FC 25 96 Flashback Neuer Player Review - Cop or Flop

We are just days away from the biggest promo of the FC25 game cycle and with Shapeshifters coming to an end, today we flashback to a previous Shapeshifter item in the form of Manuel Neuer! That’s right, today a Shapeshifter Neuer card has dropped as an SBC item which pays homage to his Fifa 23 Shapeshifter striker card. 

This item marks the first time since the beginning of the FC rebrand that Neuer has earned himself a special card, and what an item this is. Obviously, we can’t really compare him to his base item being that this is a Goalkeeper at striker. But he comes with 95 pace, 96 shooting, 90 passing, 94 dribbling, and 96 physicals. An overall boost of +10 and of course he comes with 4 playstyle pluses in Pinged Pass, Rapid, Aerial and Low Driven. 

It’s worth noting that this Neuer card can also play in the CAM and CM position but for the purposes of this, we will of course, be playing him at Striker. My biggest gripe with Shapeshifter cards such as this one, which comes with various positions, is that the Playstyles seem to cater to all of those positions. Whilst it creates a level of versatility, it also means his set of playstyles doesn’t blend quite right. 

Hawk is the clear choice for Chemstyle here as this maxes out his Pace, Shooting, and Physical stats. Making him a real threat upfront. 

Here are the following segments to unlock the Flashback Neuer SBC:

Germany

# of players from Germany: Min 1

Squad Rating: Min 88

# of players in squad: 11

Top Form

Any TOTS or TOTW: Min 1

Squad Rating: Min 89

# of players in squad: 11

Bundesliga

# of players from Bundesliga: Min 1

Squad Rating: Min 90

# of players in squad: 11

91-Rated Squad

Squad Rating: Min 91

# of players in squad: 11

4 Segments in total to complete this SBC. Whilst the price doesn’t seem awful, my real concern here is that there are already a few Striker options out there and it’s really worthwhile noting that the Shapeshifter items all have special chem boosts, whilst this Flashback item does not. Only a small factor but certainly worth noting. The absence of 5*/5* for weak foot and skill moves also plays into the popularity of this SBC.

How did he perform in-game?

+ Shooting on this item is a clear and obvious win. He has that low driven plus, which is a necessity for any elite-tier striker.

+ The pace on this item was quite impressive. Having the Rapid+ allowed him to really make strong use of those speed boosts, which was then aided nicely by his physicals.

+ Speaking of the Physicals of this card, that high strength and aggression allowed him to make light work of any defenders pressed in front of him. High Jumping and Aerial+ made crosses a breeze as he won every battle in the air. Even giving the likes of Van Dijk some trouble.

/ Something didn’t feel right about his dribbling. He has technical and overall high dribbling stats, but at times, he felt quite clunky.

Neuer - Cop or Flop?

This isn’t a particularly expensive SBC, coming in at 200k to complete. But something for me just didn’t feel right. The set of Playstyle Pluses were a strange combo for a striker. He does have the Low Driven but honestly, at this stage, what strikers don’t? Futties is only a few days away now and I feel at this stage of the game, unless the card is going to absolutely “wow” on the field, then it likely is worth a miss.

It’s a shame as I was really hoping to enjoy this Neuer card but unfortunately, he didn’t quite make the impact on the field. This may be one to miss and save some fodder.

Verdict = FLOP