FIFA 18: Best target men to sign on Career Mode

Looking to keep things simple on FIFA 18? If you're defending under pressure or like to play long balls for your striker to hold the ball up, then you'll be after a man with the ‘target forward’ trait. These players are strong, good in the air and can hold the ball up to bring your midfielders into play. We look at the best target men in the game.

READ: FIFA 19: Best target men to sign on Career Mode

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (OVR 87 – POT 87)

Age: 35

Club: Manchester United

Country: Sweden

Work rate: Medium/Low

Target Man attributes: 86 finishing, 80 heading accuracy, 87 strength

FUT cost: 45,250 PS4/45,250 Xbox One (88 rated)

Career Mode cost: £25 million

Career Mode wage: £163,000 a week

Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s days at Manchester United could be numbered due to his fitness struggles after a serious knee injury. The 35-year-old showed that age is just a number last season, scoring 28 goals in all competitions, and he would have surely broken 30 if it hadn’t been for that injury.

The former Swedish international has an 87 overall rating on FIFA 18, which will cost around £25 million on Career Mode. The six foot five striker has wages of £163,000 a week with target man attributes of 86 finishing, 80 heading accuracy and 87 strength. On Ultimate Team you will need 45,250 coins on both PS4 and Xbox One.

Romelu Lukaku (OVR 86 – POT 90)

Age: 24

Club: Manchester United

Country: Sweden

Work rate: Medium/Medium

Target Man attributes: 88 finishing, 87 heading accuracy, 93 strength

FUT cost: 58,500 PS4/54,000 Xbox One

Career Mode cost: £99.9 million (release clause)

Career Mode wage: £185,000 a week

Staying at Old Trafford, Romelu Lukaku is also a target man but with added pace. The 24-year-old Belgian banged in 26 goals for Everton last season but has been inconsistent since making the £75 million switch to Manchester United. Despite those reported struggles, you can’t argue against his 18 goals in 34 games so far in the campaign. 

On Career Mode, you'll need a hefty £99.9 million to dislodge Lukaku from United, but you must wait until January to make a move for him. His wages of £185,000 a week come with an 86 overall and 90 potential. 88 finishing, 87 heading accuracy and 93 strength mean he can be the man to tuck the ball home in the box. You will need 58,500 coins on PS4 and 54,000 on Xbox One for Lukaku on Ultimate Team. 

Edin Dzeko (OVR 84 – POT 84)

Age: 31

Club: Roma

Country: Bosnia-Herzegovina

Work rate: Medium/Medium

Target Man attributes: 87 finishing, 84 heading accuracy, 82 strength

FUT cost: 3,900 PS4/4,100 Xbox One

Career Mode cost: £41.9 million (release clause)

Career Mode wage: £101,000 a week

Subject to recent interest from Chelsea, Edin Dzeko is one of the best all-round strikers in the world. The 31-year-old Bosnian enjoyed the best season of his career last year, scoring 39 goals for Roma, but you feel he will never add to his three league titles if he remains in Italy.

Dzeko has attributes of 87 finishing, 84 heading accuracy and 82 strength to give him an 84 overall rating. It will take £41.9 million to snatch him from Roma, with wages of £101,000 a week. On Ultimate Team you only need 3,900 coins on PS4 and 4,100 on Xbox One. 

Radamel Falcao (OVR 84 – POT 84)

Age: 31

Club: AS Monaco

Country: Colombia

Work rate: High/Medium

Target Man attributes: 87 finishing, 90 heading accuracy, 75 strength

FUT cost: 3,900 PS4/3,800 Xbox One

Career Mode cost: £46.8 million (release clause)

Career Mode wage: £60,000 a week

Radamel Falcao used to be one of the most feared strikers in Europe, but a knee injury prevented him from making it right to the top of the game. He's since recaptured his form at Monaco, notching 50 goals since the start of last season. 

The Colombian has attributes of 87 finishing, 90 heading accuracy and 75 strength on FIFA 18, which give him an 84 overall. Falcao, 31, will cost £46.8 million on Career Mode with wages of £60,000 a week, and you will only need around 3,800 coins on both consoles to snap him up on Ultimate Team.

Aritz Aduriz (OVR 84 – POT 84)

Age: 36

Club: Athletic Bilbao

Country: Spain

Work rate: High/Medium

Target Man attributes: 85 finishing, 94 heading accuracy, 85 strength

FUT cost: 4,100 PS4/4,300 Xbox One

Career Mode cost: £17 million 

Career Mode wage: £33,000 a week

A man who doesn’t seem to stop is Athletic Bilbao striker Aritz Aduriz. Now 36, the Spaniard has scored 138 goals across five and a half seasons for the Basque club which earned him a late call up to the international side aged 29.

Aduriz will set you back around £17 million on Career Mode, with wages of £33,000 a week. His 84 overall rating consists of stats of 85 finishing, 94 heading accuracy and 85 strength, which will cost 4,100 FUT coins on PS4 and 4,300 on Xbox One. 

Bas Dost (OVR 83 – POT 83)

Age: 28

Club: Sporting Lisbon

Country: Netherlands

Work rate: Medium/Medium

Target Man attributes: 87 finishing, 93 heading accuracy, 89 strength

FUT cost: 1,900 PS4/1,900 Xbox One

Career Mode cost: £47.5 million (release clause)

Career Mode wage: £24,000 a week

Bas Dost is your true old-fashioned number nine. The Dutchman has bagged 53 goals in just 49 league games since arriving at Sporting Lisbon last season, making him one of the deadliest finishers in Europe. 

The 28-year-old Dost has attributes of 87 finishing, 93 heading accuracy and 89 strength on the game, giving him an overall rating of 83. On Career Mode you are looking at £47.5 million to get hold of him, with wages upwards of £24,000 a week. 1,900 coins over both consoles will be enough to get Dost on Ultimate Team.

Simone Zaza (OVR 82 – POT 83)

Age: 26

Club: Valencia

Country: Italy

Work rate: High/High

Target Man attributes: 82 finishing, 81 heading accuracy, 86 strength

FUT cost: 750 PS4/750 Xbox One

Career Mode cost: £36 million

Career Mode wage: £42,000 a week

It’s been a serious change in fortunes for Simone Zaza, who featured 11 times for West Ham last season without recording a single goal. That loan spell from Juventus was cut short, and he was then sent to Spanish side Valencia for who his has netted 16 goals in 18 months.

The Italian international, 26, has an 82 overall rating on FIFA 18 which can rise to a potential of 83 on Career Mode. It will take £36 million to buy Zaza, with wages of £42,000 a week. As for Ultimate Team, you will need 750 coins on both consoles to get his attributes of 82 finishing, 81 heading accuracy and 86 strength. 

Olivier Giroud (OVR 82 – POT 82)

Age: 31

Club: Arsenal

Country: France

Work rate: Medium/Medium

Target Man attributes: 83 finishing, 90 heading accuracy, 90 strength

FUT cost: 1,300 PS4/1,200 Xbox One

Career Mode cost: £35.9 million (release clause)

Career Mode wage: £123,000 a week

Now at Chelsea, Olivier Giroud suffered at Arsenal since the £47 million arrival of countryman Alexandre Lacazette. The 30-year-old Giroud’s World Cup place with France is now in doubt, but you can’t argue with his return at Arsenal, with 105 goals across five and a half seasons.

The 31-year-old Giroud is one of the worlds best players in the air, as shown by his 83 finishing, 90 heading accuracy and 90 strength. Those stats give him an 82 overall, which will cost £35.9 million on Career Mode with wages of £123,000 a week. The Frenchman will set you back 1,300 coins on PS4 and 1,200 on Xbox One for Ultimate Team. 

Mario Gomez (OVR 81 – POT 81)

Age: 32

Club: VfB Stuttgart

Country: Germany

Work rate: High/Medium

Target Man attributes: 83 finishing, 82 heading accuracy, 86 strength

FUT cost: 900 PS4/900 Xbox One

Career Mode cost: £23.9 million (release clause)

Career Mode wage: £33,000 a week

Mario Gomez has returned to first club Stuttgart in a bid to make it to the World Cup in Russia this summer. The 32-year-old scored 18 goals for Wolfsburg last season, but with just one strike so far in the current campaign, he's decided to go back to where it all began.

Gomez’s 81 overall rating consists of 83 finishing, 82 heading accuracy and 86 strength on the game, which will cost £23.9 million on Career Mode. You will need to wait until the end of the season to move for him though, with his current wages £33,000 a week. On Ultimate Team, you will need just 900 coins on both consoles for the six foot two inch German.

Cenk Tosun (OVR 80 – POT 82)

Age: 26

Club: Everton

Country: Turkey

Work rate: High/Medium

Target Man attributes: 81 finishing, 82 heading accuracy, 80 strength

FUT cost: 450 PS4/500 Xbox One (78 rating)

Career Mode cost: £27 million

Career Mode wage: £33,000 a week

Everton fans will hope new signing Cenk Tosun can be the answer to the Romelu Lukaku shaped hole in their side. The recent arrival from Besiktas bagged 24 goals last season, earning him the £27 million move to the Premier League.

The Turkish striker has an 80 overall which can improve to an 82 potential. Stats of 81 finishing, 82 heading accuracy and 80 strength will cost you around £27 million on Career Mode, with wages upwards of £33,000 a week. His 78 rated Ultimate Team card is prices at 450 coins on PS4 and 500 on Xbox One. 

More target men

Player
Age
Club
Country
FIN
HEAD
STR
OVR/ POT
Sergi Enrich
27
Eibar
Spain
83
80
83
80/ 81
Christian Benteke
29
Crystal Palace
Belgium
78
88
90
80/ 81
Islam Slimani
29
Leicester
Algeria
78
83
84
80/ 80
Lucas Pratto
29
River Plate
Argentina
82
79
87
80/ 80
Bafetimbi Gomis
31
Galatasaray
France
82
81
84
80/ 80
Antonio Sanabria
21
Real Betis
Paraguay
81
77
76
79/ 87
Sandro Wagner
29
Bayern Munich
Germany
83
88
90
79/ 79
Kostas Mitroglou
29
Marseille
Greece
78
83
88
79/ 79
Marouane Fellaini
29
Man United
Belgium
72
91
92
79/ 79
Vedad Ibisevic
32
Hertha Berlin
Bosnia
85
83
79
79/ 79
Emmanuel Adebayor
33
Istanbul Basaksehi
Togo
79
90
80
79/ 79
Sebastien Haller
23
Eintracht Frankfurt
France
79
75
91
78/ 83
Rogelio Funes Mori
26
Monterrey
Argentina
82
77
77
78/ 81
Salomon Rondon
27
West Brom
Venezuela
75
86
86
78/ 78
Artem Dzyuba
28
Zenit
Russia
76
87
93
78/ 78
Alexander Szymanowski
28
Leganes
Argentina
77
67
60
78/ 78
Fernando Llorente
32
Tottenham
Spain
78
90
90
78/ 78
Marco Borriello
35
SPAL
Italy
83
80
78
78/ 78
Jose Sand
36
Cali
Argentina
84
84
71
78/ 78

Who scores the goals for your side on FIFA 18? Let us know in the comments section below. 

Looking for FIFA 18 wonderkids? Just click the link below:

Strikers

Defenders (CBs, RBs & LBs)

Midfielders (CMs, CAMs & CDMs)

Wingers (LMs, RMs, LWs & RWs)

Argentinian Wonderkids

Brazilian Wonderkids

Looking for FIFA 18 young players in other positions? 

Best young strikers

Best young right wingers & right midfielders (RW & RM)

Best young left wingers & left midfielders (LW & LM)

Best young attacking midfielders (CAM)

Best young central midfielders (CM)

Best young defensive midfielders (CDM)

Best young centre backs (CB)

Best young left backs (LB)

Best young right backs (RB)

Best young goalkeepers (GK)

Looking for free players? 

Contract Expiry Signings Ending in 2018 (First Season)

Contract Expiry Signings Ending in 2019 (Second Season)

Contract Expiry Signings Ending in 2020 (Third Season)

Contract Expiry Signings Ending in 2021 (Fourth Season)

Free Agent XI

Looking for other cheap high potential players?

Best cheap high potential centre backs (CB)

Best cheap high potential left backs (LB)

Best cheap high potential right backs (RB)

Best cheap high potential right wingers (RW) & midfielders (RM)

Best cheap high potential left wingers (LW) & midfielders (LM)

Best cheap high potential attacking midfielders (CAM)

Best cheap high potential strikers

On a tight budget? 

Best loan signings

Top hidden gems

Top lower league gems

Looking for tall players?

Tallest strikers

Tallest centre backs

Tallest players

Want to boost your players' stats?

FIFA 18 Chemistry Styles: The Ultimate Guide

This Article's Topics

Explore new topics and discover content that's right for you!

FIFA
Have an opinion on this article? We'd love to hear it!