IF Ben Yedder

You didn’t think we would leave this man out, did you?  TOTW6 brought back a classic FUT favorite in the now Monaco man Wissam Ben Yedder.  While FUT Managers clamored for his OTW and new and improved inform, I was busy trying to figure out how to build a team with this goal machine as the catalyst.  As you will know from my last review, the answer came in the form of Scream Dimitri Payet and the path was set for a successful Weekend League.  Wissam Ben Yedder was the killer blow in the end of the following squad:

Overall

Rating: 8.5/10
Pace Rating: 8/10
Dribbling Rating: 9/10
Shooting Rating: 9.5/10
Passing Rating: 8/10
Physical Rating: 8/10
Defending Rating: N/A

I went with the HUNTER chemistry style this weekend to give that little boost to the pace of Ben Yedder, while the shooting boost also creates some impressive viewing.  99 ACCELERATION & 92 SPRINT SPEED, but I only went with an 8/10 for pace on this one.  Ben Yedder just doesn’t have that pull away speed of other players and it was noticeable up front this weekend.  Especially playing alongside Ousmane Dembélé up front, it was apparent that something is missing there.  Once you move past the pace though this card is lights out that 5 STAR WEAK FOOT is everything you would expect and more.  My favorite thing about this card is that you can beat your opponent in so many ways.  4 STAR SKILLS, pairs nicely with 92 AGILITY & 91 BALANCE … and just about everything about the shooting with this card is class.

Linkability

Rating: 3/5

Exact same as Dimitri Payet earlier in the week, there just aren’t a lot of options to get this card into a hybrid squad.  Honestly, the French connection is the only thing between Ben Yedder and a 2/5 in my mind.  But he is French, and Payet offered a nice option throughout the weekend, and if you have REALLY deep pockets you can go out and get a shiny new TOTW Mbappe to pair with him as well.

Current Game Strength

Rating: 5/5

Kind of interesting that Payet just about matched the goal totals of Ben Yedder coming from the CAM position, yet Ben Yedder gets the higher rating here.  It was obvious in the variety and quality of finishing with Ben Yedder that he had more goals in him this weekend.  The change in formation meant more goal sharing in the squad than I would normally have (which was a good thing), and Ben Yedder scored a lot of key goals in key matches that always made me feel I had a chance.

Value/Coins & Good vs. Bad

Value/Coins Rating: 5/5
Good vs Bad Rating: 5/5

For now, I would say that Ben Yedder is just about worth the coins.  However, if you got in early with this card you are absolutely laughing at this point…. He just won’t stop rising will he!  285k as of this writing is starting to get high though and I wouldn’t want him for much more.  The 250k – 350k range of cards does offer some excellent options and for now I would say Ben Yedder is in good company and not overpriced.  The key here is all in the finishing and even pre-chemistry boost the stats look enticing; post-boost you can have crazy numbers, after a HUNTER the keys for me were 97 POSITIONING (perfect for the small lack of pace), 96 FINISHING (for obvious reasons), and 93 SHOT POWER (for when you want to rip holes in the mesh).  This collection of weapons does lead to some satisfying finishes from what looks like impossible circumstances.

The bad for this card condemned the Frenchman from a 9/10 back down to an 8.5/10 in my books and that was physicality and passing.  The physicality part is, of course, a result of his Antman size minus the strength, leading to defenders squashing him at any opportunity they get.  I think this wouldn’t surprise many.  But given the quality, this man has on the ball the passing is what really drove me insane.  I honestly considered using ARCHITECT at one point as yet another attack broke down in the passing stages.   But then the talisman would rise to the occasion and score a foolish curler from distance into the top bin and we would be back on speaking terms once again… until the next attack.

Closing Words

I really mean it… he can’t go any higher can he?  I hope for the sake of all FUT Managers, but especially those on a budget, that this man starts to drop into a slightly more reasonable range.  Everyone needs a chance to get their hands on this luxury sports car and take him for a spin.  I would love to keep Ben Yedder around for at least one more weekend to see just how good he can be with practice.  However, the difficulty with links, and being too expensive for my bench, means that I will have to wave goodbye to this man with a slight profit (something that seldom happens given when I have to buy players for my reviews).  In the end, I would highly recommend you give this man a spin, especially if you are “doing everything right” but your “strikers just can’t finish.”  Cheers for reading.
 

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