Summer Stars Locatelli Review

Bigger. Better. Faster. Stronger.  Certainly, the going trend for cards lately is for EA to give them the juice… resulting in a situation where I end up sitting staring at my squad wondering… what next?  For this weekend it was the return of some familiar faces, mixed with the addition of the SummerStars Italian tandem in Manuel Locatelli and the ever so unfortunate Leonardo Spinazzola (who we wish a speedy recovery).  While this review is set to focus on Locatelli and his midfield prowess, I just want to confirm that Spinazzola is every bit the player in-game that his statistics would suggest… a very nice strong link for an amazing combined price tag.  Diving into the Locatelli review it was clear that you can have your choice on where to play this card, with one single statistic off of a Total 90 member it is easy to see how Locatelli could fill the void in any position around the pitch… so that is what we did.  If you have watched my formation guide on YouTube: MaeNine then you will know that 4-2-2-2 continues to be my go-to formation, and so this weekend I played Locatelli as the more holding CDM, more attacking CDM and finally as the RAM across the 15 match review.  In the more attaching positions, it made sense to use the HUNTER chemistry style, while an ANCHOR did the trick perfectly as the holding CDM.  Locatelli, was the well-rounded threat all weekend in the following squad:

Starting Formation:

Overall

Rating: 9/10
Pace Rating: 9/10
Dribbling Rating: 9/10
Shooting Rating: 7/10
Passing Rating: 10/10
Physical Rating: 9/10
Defending Rating: 9/10

It simply can’t wait.. we have to talk about the price of this card and the value for coins immediately.  130k!  Based on my trading history I will offer no comment on where this price will go from here… but what I can say definitively is that this value for coins is insane.  True, the 4 STAR SKILLS are not at that perfect level that so many cards currently sit… and even worse the 3 STAR WEAK FOOT all but sinks this card in many minds.  Okay, I’ll even concede that the league and certainly the club leaves a lot to be desired in many meta squads. But even beyond these issues, it can’t be denied that this has to be one of the stat for stat cheapest cards in the game.   

Main Statistic - Dribbling

Passing Rating: 10/10
Weak Foot: ***

Despite 5 matches as a holding CDM, Locatelli still managed to chip in 9 assists in 15 matches during what was a sweaty Weekend League.  I swear everyone I played seemed dead set on getting there 22 win player picks … or maybe everyone just wanted Gold 3 as quickly as possible to get out of playing in July… regardless, Locatelli was a key offensive contributor in his 10 more advanced games despite all of the shenanigans we faced throughout the weekend.  I mentioned the Weak Foot above as I really didn’t notice it in the passing at all despite it becoming a serious issue in front of goal while shooting during the review.  All in all the vision and accuracy were always on point and Locatelli helped dictate a lot of what I did well in the midfield throughout the weekend. 

Main Attribute - 90 Gang-ish

Defending Rating: 9/10
Physical Rating: 9/10
Pace Rating: 9/10

This card was eerily similar to Wijnaldum in a lot of ways and the two player review ratings mirror those similarities.  However, I would say that Wijnaldum has just that little bit more in the attacking third… while Locatelli holds the edge in the defensive department.  I truly believe that Locatelli would have been closer to a 9.5/10 if he was just slightly shorter in real life, which could transfer to his pixelated form.  In the end, the added height was perfect for reaching into tackles or breaking up play… but at the same time hindered the mobility and dribbling.  The Med/Med work rates also make Locatelli a more suited defensive minded player and he certainly took the Stay Back While Attacking role seriously when asked to do so.

Value/Coins & Good vs. Bad 

Good vs Bad Rating: 5/5

While 6 goals in 15 matches is a healthy enough return for an out and out midfielder… it could have been at least 5 or 6 more if it were not for the extremely frustrating weak foot on this card.  Despite the wonderfully impressive 90 FINISHING, 99 SHOT POWER, 99 LONG SHOTS & 99 VOLLEYS it simply did not matter on the left side in front of goal.  There are one or two miracles in the video to demonstrate that it is possible, but overall it did not go well.  But after that, this card checked all of the boxes you would expect and more and more I saw him as an amazing ball playing CDM or deeper lying CM.  Yes, as a CAM you get a very nice passing upside… but the more I used this card the more I was reminded of FUT Freeze Marquinhos when he came out.  I can still remember how impressed I was with the passes Marquinhos could pick out.. how he used his size and positioning defensively, with sneaky quickness and quality dribbling for a taller card… And for me, Locatelli is just the July-boost-to-compete version of that card when it came out, which is a terrific compliment I might add.

Closing Words

In the end, I would strongly recommend the Spinazzola - Locatelli link if you are wanting to try something a little different for the upcoming week/weekend.  Locatelli has an excellent upside in the middle of the pitch and can patrol the area in front of the backline brilliantly… while offering an excellent offensive threat when needed.  I would say again that Locatelli falls very nicely into the category of midfielders such as FoF Wijnaldum who can compete match in and match out without much fuss, while not completely dominating a match in the fashion of a SummerStars Marcos Acuña (who I played CONSTANTLY this weekend).  In the end, you literally can not beat the price tag on this one and he should certainly be alongside Spinazzola on any small budget must-have list.  Hope you are doing well.  Cheers for reading.

Game Stats:
 

Game Highlights: