Take a bow, Jadon Sancho. FIFA 19 Ultimate Team’s mid-season ratings refresh is complete, and the Dortmund and England winger tops the FIFA 19 winter upgrades list, with a leap of six overall attribute points from 72 to 78.
In all, 138 players have been upgraded. Last month GR published its FIFA 19 winter upgrades predictions for the Premier League, and sure enough Aaron Wan-Bissaka (pictured) and Lucas Torreira both get big boosts – but there are plenty of others across the globe, too. Below we take a closer look at the six players who’ve improved most, followed by a list of all those upgraded by at least four OVR points.
Jadon Sancho (RM, Borussia Dortmund) - 78 OVR (+6)
Currently top of the Bundesliga, Dortmund do well on the FIFA 19 winter upgrades list – with their import from Camberwell joined by Marco Reus (85 to 88) and Axel Witsel (82 to 85). Fresh off making his England debut in 2018 and scoring FIFA 19 Player Of The Month honours last October, Sancho’s card colour switches from silver to gold, with his overall rating boosted from 72 to 78.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka (RB, Crystal Palace) - 76 OVR (+6)
Wingers may not like him, but Eagles fans adore there youthful, ballet-toed right-back – with stats confirming ‘AWB’ as the best tackler in all of Europe right now. Indeed there’s an argument to be made that this stats increase is an underwhelming one, with Wan-Bissaka likely to rival Trent Alexander-Arnold and Kieran Trippier on the international scene very soon. For now, he’s the only Premier League silver card upgraded to gold.
Krzysztof Piatek (ST, Milan) - 76 OVR (+6)
The undisputed surprise package of this season’s Serie A, Piatek currently sits third on its top scorers’ list, just one goal behind a certain Cristiano Ronaldo. Indeed, he was so good for Genoa in the campaign’s first half that Milan paid 35 million Euros to prise him away – and were instantly rewarded with four goals in his first three games. Expect the Pole to nab an 80+ OVR come FIFA 20.
Frenkie de Jong (CM, Ajax) - 82 OVR (+5)
Critics often accuse EA of ignoring the Dutch league, but that isn’t the case with this FIFA 19 winter upgrades list. Along with de Jong, Ajax team-mates Hakim Ziyech (82 to 84) and Matthijs de Ligt (80 to 83) both receive boosts. There’s similarly good news for long-time rivals PSV, with attribute injections granted to Hirving Lozano (80 to 82), Steven Bergwijn (77 to 80), and Angelino (73 to 77).
Luka Jovic (ST, Eintracht Frankfurt) - 80 OVR (+5)
Like the English Premier League, French Ligue 1, Italian Serie A, and Spanish La Liga, Germany’s Bundesliga sees 23 players updated – the equivalent of one single FIFA 19 squad. Jovic isn’t the most famous name on the list, but he gets the biggest increase. Not impressed by that far-from-endgame OVR? Then instead consider Thiago (86 to 87), Joshua Kimmich (85 to 86) or Timo Werner (83 to 84) from the same league.
Jonathan Bamba (LM, LOSC Lille) - 76 OVR (+5)
With a career encompassing Saint-Etienne, Lille, Paris FC, Sint-Truiden and Angers, French U21 international Bamba is largely unknown outside of his home country. This OVR increase, awarded based on stats of 9 goals in 27 games this season, should change that. Goal described him as the bargain of the summer transfer window before he’d even found a new club, and he’s since matched that hype in both FIFA 19 and reality.
Full list of players upgraded by +4 or more:
- Jadon Sancho (RM, Borussia Dortmund) – 78 OVR (+6)
- Aaron Wan-Bissaka (RB, Crystal Palace) – 76 OVR (+6)
- Krzysztof Piatek (ST, Milan) – 76 OVR (+6)
- Frenkie De Jong (CM, Ajax) – 82 OVR (+5)
- Luka Jovic (ST, Eintracht Frankfurt) – 80 OVR (+5)
- Jonathan Bamba (ST, LOSC Lille) – 76 OVR (+5)
- Youcef Atal (RB, Nice) – 75 OVR (+5)
- Toni Villa (LM, Real Valladolid) – 75 OVR (+5)
- Nikola Vlasic (RM, CSKA Moscow) – 75 OVR (+5)
- Eder Militao (CB, Porto) – 79 OVR (+4)
- Nicolas Pepe (RM, LOSC Lille) – 79 OVR (+4)
- Odisseas Vlachodimos (GK, Benfica) – 78 OVR (+4)
- Lucas Torreira (CAM, Arsenal) – 78 OVR (+4)
- Angelino (LB, PSV Eindhoven) – 77 OVR (+4)
- Hermoso (CB, RCD Espanyol) – 77 OVR (+4)
- Guillermo Maripan (CB, Deportivo Alaves) – 77 OVR (+4)
- Florent Mollet (CAM, Montpellier) – 76 OVR (+4)
- Marcus Thuram (LM, Guingamp) – 75 OVR (+4)
FIFA 19 is out now, and February saw GamesRadar update all its key walkthroughs for EA's football fest. Get an edge online using our FIFA 19 tips, or easily score funds to purchase all the players listed here with the FIFA 19 Ultimate Team coins guide.
