Player Review
84 - SBC
As a long-suffering Leeds fan, it's rare that we get usable cards in FUT - even last year's TOTS Pablo Hernandez was underwhelming. But my prayers have been answered this year, with one of the best CDMs in the game coming in the form of the Yorkshire Pirlo himself, Kalvin Phillips.
I sat at work and grinded tediously through 24 SBCs the day this card dropped. I simply couldn't believe how brilliant this card's stats looked. Don't be fooled by the 84 rating, even WITHOUT a chem boost he's an 87-rated player, so I'm unsure how that face rating came to be.
At first, I was playing him on 7 chemistry with shadow and he was brilliant enough, but with enough icons to get him to ten this past week, the difference was startling. He is so fast for a midfielder, his passing is clinical and he bullies people off the ball. You know when you use an icon midfielder or Kante or a couple of other guys and they have that unexplainable 'presence' in midfield? He has that.
Dembeles are swatted away like flies. Sons send flying into the stands with a shoulder barge. Mbappes and Neymars held at bay. He stops them all - if you watched his performance against Arsenal, he pockets attackers in this game like he did Mesut Ozil in real life last week. My only regret is having an RTG and not being able to surround him with other top-class players. I feel like in a god squad, he would be even better.
Honestly, the biggest reason not to do him is the SBCs take a while to do - but if you can hold your nose and get through them, you won't regret this. I was originally 100% focused on getting Essien from my icon swaps, but now I'm not so sure if I need him.
Pace: so quick for a bullish midfielder
Passing: less shit than most in this woefully inconsistent game
Strength: bullies everyone
Stamina: can easily play 120 minutes
Weak foot and skill moves: Self-explanatory