Whichever way football is going, there will always be room in the game for a target man. Playing the ball wide and getting crosses into the box will never go out of fashion. If you have a man who is tall and great in the air in the area, you're guaranteed to get goals and pick up points. It's also a great leveller when playing against a superior opponent, so it's always useful to have a target man on the bench at least to come on and make the difference.
What makes a good target man on FIFA 19?
The following players all have the target forward trait on FIFA 19. This consists of healthy strength, heading accuracy, positioning and strong attacking attributes. At large, they're all great in the air with superior heading accuracy, are very strong and have height on their side. Getting on the end of crosses is their bread and butter, but they can also be used to feed their strike partner with knockdowns and flick-ons. We have compiled our list by looking at three key stats: finishing, heading accuracy and strength.
Edinson Cavani (OVR 89 – POT 89)
Age: 31
Positions: ST
Club: Paris Saint-Germain
Country: Uruguay
Work rate: High/High
Height: 6’1”
Target man attributes: 89 finishing, 89 heading accuracy, 78 strength
Other traits: Power Header, Beat Offisde Trap
Cost: £70 million
Wage: £176,000 a week
Edinson Cavani isn’t just a target man, the Uruguayan is capable of getting in behind defence as well, often profiting from the service of his widemen Neymar (OVR 92) and Kylian Mbappe (OVR 87) at PSG. The striker is also exceptional in the air, making him one of the best all round forwards on the planet.
Cavani’s 89 overall is aided by 89 finishing and 89 heading accuracy, but he should feel hard done by with just 78 strength. A hefty £70 million is needed for the 31-year-old along with £176,000 a week wages.
Romelu Lukaku (OVR 87 – POT 89)
Age: 25
Positions: ST
Club: Manchester United
Country: Belgium
Work rate: Medium/Medium
Height: 6’3”
Target man attributes: 88 finishing, 87 heading accuracy, 94 strength
Other Traits: Power Header, Beat Offside Trap, Leadership, Speed Dribbler
Cost: £85 million
Wage: £202,000 a week
Romelu Lukaku is one of the Premier League's finest strikers, but is never without his critics. Just 25 years old, the Belgian striker has 105 Premier League goals to his name, enjoying successful spells at West Brom, Everton and now Manchester United.
On FIFA 19, the forward has stats of 88 finishing, 87 heading accuracy and 94 strength to give him an 87 overall. This can rise to a potential of 89 costing you a massive £85 million and wages of £202,000 a week.
Edin Dzeko (OVR 85 – POT 85)
Age: 32
Positions: ST
Club: Roma
Country: Bosnia Herzegovina
Work rate: Medium/Medium
Height: 6’4”
Target man attributes: 89 finishing, 84 heading accuracy, 80 strength
Other Traits: Leadership
Cost: £40 million
Wage: £101,000 a week
Edin Dzeko is still one of the most feared strikers in Europe. The Bosnian legend smashed in the goals for Wolfsburg, Manchester City and is now doing the same for Roma, scoring 24 goals last season to help them reach the Champions League semi-finals and secure a top four finish in Serie A.
The six foot four forward has 89 finishing, 84 heading accuracy and 80 strength which help him to a 85 overall rating. At the age of 32 you still need to fork out £40 million for the striker and wages of £101,000 a week.
Radamel Falcao (OVR 85 – POT 85)
Age: 32
Positions: ST
Club: Monaco
Country: Colombia
Work rate: High/Medium
Height: 5’10”
Target man attributes: 87 finishing, 90 heading accuracy, 75 strength
Other Traits: Power Header, Finesse Shot
Cost: £35 million
Wage: £110,000 a week
Radamel Falcao has had a topsy-turvy career but you cannot deny what the striker achieved at first with Porto and then Atletico Madrid. The 32-year-old scored 70 goals for each club, winning a league title and two Europa Leagues. He has scored over 50 times in the past two seasons at Monaco, winning the league title in 2017, and putting behind him a poor spell in the Premier League with Manchester United and Chelsea.
You need to pay around £35 million for Falcao, with wages of £110,000 a week. Stats of 87 finishing, 90 heading accuracy and 75 strength take his overall rating to 85.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (OVR 85 – POT 85)
Age: 37
Positions: ST
Club: LA Galaxy
Country: Sweden
Work rate: Medium/Low
Height: 6’5”
Target man attributes: 86 finishing, 83 heading accuracy, 86 strength
Other Traits: Power Header, Backs Into Player, Flair
Cost: £15 million
Wage: £13,000 a week
The man with the biggest ego in football, Zlatan Ibrahimovic touches gold wherever he goes. League titles have been secured in Holland, Italy, Spain and France, with the Swede not quite being able to do the business in England but has certainly raised the profile of soccer in the United States.
Despite his age, the 37-year-old Zlatan can offer you 86 finishing, 83 heading actually, and 86 strength on FIFA 19, which give him an overall rating of 85. £15 million is still a good price for the 6'5" forward with his wages only £13,000 a week.
Diego Costa (OVR 85 – POT 85)
Age: 29
Positions: ST
Club: Atletico Madrid
Country: Spain
Work rate: High/Medium
Height: 6’2”
Target man attributes: 87 finishing, 82 heading accuracy, 92 strength
Other Traits: Beat Offside Trap
Cost: £47 million
Wage: £88,000 a week
Not an out-and-out target man, Diego Costa can do it all up front. Come short, hold it up, get in behind or latch on to crosses, having the Spaniard in your team is such an asset. It’s what has helped him notch over 180 goals in his career and claim three league titles and a Europa League.
An 85 overall for Costa consists of 87 finishing, 82 heading accuracy and outrageous 92 strength. You can pick up the former Chelsea striker for £47 million and wages of £88,000 a week.
Mario Mandzukic (OVR 84 – POT 84)
Age: 32
Positions: ST, LW
Club: Juventus
Country: Croatia
Work rate: High/High
Height: 6’3”
Target man attributes: 84 finishing, 90 heading accuracy, 85 strength
Other Traits: Power Header, Beat Offside Trap, Flair
Cost: £30 million
Wage: £141,000 a week
A beast in the air, no defender enjoys going up against Mario Mandzukic. Hs 200+ career goals for club and country have helped the Croatian striker claim five league titles and a Champions League during his time with Bayern Munich and current club Juventus.
84 finishing, 90 heading accuracy and 85 strength help him to an 84 overall rating. You can sign the 32-year-old for around £30 million and wages starting of £141,000 a week.
Bas Dost (OVR 83 – POT 83)
Age: 29
Positions: ST
Club: Sporting Lisbon
Country: Holland
Work rate: Medium/Medium
Height: 6’5”
Target man attributes: 87 finishing, 94 heading accuracy, 92 strength
Other Traits: Power Header
Cost: £38 million
Wage: £23,000 a week
If you want a traditional target man, Bas Dost is the man. Standing six foot five inches tall, the Dutch striker has been destroying defenders in Portugal with Sporting Lisbon, having netted a crazy 72 goals in 92 games since joining the club from Wolfsburg in 2017.
Abilities of 87 finishing, 94 heading accuracy and 92 strength make the man mountain Dost a real handful for defences, and take his overall rating to 83. You will still need £38 million to sign the 29-year-old with wages of £23,000 a week.
Aritz Aduriz (OVR 83 – POT 83)
Age: 37
Positions: ST
Club: Athletic Bilbao
Country: Spain
Work rate: High/Medium
Height: 6’0”
Target man attributes: 84 finishing, 94 heading accuracy, 85 strength
Other Traits: Power Header, Beat Offside Trap
Cost: £12 million
Wage: £28,000 a week
Not a traditional target man, Aritz Aduriz has a fantastic goal scoring record. 165 goals in close to 370 games for Athletic Bilbao makes him one of their most favourite sons, and his late rise to fame saw him earn a first Spain cap aged 31 in 2010.
An 83 overall for Aduriz consists of 84 finishing, 94 heading accuracy and 85 strength, which will cost you around £12 million. With wages of £28,000 a week it might just be the worth taking a risk on the 37-year-old striker.
Simone Zaza (OVR 82 – POT 83)
Age: 27
Positions: ST
Club: Torino (on loan from Valencia)
Country: Italy
Work rate: High/High
Height: 6’1”
Target man attributes: 82 finishing, 81 heading accuracy, 88 strength
Other Traits: Beat Offside Trap, Flair
Cost: n/a
Wage: £46,000 a week
No man seems to go from zero to hero as quickly as Simone Zaza. The Italian rose to fame after two fantastic seasons in Serie A with Sassuolo scoring 20 goals, but a move to Juventus proved too soon with the forward only able to net eight times over the next two campaigns. He has got things back on track at Valencia, scoring 13 goals last year and he looks to build on that while on loan with Torino.
Zaza’s 82 overall can creep up to an 83 potential, so don't be put off by his 82 finishing, 81 heading accuracy, and 88 strength just yet. With him being out on loan you'll have to wait until next season to sign him, where he will cost just over £25 million with £46,000 a week wages.
Olivier Giroud (OVR 82 – POT 82)
Age: 31
Positions: ST
Club: Chelsea
Country: France
Work rate: Medium/Medium
Height: 6’4”
Target man attributes: 83 finishing, 90 heading accuracy, 88 strength
Other Traits: n/a
Cost: £21 million
Wage: £123,000 a week
A target man through and through, Olivier Giroud is now France’s third highest all-time top goal scorer. Despite scoring 105 goals during his time at Arsenal he found himself on the bench at the beginning of last season, and sought a move to Chelsea in January, helping the Blues win the FA Cup, the fourth time he has won the competition.
The World Cup winner stands at six foot four inches tall and is aided by stats of 83 finishing, 98 heading accuracy and 88 strength on FIFA 19. Those abilities give him an 82 overall rating which you should look to buy for around £21 million, but look to get his £123,000 a week wages reduced.
Mario Gomez (OVR 82 – POT 82)
Age: 33
Positions: ST
Club: Stuttgart
Country: Germany
Work rate: High/Medium
Height: 6’2”
Target man attributes: 82 finishing, 82 heading accuracy, 86 strength
Other Traits: Beat Offside Trap, Injury Prone
Cost: £16 million
Wage: £44,000 a week
After the retirement of Miroslav Klose, Germany need a man to leave their line with Mario Gomez coming up trumps on many occasions. The striker scored over 30 times for his country and has 166 goals in the Bundesliga thanks to his spells at Stuttgart, Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg.
On FIFA 19, the 33-year-old has started 82 finishing, 82 heading accuracy and 86 strength to take him to an 82 overall. £16 million may sound steep but you can pick up the forward for £44,000 a week wages.
Anthony Modeste (OVR 81 – POT 81)
Age: 30
Positions: ST
Club: Tianjin Quanjian
Country: France
Work rate: Medium/Medium
Height: 6’2”
Target man attributes: 82 finishing, 83 heading accuracy, 86 strength
Other Traits: Power Header, Finesse Shot, Self
Cost: £19 million
Wage: £32,000 a week
Anthony Modeste smashed in 45 goals over two seasons for Koln in Germany, with the Frenchman deciding to cash in and make a big money move to Chinese Super League outfit Tianjin Quanjian. The fact Koln got relegated from the Bundesliga the season after he left highlights how much quality the striker has.
The 30-year-old Modeste has target man stats of 82 finishing, 83 heading accuracy and 86 strength. Those take him to an 81 overall rating, costing you £19 million and wages of £32,000 a week.
All the best target men on FIFA 19
Player | Age | Pos | Club | Country | OVR | POT | C | W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Edinson Cavani | 31 | ST | PSG | Uruguay | 89 | 89 | £70m | £176k |
Romelu Lukaku | 25 | ST | Man United | Belgium | 87 | 89 | £85m | £202k |
Edin Dzeko | 32 | ST | Roma | Bosnia | 85 | 85 | £40m | £101k |
Radamel Falcao | 32 | ST | Monaco | Colombia | 85 | 85 | £35m | £110k |
Zlatan Ibrahimovic | 36 | ST | LA Galaxy | Sweden | 85 | 85 | £15m | £13k |
Diego Costa | 29 | ST | Atletico Madrid | Spain | 85 | 85 | £47m | £88k |
Mario Mandzukic | 32 | ST LW | Juventus | Croatia | 84 | 84 | £30m | £141k |
Bas Dost | 29 | ST | Sporting Lisbon | Holland | 83 | 83 | £38m | £23k |
Aritz Aduriz | 37 | ST | Athletic Bilbao | Spain | 83 | 83 | £12m | £28k |
Simone Zaza | 27 | ST | Torino* | Italy | 82 | 83 | n/a | £46k |