Football Manager 2019: Best Bargain Strikers

Goals win games, but goal-scorers can be hard to find and expensive to buy. You only have to look at the recent transfer costs of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, and Cristiano Ronaldo to see just how costly the best attackers in the world can be. Not every team is armed with £100+ million to spend though, so how can you improve the lesser teams and try to turn them into competitors? Well, there are plenty of quality forwards that don't cost the world to sign.

How to sign the best bargain strikers in Football Manager 2019

We are looking at the best bargain strikers in FM 19. These are players whose natural position is striker and can be purchased for an initial fee of less that £5 million. You may need to experiment with add-ons such as future instalments or lump sums after games played or goals scored, but that doesn't impact your immediate transfer budget like the initial fee does. 

For a full list of all our FM 19 bargain strikers see the table at the bottom of the page.

Andre-Pierre Gignac (CA 146 - PA 153)

Age: 32

Position: ST

Club: Tigres

Country: France

Best Attributes: Work Rate (18), Strength (17), Finishing (16)

Value: £2.8 million

Wage: £68,000 a week

Andre-Pierre Gignac may be an old-timer in your mind, but he is only 32 at the start of Football Manager 2019 and still has some good years ahead of him. The former French international made his name at Toulouse before moving to Olympique Marseille in 2010. He won Ligue 1's golden boot for the 2008-09 season and now plays his club football in Mexico.

Gignac still has very strong goal-scoring skills in FM 19 (16 finishing, 14 heading) and will put a shift in without the ball too (18 work rate, 16 off the ball, 16 determination). He can get physical (17 strength) with defenders as well. Tigres will start negotiations at £3.3 million for Gignac, though his current £68,000 a week contract may be a barrier to several clubs that could otherwise afford him.

Miguel Borja (CA 142 - PA 151)

Age: 25

Position: ST

Club: SEP

Country: Colombia

Best Attributes: Finishing (16), Penalty Taking (15), Heading (15)

Value: £3.7 million

Wage: £13,000 a week

If you would rather a player with several strong years ahead of him then Miguel Borja is one to be considered. At 25 he is yet to break into European football, only having a brief stint in Italy with Livorno, and currently plays for Brazilian side Palmeiras, but he has also won 10 caps for Colombia, scoring three times and has some growth in him too.

In FM 19 he is good in front of goal (16 finishing, 15 heading, 15 penalty taking) and is a well-balanced athlete (13 strength, 13 pace, 13 acceleration, 13 natural fitness) with some good mental attributes too (14 composure, 14 off the ball, 14 decisions). There is still a little growth to come from Borja, but he pushes the category of bargain. You'll need to use instalments and add-ons to get him while paying only £5 million in initial fees.

Fabio Quagliarella (CA 140 - PA 152)

Age: 35

Position: ST

Club: Sampdoria

Country: Italy

Best Attributes: Work Rate (19), Leadership (19), Finishing (16)

Value: £1 million

Wage: £38,500 a week

Another name from yester-year, Fabio Quagliarella is still a potent striker. He started his career with Torino and has played for a lot of Italian sides during his career, including Udinese, Napoli, and Juventus. Now with Sampdoria, Quagliarella is still banging in the goals.

In FM 19 Quagliarella has excellent mental attributes (19 leadership, 19 work rate, 16 teamwork) and is still fantastic in front of goal (16 finishing, 16 penalty taking, 14 heading). He can also help in build up play (15 technique, 15 passing) and still has some athleticism (14 natural fitness, 13 pace, 12 strength).

David Villa (CA 138 - PA 183)

Age: 36

Position: AM (L), ST

Club: New York City FC

Country: Spain 

Best Attributes: Finishing (18), Penalty Taking (17), Off The Ball (17)

Value: £200,000

Wage: £83,000 a week

David Villa was the spearhead for Spain during their golden run from 2008 to 2012, he won 98 caps and scored 59 goals for his country while helping Valencia lift a Copa del Rey and then Barcelona win everything. He has been playing in the MLS since 2014 and has scored over 70 goals for New York City.

In FM 19 David Villa is still an immense goal-scoring talent (18 finishing, 17 penalty taking). He doesn't have much athleticism left but he can get involved in build up play (16 technique, 13 crossing, 12 passing) and is available for less than £1 million, as long as you can afford his wages.

Gustavo Bou (CA 138 - PA 140)

Age: 28

Position: ST

Club: Racing Club

Country: Argentina

Best Attributes: Finishing (16), Bravery (16), Technique (15)

Value: £500,000

Wage: £9,000 a week

Gustavo Bou has spent his whole career in South and Latin America, but that doesn't mean he has nothing to offer a European club in Football Manager 2019. He has been putting away goals for Racing Club over the last few years, scoring 45 in 100 games with them.

In FM 19 Bou is good in front of goal (16 finishing, 15 penalty taking, 14 first touch). He also has some good physical attributes (14 strength, 14 acceleration) and mental attributes (16 bravery, 14 composure, 14 off the ball). There isn't a lot of improvement to come from Bou, but he is a solid, and cheap, striker right now.

Mauro Boselli (CA 137 - PA 142)

Age: 33

Position: ST

Club: Leon

Country: Argentina

Best Attributes: Penalty Taking (16), Stamina (16), Finishing (15)

Value: £750,000 

Wage: £17,000 a week

Mauro Boselli has moved around a lot in his career. He started with Boca Juniors, but soon found himself on loan with Malaga, and then he made a £6.5 million move to Wigan to play in the Premier League. He spent some time with Italian sides genoa and Palermo too. In 2013 he moved to his current team Leon in Mexico and has scored over 100 goals for them.

At 33 Mauro Boselli doesn't have much of a future in FM 19, but in the short term he is a good option for clubs. He's strong in front of goal (16 penalty taking, 15 finishing, 15 heading) and has good physical traits for a player of his age (16 stamina, 15 strength, 13 pace). He also has very good mental attributes (15 concentration, 15 decisions, 15 off the ball).

Paolo Guerrero (CA 137 - PA 149)

Age: 34

Position: ST

Club: INT

Country: Peru

Best Attributes: First Touch (16), Heading (15), Off The Ball (15)

Value: £2.5 million

Wage: £34,500 a week

Paolo Guerrero started his career with Alianza Lima before moving to Bayern Munich in 2002. He played just 27 games for the german giants before moving to Hamburg where he played six seasons. In 2012 he moved back to South America, playing with Corinthians for a few years before moving to Flamengo in 2015 and then to Internacional in 2018.

In FM 19 Guerrero is still deadly in front of goal (16 first touch, 14 finishing, 13 penalty taking) and has solid mental attributes to go with it (15 off the ball, 14 leadership, 13 bravery). You'll need to use instalments or appearance clauses to keep the initial payment below £5 million, but if you need a striker for today Paolo Guerrero is a good option. 

Ze Luis (CA 137 - PA 139)

Age: 27

Position: ST

Club: Spartak Moscow

Country: Cape Verde

Best Attributes: Determination (16), Teamwork (16), Flair (16)

Value: £3.5 million

Wage: £34,500 a week

Ze Luis started his career with Gil Vicente in Portugal, making his debut in 2009 before moving to Braga in 2011. He didn't play much there, spending time on loan and with the reserves for the most part, before moving to Spartak Moscow in 2015.

In FM 19 Ze Luis is a reasonable striker. He has solid physical traits (15 stamina, 14 pace, 13 strength), as well as some very good mental attributes (16 determination, 16 flair, 16 teamwork). He is good on the ball (15 first touch, 15 technique, 12 passing) but does struggle in front of goal (10 finishing).

Dayro Moreno (CA 137 - PA 140)

Age: 32

Position: AM (C), ST

Club: Atletico Nacional

Country: Colombia

Best Attributes: Off The Ball (16), Flair (15), Finishing (14)

Value: £43,000

Wage: £1,400 a week

Dayro Moreno has spent the majority of his career in South and Central America. He started his career with Once Caldas but soon bounced around. He spent most of his time with Tijuana and is now at Atletico Nacional. He has also won over 30 caps for Colombia, scoring three times.

In FM 19 he has good mental attributes (16 off the ball, 15 flair, 14 determination) and solid physical traits (14 pace, 14 stamina, 12 strength). With that he is deadly in front of goal (14 finishing, 14 penalty taking) and he can participate in build up play too (14 technique, 13 passing).

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (CA 137 - PA 162)

Age: 34

Position: ST

Club: Ajax

Country: Holland

Best Attributes: Finishing (18), Concentration (18), Anticipation (18)

Value: £625,000 

Wage: £17,250 a week

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar started his career with Ajax before making a one-year move to Real Madrid, from there he went to AC Milan and then Schalke, where he settled down for seven years before returning to Ajax. He is a powerful striker, but aging now.

In FM 19 he is an incredibly deadly striker (18 finishing, 18 anticipation, 17 penalty taking). He has very good mental attributes to go with his experience (18 concentration, 17 off the ball, 16 composure). He isn't much of an athlete but has reasonable strength (13) and jumping (13).

All the best bargain strikers on Football Manager 2019