IVlaeThird time's a charm for our reviews in FIFA 23 as we all start to slowly understand the complexities of this game. The hope would be that as we start to dial in the skills required to compete and succeed… These reviews begin to dial in for accuracy.
In trying to form my own opinions about this card I was quick to apply the HUNTER chemistry style while noting that there are some good shouts for the HAWK as well.
Nkunku slotted in alongside Dembélé as the second striker in my 4-2-2-2 formation, but for this review, I applied player instructions to the tune of Basic Defensive Support and False 9 positioning. For the most part this created more space for Nkunku to operate and was largely a success.
Nkunku was the supplier with a touch of finish across 15 matches in the following squad:
Starting Formation
In Game Formation
Overall
Rating: 8.5/10
Pace Rating: 8/10
Dribbling Rating: 9/10
Shooting Rating: 8/10
Passing Rating: 8/10
Physical Rating: 7/10
Defending Rating: N/A
Tough to separate Dembélé and Nkunku in terms of overall quality, which is in large part due to their different styles of play.
While Dembélé offered the pace, guile and finishing in the final third; Nkunku was the metronome of the squad and kept everything ticking over with his poise and quality on the ball.
It is worth noting again that Nkunku was playing in a deeper #10 role on my squad, and therefore wasn’t among the goals as much, but certainly offered the quality needed to orchestrate my attacks.
Main Statistics – Dribbling
Dribbling Rating: 9/10
Pace Rating: 7/10
Skills: ★★★★★
It is interesting that both Dembélé and Nkunku are equipped with the EXPLOSIVE player type… but go about the way they move around the pitch in different ways.
Dembélé is quick and agile with high responsiveness (by FIFA 23 standards) to his movements. In contrast, Nkunku requires more craft and a slower dribble before accelerating out and away from opponents.
With that in mind, it should be said that neither the 95 ACCELERATION nor 97 SPRINT SPEED truly felt like they were operating at those high levels, which hindered the dribbling slightly.
The result of this illusion of pace trickled down to the dribbling and I was certain that the 88 AGILITY & 90 BALANCE were poor in performance.
Upon further testing, it became clear that the 89 DRIBBLING was working perfectly while the pace caused issues.
Value/Coins
Value/Coins Rating: 4/5
The ever-growing price tag with this card could see a drop once TOTW 3 is released. I am essentially writing this article from the past and by the time this is posted this will have happened.
The selection of Timo Werner over Nkunku is a distinct possibility, which could see the Frenchman’s price fall to a more reasonable level.
In the end, in comparison to Dembélé, it is difficult to justify the price tag with this one. He is certainly quality, but not without faults.
Good vs. Bad
Good vs Bad Rating: 4.5/5
11 goals and 13 assists against increasingly strong opponents is both a fantastic return and a nod to how well-rounded the statistics are with this card.
+ 90 ATTACKING POSITIONING, 94 FINISHING, & 83 SHOT POWER combined to produce a nice goal return that far exceeded expectations given his role.
+ 85 VISION, 85 SHORT PASSING & 80 LONG PASSING produced the quality needed to combine play and bring my entire attack into the mix going forward.
+ 78 STRENGTH on a 188cm | 5’9 card should not have felt as robust as it did.
But not everything went exactly according to plan…
- The 3 STAR WEAK FOOT meant that, at times, the class demonstrated on the right foot when Shooting and Passing was simply undone by a lack of quality on his weaker side.
- The EXPLOSIVE player type felt farcical at times.
- While the strength overperformed its value given his size, Nkunku was still subject to frequent possession loss when in physical battles.
Closing Words
To paraphrase the end of my Dembélé review… a card of this price tag needs to have a massive impact on your squad.
While I recognize Nkunku would have been somewhat limited by his starting position, I still feel like he could have contributed more.
The card is undoubtedly class and certainly carries a terrific upside, but he just falls short of that mountainous price tag.
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