FIFA 18: Tottenham Hotspur Career Mode Guide, player ratings, tactics, formations & tips

After two admirable title challenges, it’s now time for Tottenham to win trophies. With a fantastic young squad, they are set for the foreseeable future, making Spurs a fantastic choice on FIFA 18 Career Mode. You may not have the budget of Manchester clubs City and United, but it is more than made up for with talent on the pitch.

Team rating

It’s a 5 star rating on FIFA 18 for Tottenham, with an 82 overall made up by 85 attack, 81 midfield and 82 defence.

With strong depth, Spurs are equipped to fight on all fronts, but do they have the quality to go all the way in Europe and lift the Premier League? With the help of this RealSport guide, you should be able to create history with the North London club.

Formation

Spurs have become a very flexible side under Mauricio Pochettino, with the Argentine using a number of formations during his tenure. His go-to system has been 4-2-3-1, and it should be the same for yourself. Like in real life, 5-2-3, 5-3-2 and 4-3-2-1 are all systems you should consider, so make sure you familiarise yourself with them. 

Captain Hugo Lloris takes his place in goal, with the often unbreakable Belgian pairing of Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen the centre backs in front of him. New signing Serge Aurier comes in at right back, with Danny Rose fighting off competition from Ben Davies on the left.

Victor Wanyama and Moussa Dembele will run the team in defensive midfield, whilst Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli and Heung-Min Son operate behind striker Harry Kane.

On the bench you should go for Michel Vorm (OVR 79), Davinson Sanchez (OVR 81), Ben Davies (79), Eric Dier (82), Erik Lamela (80) and Fernando Llorente (78). For the final spot, it’s a toss-up between the disciplined Moussa Sissoko (78) or pacey Georges-Kevin Nkoudou (77). 

Tactics

In typical Spurs fashion, you should be looking to counter-attack your opponents. When you break, get the ball out to the fast-paced Heung-Min Son (86 sprint speed) on the left, and look to play in lethal finisher Harry Kane (90 finishing).

Against the lesser teams you won’t be able to counter as much, so try and beat players and hit passes with Moussa Dembele (87 dribbling, 86 short passing), and whip balls into the box with Christian Eriksen (86 crossing). With attacking full-backs you should have plenty of numbers going forward but you will need to be patience to break down the opposition.

Training

With so many players at Spurs still yet to reach their peak, your training sessions will be crucial. It is so important that you use the players that aren’t getting regular minutes in training so that their overall rating can improve quicker. 

Be sure to use the high growth players in training to get the most reward. These include Dele Alli, Harry Winks, Davinson Sanchez, Eric Dier and Georges-Kevin for the Lillywhites.

The transfer market

Starting transfer budget: £62.8 million

Starting wage budget: £240,000 a week

Who should go

With Tottenham having such a well-balanced squad, there are no first teamers that need to leave the club. The only big name you could consider selling is Moussa Dembele. The former Newcastle man has a maxed out 78 rating, so he will struggle to get starts for you. With the French international offering a more controlled option out wide, we have decided to keep him, but it is likely that he will only last one more season at Wembley. If you do sell Sissoko, the 27-year-old should get you close to £15 million, with his current wages £74,000 a week.

As for the fringe players, Christian Maghoma, Luke Amos and Paulo Gazzaniga don’t have futures at Tottenham, so look to sell all three for a combined sum of £1.8 million. This will save you £41,000 a week in wages.

Loans

With quite a big gulf between the first team squad and the young prospects, you should look to send a few of your youngsters out on loan. Tashan Oakley-Boothe is the most promising, with the 17-year-old holding an 81 potential. You should loan the central midfielder out to a League One or Two club for a couple of seasons to improve his rating.

All of Brandon Austin, Kazaiah Sterling, Samuel Shashoua, Anthony Georgiou and Shayon Harrison face big seasons as they look to prove if they have the talent to stay at Spurs. With all their potentials coming in the mid-to-late 70s, they need to be sent out on loan to show their quality and improve. Consider League Two clubs so they get as many minutes as possible. 

Who to sign

Transfer budget after suggested sales: £64 million

Wage budget after suggested sales: £280,000 a week

Box-to-box midfielder

With so much talent in Spurs first 11, it’s hard to identify where to improve. Moussa Dembele is the only real box-to-box midfielder option, with Harry Winks receiving a harsh 74 rating, so you should look to add depth in this area. Top of our shopping list is Torino central or defensive midfielder Daniele Baselli. The 25-year-old Italian has a 79 overall rating on the game, his 84 potential means he will always be in and around your first choice side. For £25.8 million you can get his 83 ball control, 82 short passing, and 81 long shots. With weekly wages of £47,000 you won’t need to break the bank to get hold of the talented Baselli.

Alternative options:

• Leander Dendoncker – Standard Liege, Age 22, OVR 79, POT 86, Cost: £21.1m, Wage: £22k
• Maximilian Arnold – Wolfsburg, Age 23, OVR 79, POT 84, Cost: £25.8m, Wage: £55k
• James Ward-Prowse – Southampton, Age 22, OVR 78, POT 86, Cost: £27.7m, Wage: £60k
• Abdoulaye Doucoure – Watford, Age 24, OVR 78, POT 84, Cost: £22.2m, Wage: £40k
• Thomas Partey – Atletico Madrid, Age 24, OVR 78, POT 84, Cost: £23.8m, Wage: £36k

High potential left back

With few top class left backs out there, you are better off trying to ‘grow your own’. Current pair Danny Rose and Ben Davies are reliable, but Rose’s 83 potential is still the weakest in the first-choice line-up. If you snap up the uber-talented Barcelona B left back Cucurella for £3.1 million, you will save yourself a fortune a few years down the line. The 18-year-old Spaniard has a 68 overall rating but an 86 potential, the same as the current level of Alex Sandro and David Alaba. Cucurella has 88 stamina, 87 acceleration and 86 sprint speed making him a real asset, and with wages of just £2,000 a week he is an absolute bargain on Career Mode.

Alternative options:

• Toni Lato – Valencia, Age 19, OVR 75, POT 85, Cost: £18.2m, Wage: £12k
• Marcelo Saracchi – River Plate, Age 19, OVR 70, POT 85, Cost: £6.4m, Wage: £6k
• Ryan Sessegnon – Fulham, Age 17, OVR 66, POT 85, Cost: £2.5m, Wage: £5k
• Kieran Tierney – Celtic, Age 20, OVR 74, POT 85, Cost: £15m, Wage: £30k
• Gian-Luca Itter – Wolfsburg, Age 18, OVR 65, POT 85, Cost: £2.4m, Wage: £6k

More options in attack

Tottenham brought in Fernando Llorente over the summer, but the fact he has not been trusted to start in the absence of Harry Kane, suggests that you need more quality on the bench. With Llorente offering a direct approach, you need a forward who can offer something else, the pace to run in behind for example. For that reason we think Jamie Vardy would be a great choice. The Leicester talisman has an 81 rating, and will cost £28.4 million on Career Mode. His 92 aggression, 91 sprint speed and 91 acceleration are an asset to any side, and he could be a perfect man to play just off Harry Kane if needs be. His £78,000 a week wages shouldn’t be a problem for Spurs.

Alternative options:

• Hatem Ben Arfa – PSG, Age 30, OVR 81, POT 81, Cost: £24m, Wage: £78k
• Kevin Volland – Bayer Leverkusen, Age 24, OVR 80, POT 83, Cost: £29.7m, Wage: £52k
• Breel Embolo – Schalke, Age 20, OVR 76, POT 88, Cost: £23.4m, Wage: £31k
• Kasper Dolberg – Ajax, Age 19, OVR 77, POT 87, Cost: £19.7m, Wage: £9k
• Amath Ndiaye Diedhiou – Getafe, Age 20, OVR 74, POT 87, Cost: £27.3m, Wage: £17k

Contracts

Eight player have contracts running out at the end of the season, three of which you should definitely renew. Michel Vorm supplies a healthy back-up for Hugo Lloris in goal, Erik Lamela has the potential to hit 83, and Tashan Oakley Boothe is one of the most promising youngsters at the club.

As for Shayon Harrison, Anthony Georgiou and Brandon Austin, they need a strong season to warrant a fresh contract. If their overalls have not grown considerably, you should release them at the end of the campaign. 

Luke Amos and Christian Maghoma do not have a future at Tottenham, so sell them straight away to get as much money as possible for the pair.

Managerial objectives

Domestic success is paramount at Tottenham, and with just one trophy this century the board will expect you to win both the Premier League and FA Cup in your first season in charge. With the ‘Wembley factor’ not an issue on FIFA, you should be able to do this.

However, in combination with Spurs’ high importance continental success goal, things look more tricky. You will be asked to reach the semi-finals of the Champions Cup, a tough ask for a club with little European pedigree.

Brand exposure also has a high importance, and for this you will need to gain £176 million through shirt sales. This can be achieved by bringing in big names and scoring plenty with your star men. With Harry Kane up front this should be easy.

Youth development has a medium importance, where you will need to grow a youth academy player by 10 points and then play them in five matches during the season. Make sure you get youth networks set up early to achieve this. You will also need to sign two players with potentials over 75 to the youth squad, so there is an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone here.

Unlike United, City and Chelsea, Tottenham are more sensible with their cash, so your financial objective also has a medium importance. Keeping salary growth under 10% will be a tough task, so you may need to sell off some of your rotation players, if the big names want an increase in wage.

Take that next step

Although the temporary move to the home of English football hasn’t worked thus for Spurs, it is still a perfect set-up for them to make history. Their squad can rival any in the division, and combined with their potential, they perhaps are the most settled team in the country, if not in Europe.

You need to use that to your advantage at Tottenham, and whilst other clubs are still transitioning, you need to strike on Career Mode. A trophy should be your personal minimum goal, with a Premier League success a very realistic aim. Achieve that with Tottenham, and it could just be the first domino to fall as you target super status. 

Full Tottenham squad player ratings

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Contract Expiry Signings Ending in 2018 (First Season)

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Contract Expiry Signings Ending in 2021 (Fourth Season)

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