Player Review

So, I got him in my reds making him my biggest pull so far in champs rewards (second best pull overall if not for Prime Puskas). The stats and the price speak for themselves, and if you have him he's a must-play. Let´s get into a deeper view:

So, I play him in a 4321 as a box to box with Nkunku and Sissoko on "Stay Back". However, I make my RF drop back on defense and De Bruyne's job is to defend as a LM. I really don't know where to start because he's perfect at almost everything, he's got the stats to play on every position, so let´s take it step by step:

Pace:

A solid 5/5 if you play him with shadow or hunter, 98 sprint and 98 acceleration, but his agility and balance will make him feel even quicker somehow, specially if he's running behind a CB that's very big and can't drible very much.

Shooting:

This one depends on how you play him, I love taking long shots and he's fricking amazing, he's scored banger after banger (the current record being 35 yards more or less). I can swear he has finesse shots because he just scores so much. If you use him as a CAM or don't like taking as many longshots as me, and you take a lot of shots from inside the box, he won't be the best. He still has 88 finishing and 96 composure, he's a beast, but he won't place the most squared shots every time in close range. 4.5/5 in my opinion

Passing:

5/5, 98 passing, there's just no-one like him (except perhaps Messi TOTY or De Bruyne TOTY). Wheter it's riskier or safe passing, he just does it. Perfectly. 5 Weak Foot and 4 Skills, combined with high agility and balance for a smooth Left Stick Dribbling, allows him to quickly make space for himself and make some of the sickest passing you've ever seen. 99 vision, short pass, long pass and centres, he will make assist after assist without giving the defenders any chance to do anything. This is the most important attribute for me in a CM (as long they have a decent amount of pace) and he's the best I've used so far (including the likes of PIM Zizou, TOTY Messi and Prime Xavi).

Dribbling:

5/5, I think that with 95 dribbling is self explanatory why a 5/5 but here it goes. I've already mentioned the agility and balance which are beautiful, 98 ball control and reactions, 95 dribbling and 96 composure means he will do anything you ask of him with the ball so close to his feet you won't be able to explain how you escaped some tackles. The high dribbling makes him ideal for a progressive CM or a CAM. I hadn´t had so much fun with a midfielder since TOTY De Jong.

Defending:

4/5, he will do his job, nothing out of this world. I don't ask very much of CMs in defensive duties, you will always find him well placed and ready to press any opponent. He's not a solid wall that can't be passed but that's not his job. I use him to force the opponent to make bad passes, defensive passes or passes to players that are being pressed by my actual defenders. Sometimes some sliding tackles aren't the best but they are not very important in this FIFA and in midfield. However, his 81 defensive awareness makes him ideal for a CM and not a CAM.

Physical:

4.2/5, same here. He's not the strongest of midfielders or the most aggresive. I would give him a 5/5 because he's quite good in every area and has 99 stamina, the redhead can run the whole 120 minutes, he's a machine. Maybe he'll struggle if you try to body some of the strongest midfielders, but since I use him as a LM, he only has to win against RW which they tend to be weak. If you're all having the same problem as me, he's been pocketing Zaha all day long, beautiful to see.

Some other things to note:

-High/High work rates, with 99 stamina. The heat map is absolutely insane to see.

-Not the best free kick taker (he's still has 90, but I just take them with Odegaard)

-I didn't know where to place this, but his offensive positioning is out of this world. It's kinda like seing Messi in real life, whenever he notices you're struggling in some area, he fills that spot. With some quick 1-2s he'll bypass any high press.

-4 skills and 5 weak foot. A whole different section to this, but I've scored a dozen goals with a mere skill and first touch long range finesse shot. Just go for it and he'll do magic with any foot.

-I personally recommend playing him as a CM because you get to take advantage of everyone of his attribute, but he can play in literally any position, I even played him LWB and LB and switched with Cancelo.

Final note:

He's the best for that value. If you have 900 k and want to improve the midfield, he's your guy