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Winter Upgrades - La Liga

Potential Winter Refresh Upgrade Squad – La Liga

Winter Refresh, or Ratings Refresh, is a time when players who’ve performed well in the first half of the season receive upgrades to their regular base card ratings & stats. Although the base cards you may have in your club will stay the same, with the newly upgraded cards put into packs in the place of the old version, upgrades for particular players could lead to upgrades to their previously released special cards.

For the purpose of this article, I have selected a squad of 18 La Liga players, consisting of a first XI with 7 more players on the ‘bench’, who’re in contention to receive upgrades during Winter Refresh. This isn’t an exhaustive list of upgrades, as EA tend to upgrade dozens of players for each league, but this is a mixture of the 18 most notable, most interesting, or most deserved, upgrades that could potentially be coming.

These ratings are based on the latest offline database & are not official, they are also not necessarily how I would personally rate the players. Ratings & stats are accurate at the time of posting.

 

GK: Aitor, Levante – 76 to 79

We start with the goalkeeper who has made by far the most saves in La Liga this season. Levante keeper Aitor may have only recorded 2 clean sheets in 21 league appearances, but the Spaniard has made a total of 91 saves this season, 21 more than any other keeper in the division. A big upgrade, despite the low number of clean sheets, would be more than deserved for his efforts at least.

 

RB: Kieran Trippier, Atletico Madrid – 80 to 81

One of the most intriguing transfer stories from the summer transfer window was Kieran Trippier’s move from Tottenham Hotspur to Atletico Madrid. It seems to have been an astute signing though, with Trippier making an instant impact by assisting the winner in his very first league game for the club & has continued playing well since. Both full-backs Atletico Madrid signed in the summer, Kieran Trippier & Renan Lodi, have impressed so far this season, so I’m expecting both of them to receive upgrades.

CB: Raphaël Varane, Real Madrid – 85 to 86

Having already secured himself a couple of informs & a Headliners card this season, it seems Raphaël Varane could also be receiving an upgrade during Winter Refresh. Some would say he deserves to be more than 86-rated, especially as someone like Samuel Umiti, who has struggled for game time with injuries, is also 86 rated, but any upgrade Varane would get would also mean upgrades to all of his informs & his Headliners card, so at least we can take the positives from that.

CB: Mohammed Salisu, Real Valladolid – 68 to 75

Mohammed Salisu may not be a name you’ve heard of much before, but the 20-year-old Ghanaian centre-back has made quite a name for himself. Standing at a lofty 6’3”, Salisu has registered a total of 108 clearances for Real Valladolid so far this season, the most of any La Liga player. His performances must have caught the eyes of EA as he looks set to receive a +7 upgrade, the biggest upgrade of all the players I’ve mentioned in this article.

LB: Sergio Reguilón, Sevilla – 77 to 79

Sergio Reguilón, on-loan from Real Madrid, has enjoyed a hugely successful 1st half of the season at his loan club Sevilla & has been one of the most outstanding left-backs in the league, with only veteran teammate Jesús Navas playing more key passes (as a defender) than he has in the league this season. It’s interesting to think that two of the best left-backs in La Liga this season, Ferland Mendy & Sergio Reguilón, are both Real Madrid players but one doesn’t even play for them right now.

 

CDM: Casemiro, Real Madrid – 87 to 88

Casemiro has been one of Europe’s most outstanding defensive midfielders this season, making 40 interceptions & 70 tackles for Real Madrid in 19 La Liga appearances, both of which are the most by any player in the league. It’s not just his monumental defensive performances that’ve won him plaudits, Casemiro has even found his shooting boots recently, scoring both goals in Real Madrid’s 2-1 win over Sevilla in mid-January.

CM: Toni Kroos, Real Madrid – 88 to 89

Another Real Madrid midfielder that’s caught the eye this season & could potentially be getting an upgrade is Toni Kroos. The deep-lying playmaker keeps Real Madrid’s midfield ticking over exquisitely; Kroos has successfully played 1,217 passes, 45 key passes & has an impressive pass success rate of 94% so far this season. Unfortunately, it appears his athleticism hasn’t improved at all as it looks like his upgraded card will still only have 45 Pace…

CM: Santi Cazorla, Villarreal – 82 to 83

Santi Cazorla is a magician. Plain & simple. When he suffered a series of horrific injuries & unsuccessful surgeries which ended up making things worse, a return to the football pitch must’ve seemed unimaginable. And yet, he conjured his way back, not just for Villarreal either, but for the Spanish national team too. A +1 upgrade seems inadequate for what he’s been through, but he’ll happily accept it.

CAM: Nabil Fekir, Real Betis – 84 to 85

Eyebrows were raised when news broke that the much-coveted Nabil Fekir was moving to Real Betis. Fears of persistent knee injuries perhaps narrowed his career choices, but his form for Betis this season has shown just how good he could be on his day, with the Frenchman registering 4 goals & 1 assist in 17 La Liga appearances so far this season & is only 2nd to Lionel Messi in terms of successful dribbles.

CAM: Martin Ødegaard, Real Sociedad – 78 to 82

While a certain other Norwegian youngster is stealing the headlines in other parts of Europe, Real Sociedad’s Martin Ødegaard has been making waves of his own in northern Spain. The midfielder, on-loan from Real Madrid, has played 49 key passes this season, the 2nd most in the league behind Levante midfielder José Campaña, whilst also registering 4 goals & 5 assists in 19 league appearances. With Håland & Ødegaard both in incredible form, it seems the future of Norwegian football is in capable hands.

 

ST: Karim Benzema, Real Madrid – 87 to 88

It’s odd to think that he was only 84-rated just a year & a half ago, but it appears Karim Benzema is set to receive his highest rated base card in FIFA history. The French striker is 2nd only to Messi in the La Liga goal scoring charts this season & received a Champions League Team of the Group Stage card after scoring 4 goals & assisting 2 more in 6 Group Stage appearances for Real Madrid. For context, Benzema’s highest base rating in FIFA history is 87, which he had in FIFA 13, 17 & 20.

 

Bench:

Ferland Mendy, Real Madrid – 80 to 81

Éver Banega, Sevilla – 83 to 84

Federico Valverde, Real Madrid – 77 to 81

Frenkie de Jong, Barcelona – 85 to 86

Mikel Oyarzabal, Real Sociedad – 82 to 83

Gerard Moreno, Villarreal – 81 to 82

Ezequiel Ávila, Osasuna – 75 to 78

 

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