebic

Artem Dzyuba

Yerry Mina

Rapahel Varane

Kylian Mbappe

Hirving Lozano

 

[SD]

1 hour ago, Amarante said:

.Just noting that a players from and his ability are not directly linked. Most of the Players that get upgrades are based not only on their form but on their ability. So a player might have a stellar season but that doesn't mean his overall ability as a footballer has improved. 

That's true in FM terms, but IRL it's harder to separate the two and a player's form is a good indicator of his ability. Take Bailly for instance, is he a mediocre player who's had a good patch of form that's now ended, or is he a quality player just enduring a rough patch?

[yonko]

5 hours ago, ajsr1982 said:

If you buy the theory that the best players are the highest paid (and there have been studies to show how strong this correlation is), and you consider that the Championship is the 8th/9th best paid league in world football, it shouldn't be all that surprising.

I don't buy that. Players in general are overpaid these days.

SI notoriously overrates players based in UK. Mostly in EPL because of how competitive the league is. But competition doesn't necessarily mean the highest quality. British players are also overrated - by media IRL and by SI in FM.

[ajsr1982]

4 minutes ago, yonko said:

I don't buy that. Players in general are overpaid these days.

SI notoriously overrates players based in UK. Mostly in EPL because of how competitive the league is. But competition doesn't necessarily mean the highest quality. British players are also overrated - by media IRL and by SI in FM.

Players in general over overpaid? I don't understand this. Do you mean English-based players, or are you talking about wider societal issues?  If you look at this year's Ballon d'Or nominees, you'll find 11/30 are English-based. The rest play for PSG, Juventus, or the big three Spanish clubs. Outside this, there's only really Bayern Munich that are part of the same financially capable group. That's where the best (and highest paid) players play.

Sweeping statement time: To get a regular game at a top six English club, you have to be in the top 300 players in the world, or at least on your way to that level. (I know there are notable exceptions. They don't last long.)

 

[Chris22]

Andy Robinson needs to be upgraded.

Alberto Moreno Needs to be Downgraded he's Rated little too High on FM18.

 

[Vicz]

Just watching the livestream and Frenkie de Jong still has tackling of 6 haha. I know he’s no Paolo Maldini but 6? Really?

shrugs 

[DamianJMcGrath]

I think it's very important not to confuse poor management, low confidence and low morale at Man United with their players having poor talent. 

I don't see how anyone can argue that Uniteds players aren't talented. Just because they have had a poor start to a season, that doesn't necessarily change their skills or hidden attributes. 

I'm not sure if FM has the concept of a managers style having widespread effects on players but that's what this is, I think. It would be unfair to reduce Uniteds players generally as I have a feeling that they'd be playing much better in different circumstances, and we've seen evidence of this in certain games when Mourinho abandones his plan A. 

[Jeroen Thijssen]

25 minutes ago, Vicz said:

Just watching the livestream and Frenkie de Jong still has tackling of 6 haha. I know he’s no Paolo Maldini but 6? Really?

shrugs 

If you compare with FM18 you'll see quite some adjustments.

Surprisingly perhaps, Frenkie is not a type of player that performs a lot of tackles, so yes - he has a relatively low rating in that. He's not a particular tackling type of player. 

[bangkonggedek]

6 minutes ago, Reddiablo said:

If you compare with FM18 you'll see quite some adjustments.

Surprisingly perhaps, Frenkie is not a type of player that performs a lot of tackles, so yes - he has a relatively low rating in that. He's not a particular tackling type of player. 

I know that he's not the best nor prolific tackler there is even by his League's standard (and so is de Ligt actually,) but surely a 6 in Tackling will effectively renders him into a huge liability in defense?

[ParanoidBuddha]

Costa and specially Cancelo that atm is probably top 1-2  right complete wing-back in the world.

[bangkonggedek]

As for players generally being overrated in English clubs, I do agree with that persuasion. Not in terms of the players' CA, which I think generally are pretty fairly given for the most part, but in the distribution of their attribute points. Players with consistently poor defensive displays like Bellerín and Alberto Moreno somehow both possessing solid attributes there, while players like Lukaku who consistently shown a very poor touch of the ball got a decent enough First Touch. And of course there's Pogba who in game plays like peak Ballack sans the aggression, when in reality he's anything but (though I do believe he's technically more gifted and possess better eye for the pass... when he's switched-on which is sadly a rare occurrence). In short, there's this tendency from their researchers to assign evenly spread out attributes to players who in reality should've have receive a rather unbalanced attribute spreads. Pretty similar to the case of players from Brazilian leagues in my opinion, which in their case their tactics-related mental attributes should have been quite low in general. Not surprising really given how most fans of both countries have this ignorant view that their football is the apex of footballing universe

Back to the original topic. Aside from the names already mentioned above I think the one that really due for significant upgrade is Philipp Max, who should deserve excellent score for Crossing, while on the other hand his passing should be a bit below average.

[Jeroen Thijssen]

31 minutes ago, bangkonggedek said:

I know that he's not the best nor prolific tackler there is even by his League's standard (and so is de Ligt actually,) but surely a 6 in Tackling will effectively renders him into a huge liability in defense?

Correct, Frenkie is mostly a 6 and not a DC ; although some of his attributes should make him able to defend.

If you look at the PSV 1-0 Ajax, Frenkie is mis-positioned and performs a poor tackle for example. I'll run a broader analysis, as it's on my list anyway (doing some video scouting in the next days) - so I can provide some video footage. But this is definitely not his forté.  Game wise, I'd suggest training him in his defensive skill set - although there's obviously more to it than tackling.

[Vicz]

59 minutes ago, Reddiablo said:

If you compare with FM18 you'll see quite some adjustments.

Surprisingly perhaps, Frenkie is not a type of player that performs a lot of tackles, so yes - he has a relatively low rating in that. He's not a particular tackling type of player. 

Yeah no doubt he’s improved but he’s pretty much been rendered useless as a DM. MC he will be for me.

[Jeroen Thijssen]

35 minutes ago, Vicz said:

Yeah no doubt he’s improved but he’s pretty much been rendered useless as a DM. MC he will be for me.

His best roles as DMC and MC might not portray your preference, but he is a creative/playmaker style DMC or MC. I think that's about all I'm at liberty of saying for the moment if we really go game wise.

Further the PSV 3-0 Ajax, Frenkie was at fault at all three goals. That's one match, but clearly portrays his weaknesses.

[Vicz]

28 minutes ago, Reddiablo said:

His best roles as DMC and MC might not portray your preference, but he is a creative/playmaker style DMC or MC. I think that's about all I'm at liberty of saying for the moment if we really go game wise.

Further the PSV 3-0 Ajax, Frenkie was at fault at all three goals. That's one match, but clearly portrays his weaknesses.

Wow really? Need to watch the highlights of that game. Funnily enough the lads in the live stream are playing him in a midfield pivot with Aranguiz. He actually looked decent haha...

But I can’t imagine I’d play him without a proper DM on the field, certainly won’t be playing centreback 😂

[Jeroen Thijssen]

Ignore the first two moments, those were just two general turnovers.  It's my second ever video edit and I am a lazy bugger ;-)

I would say Frenkie is (partially) at fault with all 3 goals, and I'm not sure with the 3rd moment of these highlights either, the ref didn't all a penalty - I agree with that decision, but it's a tricky situation to find yourself in.