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 |
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