FC 25 87 Winter Wildcards Onana Player Review

I guess you can say the Winter Wildcard promo has more than lived up to its name with some of the bizarre options that have been available this holiday season.  If we are all honest we just couldn’t help ourselves with this review and wanted to look at an option that is well within budget, but still had the potential to surprise this Weekend League run.

While it is clear at this point that someone at EA is watching the Zwe episodias, if you want proof then look no further than Jorge Campos at striker… It was another keeper that grabbed our attention and became the focus for this review.  André Onana has been consistent in his “take a lot of risk” mentality playing out from the back… And so we decided to take some similar risk playing the Cameroonian keeper on the wing during the latest Weekend League sweatfest. 

Been continuing the 4-2-1-3 experiment lately and introduced a 4-5-1(2) variant into the mix as well, which would both suit Onana perfectly.  In both cases the Manchester keeper-turned-winger would be getting more involved centrally with instructions and would offer a real chance to review his attacking movement and end product.  Perhaps the biggest concern off the jump was the 3 STAR WEAK FOOT and knowing that both formations involve a lot of cutting in movements… But the hope was that the other statistics and attributes could make up for the deficiencies and produce a masterclass performance.  The DEADEYE and ENGINE would split the Chemistry Style duties as I swayed between the benefits of both, and all was set to hope into another Weekend League with Onana running the channels all weekend long in the following squad:

Rating: 7/10

Turns out this review was a harsh reminder of why “fun teams” are not so fun when it comes to Weekend League.  In general I would consider myself more positive than most about the game and the enjoyment I get from it… But this review was certainly a test on those feelings.  It was clear going into this review that Onana would not be a meta warrior carrying my squad, yet I somehow convinced myself that everything was going to be alright and I would get contributions from Onana when presented with the opportunities.  In the end the 5 goals and 3 assists were the result of some weaker opponents after some humbling defeats and while Onana can have his moments, they were simply too few and infar between.

Main Statistics – Physical

Physical Rating: 9/10 

PlayStyles: Relentless

In probably the biggest plot twist of the entire weekend, Onana turned out to be a solid defensive option in the 4-5-1(2) formation that I was utilizing.  Due to the fact that Onana is an attacker I omitted a defensive rating, but Onana was actually good.  The 93 SPRINT SPEED and CONTROLLED AcceleRATE seemed to mesh and produce a closing speed that any CDM would envy and my opponents really struggled to produce down that side of the pitch.  Keeping with the defensive theme Onana’s 83 STAMINA & RELENTLESS PlayStyle were another solid combination and well into matches he was still closing down opponents and sprinting up and down the touch line.  The 94 STRENGTH meant that any shoulder challenges were easily won and again was just a surprising quality I was not expecting at all. 

Given this was an attacking review it was also nice to see some of Onana’s “strengths” result in production in the attacking third. More than once Onana was able to set up teammates for easy finishes by simply being too big for opponents to deal with in the air.  190cm | 6’3 is of course tall for a winger and if I am honest was the root of more problems than good, but in this case it was a key weapon at the back post as the 94 JUMPING created a handful to deal with. 

Value/Coins

Value/Coins: 2/5

This is a bit harsh, but honestly this is a discard card with a 30k minimum price range.  I was hoping this would be a “cheap beast you have to try” review but I simply can’t make it up.  Worth noting that the gameplay was exceptionally poor on Friday evening and that is always going to affect a card like this more than most… But watching Ze Roberto (who is insane and an actual must try/get) still fly around the pitch did highlight more how “stuck in the mud” Onana felt.  In attempting to get a few more clips I went into a RIVALS match later and with the game play much improved Onana did feel better, but nowhere near the top performers in my squad.

Good vs. Bad 

Good vs Bad Rating: 3/5

Still not all bad…

+ The Passing with this card is another bright spot and would have been even more effective if I could have found Onana in better areas more consistently.  The trifecta of PINGED PASS, WHIPPED PASS, & LONG BALL PASS are a quality combination and were made better by the 94 VISION, SHORT PASSING & LONG PASSING.  

But still pretty bad…

- If you have been paying attention you will notice that all of the statistics I have used involve the ENGINE Chemistry Style and that is because the DEADEYE was a complete disaster.  At least with the ENGINE I could get Onana moving a bit but it was still really poor.  Sure, let's say it is a skill issue and if I utilized the 5 STAR SKILLS more I would have had better results… but the fact that the 95 AGILITY & 99 BALANCE with 93 DRIBBLING felt like trying to Tokyo Drift a cruise ship still remains.   

- This card needed both RAPID & QUICK STEP in the worst way and could have even benefitted from a more Pace oriented AcceleRATE.  The 95 ACCELERATION is especially poor and the 93 SPRINT SPEED was more effective defensively and at times a weapon going forward.

- Had all of this been poor and Onana still scored 10 goals it would have been fine.  Again, could I have made some better shot choices at times? Sure.  Should I green-time more shots? Absolutely.  Is Onana still a poor finisher compared to many cards I have used? 100%.  It is almost a troll that you can only use this card off the right with FINESSE Plus on a right footer with a 3 STAR WEAK FOOT (and it felt more like 2 STAR).  Even with the DEADEYE it was no different and only led to less chances given how difficult it was to move Onana around the pitch… The change to ENGINE then left 82 FINISHING and the rest is history.

Closing Words

I could go on and on with this one and I apologise for a negative feeling review as there is enough of that floating around in general, but this went pretty bad.  Even the attacking AI felt really out to lunch at times as Onana would run in the opposite direction of where I was expecting him… Interestingly enough, always into more defensive areas and preventing a lot of counter attacks from materializing, but not what you want in attacking phases.  Just one of those situations where nothing seemed to work and certainly not making the cheap beasts lists for FC25.  Save yourself the time and try some of the other intriguing options from the promo, I hope your experience goes better than this.

Hoping you are well.  Cheers for reading.