Every would-be coach who picks up a copy of Football Manager 16 will head right to the transfer list and seek out the best available free agents on the game.
These are the players without a club or a contract, and are this available to snap up for no initial fee.
Often—and this is the voice of experience—these guys are desperate and will often sign for your club for a risible fee, making them cheap short-term fixes to a particular problem area.
They can have a transformative effect on your team, and as they’re often particularly cost-effective options, there’s no bad feeling if—eventually—things don’t work out.
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In this feature, we’ve focused on the strikers, and present the 10 best Football Manager 16 free agents—the strikers.
Adrien Colunga
Dimitris Salpingidis
Dejan Lekic
Stefan Maierhofer
Once of Wolves, would be a fine target man for a Championship side.
Lassad
Ex-Celtic hitman who is a technical master and can be an unpredictable presence in the final third.
Nikola Zigic
Despite his age (34), Zigic has never been about pace and movement, and at 6 ft.7, he boasts the frame and physique to terrorise centre-backs in the air.
Shola Ameobi
Only last year, Ameobi was playing at the World Cup. He’s an experienced operator with buckets of Premier League experience…if not goals…and he takes a mean penalty.
Adriano
They call him the Emperor, and if you can negotiate natural fitness 1….natural fitness 1…then you might have a devastating threat on your hands. Just keep him off the night clubs and the kebabs.
Alessandro Del Piero
Admittedly, he may be 40, and perhaps doesn’t have the legs for the Premier League anymore (acceleration five), but for those technical and mental skills alone, he’s worth a look. Plus, he’s an utter legend. Wanted by Liverpool in 2012.
Emmanuel Adebayor
Recently released by Tottenham Hotspur, the Togo frontman carries a big…a lot…of baggage, but he remains a class act.