TOTGS Mertens

Another day, another promo, another set of lightning rounds, and with that, the TOTGS players entered into the market with a bang this past weekend.  My mate who has not played FIFA in four years (the lucky so and so) has just come back to the game and can’t believe the amount of different cards available … and honestly, it is crazy to think about.  There were a few standouts from this group and I decided to avoid some of the leagues that get a strong focus, and move into the Serie A with Napoli’s Belgian starlet Dries Mertens. With Mertens standing alongside IF Mbappé this weekend I was interested to see if he would be overshadowed by the Frenchman’s class … and to my surprise, he stood just as tall (figuratively) and at times stole the limelight completely.  Mertens was the spinning top in the following squad: 
 

Overall

Rating: 9/10
Pace Rating: 9/10
Dribbling Rating: 9.8/10
Shooting Rating: 9/10
Passing Rating: 9/10
Physical Rating: N/A
Defending Rating: N/A

No mistake in the overall ratings, this lad’s strength is actually not available, and sometimes his teammates are too zealous with their passes … they come in too quickly … and bowl Mertens over from the power.  I couldn’t wait for the Good/Bad section and just had to get this out there, he is shockingly frail.  Yet, after every match as I had a small pep talk with Dries about being stronger on the ball in possession, he would simply point to the scoreboard as yet another contribution had led to a timely victory.  21 games (I got caught up in the moment and missed 20), 30 goals and 9 assists … and worth noting that I did not score until his third match.  Not that he was a slow starter, I was just feeling out the best way to deploy his talents.

Linkability

Rating: 4/5

I went with a four in this case due to the middle position, solid league, ever enticing looking club connections, and the Belgian options.  There are numerous ways to cram Mertens into the overhead compartment of any squad.  In this case, I went for Allan (9.3/10) and Koulibaly (8/10) as they provided not only quality links, but strong play as well. 

Current Game Strength 

Rating: 5/5

The current game relies a lot on quickness (95 ACCELERATION), tight dribbling (96 AGILITY & 94 BALANCE), and of course finishing (4 STAR WEAK FOOT & 99 FINISHING).  So there is no doubt Mertens is perfect for the current state of FIFA and will have a lot to offer any squad.  I have not used a player this entire FIFA who scored as many quality goals as consistently as Mertens did this weekend.  I normally clip goals early in the review regardless of quality, and then try to offer the best snapshots of a player and therefore cut out tap in goals, or goals that seem to have EA shenanigans written all over them.  In the case of Mertens, I am sat here with a two minute excess of footage that I will eventually have to cut.  This card simply scores class goals at an unrelenting pace. 

Value/Coins & Good vs. Bad

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

Lightning rounds and CL packs have left this card temporarily at 400k and I can’t overstate how good of value that is for this card.  Even at the 440k, he has been floating around it is a green light from me, with consistency around goal my key selling point.  The variety of finishes that this card executes with consistent and potent accuracy is beyond enjoyable.  It feels like hard work and persistence pays off when this card finds the back of the net at the end of any promising move.

The bad has been stated, and it is really bad.  For some FUT Managers, this is a borderline unusable quality based on their play style.  However, I found the positive qualities far outweighed the downside and like MC Hammer, no one was touching Mertens this Weekend League.  If responsive dribbling is a key part of your game and you are having trouble finding the right man for your squad … it is worth making a spot for this man.  Check out the video for proof, I have placed a perfect example on the first clip even if you do not have time for the entire Mertens master class.  

Closing Words

Two very different reviews with Mertens and IF Mbappé this weekend.  It is always a good reminder of the different ways you can create assists and scoring chances within the game.  Obviously Mbappé was the superior option and rightly so given his price tag.  But Mertens did not shy away from the challenge and I never found myself passing up chances with the Belgian to “get the ball to my stronger forward.”  Furthermore, Mertens can give any FUT Managers looking for links to the sheer pleasure of having RTTF Allan in the midfield – the man is a brick wall that can move at the speed of a fighter jet, simply destroying opponents as he flies by.  But I digress… and that wraps up another Weekend League installment … Mertens was class … just don’t ask him to carry the heavy water bottles to the pitch. Cheers for reading.

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