POTM Salah Review

After some absolutely scintillating displays and audacious goals, it was a foregone conclusion that Mohamed Salah would be named the October Player of the Month.  The Egyptian has come into this season in fantastic form and continues to produce performance after performance of the highest standards.  Much of Salah’s real life talents have transferred accurately into the pixelated universe as the Liverpool winger remains a deadly operator this FUT season.  In fact, I can’t name too many cards that have been so lethal in opposition to me and it only makes matters worse as a Liverpool supporter watching number 11 scoring goal after goal past my hapless defences.  With this in mind, I had to jump at the chance to review this card despite the obvious risk of dumping that amount of fodder into an untradeable SBC.  In the end, it was an educated guess that this card would be worth the risk and away I went building the squads… however, there was absolutely no guessing in applying the HAWK chemistry style to this already lethal card… while playing Salah as the left striker in my 4-2-2-2 formation also proved an easy choice.  Mo Salah was the Egyptian King all weekend long in the following squad:


Starting Formation:

Overall

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

I don’t think many of the ratings come as a surprise when you are using a card of this quality.  While the 13 goals and 8 assists proved a well-rounded performance across the Weekend League grind… this card has obviously remained in my squad for Qualifications and Division Rivals Rank I progression… currently sitting on a very healthy 36 goals and 24 assists in 35 matches.  The contributions are consistent, similar to the performances, and I couldn’t be happier that I pulled the trigger when I did… the grind for untradeable fodder certainly seems worth it now.

Main Statistic - Dribbling

Dribbling Rating: 10/10
Pace Rating: 10/10
Skills: ★★★★
Height: 175cm | 5’9

All 90+ Dribbling Statistics should have previewed the quality that Salah can produce on the virtual pitch… but I will be 100% honest in saying that I was not expecting this.  If you rely on left stick dribbling Salah is a must try, must use, will 100% enjoy this option.  The 97 ACCELERATION & 99 SPRINT SPEED are some of the best I have used and the R2 boost literally rockets Salah forward into attack.  The 94 AGILITY & 94 BALANCE make Salah responsive and deceptive in and around the box… while the 92 BALL CONTROL felt flawless in those tighter spaces.  Perhaps the most effective of all the dribbling statistics come in the form of 93 COMPOSURE which has ice flowing through this card's veins, ultimately benefiting the Dribbling, Passing and most importantly Shooting in congested areas of the pitch.

Main Attribute - Shooting Traits

Shooting Rating: 9/10
Weak Foot: ★★★
Traits: Outside Foot Shot, Finesse Shot

The weak foot of this card is the only reason I even considered a 9/10 overall rating… the card is a clear 9.5/10 performer but how can you highly rate an essentially one footed card?  I will definitely sit here and tell you that the right foot with Salah feels more like a 4 STAR WEAK FOOT and this is not only from experience on the good side of his right footed goals… but also from the opposite end in frustration as my opponents Salah scored right footed bangers against me this weekend and in the past.  Yet, you still can’t 100% rely on it which brings me to the Shooting Traits.  If you take the time to watch the video you will see moments where Salah literally does everything in his power to shape his body and take should-be-right footed shots, with his more favorite left.  The Outside Foot Shot Trait proves vital as Salah can still pelt the ball with his 96 SHOT POWER… with the devastating accuracy of 99 FINISHING.  I have even found myself taking more and more outside of the box finesse shots with Salah since the review… the 98 LONG SHOTS and Finesse Trait producing some absolute bangers that I wish I would have had for the video.

Value/Coins & Good vs. Bad

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

This is where the ultimate argument comes down to surrounding this card.  So I will get the Good/Bad out of the way by saying that Salah’s 86 STRENGTH is not fair given all of his other dazzling statistics and traits… and the 89 SHORT PASSING leaves you asking what this card can’t do.  With that out of the way let’s dive into this card's value.  This card is currently 952k based on FUTBIN estimated prices and I would argue he performs at the level of a million coin card.  I seriously believe that.  The issue comes when you look at 91 Salah for under 500k and ask “what can the 92 POTM do that 91 really can’t”.  The answer here is nothing really and the question becomes does this affect card value? If you believe so this card is more like a 3.5/5 Value for Coins.  This matter is made even worse when you consider that I completed the SBC for only 775k a week ago.  The inflation to fodder has really hindered the “you should complete” message I would have been previously suggesting.  However, with more and more grindable objectives you can take a lot of the SBC cost down… but either way, you will pay a heavy price for this SBC in the form of time (objective cards), future SBC completion (using your high rated untradable fodder) and/or of course your hard earned coins.  

Closing Words

I won’t sit here and tell you that this card is not worth one million coins because I would be lying to myself.  The card is insane and I am more than happy at the 775k I got him for (mostly with untradeable cards in the end) and I have reaped those rewards during this review and since then.  However, I also won’t sit here and say that you should complete this card with coins either.  If you have the coins, then the 91 SIF Salah is the option I would recommend… still an amazing card that you can trade in and upgrade over time.  But finally, if you are sitting there thinking about rolling the dice with your fodder on 500k Base Icon packs or 250k Hero packs then I would 100% recommend this card instead.  True the thrill won’t be there… but the result is a guaranteed 90+ Pace, Dribbling & Shooting card with 85+ Passing and 80+ Physical… Unbelievable returns for your grind.  Hoping you are safe and well.  Cheers for reading.  

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