FIFA 23: Which ‘Ones To Watch’ Cards Have Had The Biggest Upgrades This Season
The Ones to Watch
It's hard to keep track of all the special cards in FIFA Ultimate Team nowadays. Gone are the days when being included in the Team of the Week was the only chance of receiving upgrades. Nowadays, there are a plethora of different supercharged cards, including 'Winter Wildcards', 'Moments', and 'Rulebreakers'.
And thanks to the recent 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, there are even more upgraded players that have barraged their way into the marketplace. Not that we're complaining. The way EA Sports integrated the real-life World Cup into Ultimate Team must be commended.
Sometimes, opening packs in FUT can feel like playing in an online casino real money - you never know what you're going to get. Sometimes you hit it big, and other times it simply isn't your night. But there is one card in Ultimate Team that truly gets us excited at the start of every season, Ones to Watch.
At the start of every season, EA Sports selects a number of players that have made real-life transfers from one club to another. From there, said players will receive upgrades depending on their real-life performances. So, if they receive a Man of the Match award, are featured in the Team of the Week or if their real-life team wins three matches in every eight they play, the OTW card will receive an upgrade.
I'm sure we can all agree that FIFA is one of the best games of all time, and this season has seen some massive upgrades for their OTW cards. Here are the biggest upgraded players so far this season.
Sergiño Dest - Original Rating 77 > Current Rating 84
The biggest earner so far this season has been the United States National Team star Sergiño Dest. The Dutch-born American moved from Barcelona to AC Milan on a season-long loan in the summer, and his OTW card has reaped the rewards for the move, even if the Rossoneri haven't.
The pacey fullback has hardly featured for the reigning Serie A Champions so far this season, and the San Siro club is languishing some 12 points behind runaway league leaders Napoli. Gamers who have Dest in their squad won't be complaining one bit though.
Corentin Tolisso - Original Rating 81 > Current Rating 87
Bayern Munich purchased Corentin Tolisso from Lyon back in 2017 for a fee rumored to be around €40m. Although the Frenchman did feature some 118 times for the Bavarians, picking up the Champions League and five Bundesliga titles along the way, he was allowed to leave the Allianz Arena last summer. Lyon were happy to bring him home on a free transfer however so far, he hasn’t hit the heights expected of him.
The central midfielder missed a handful of games prior to the World Cup-enforced winter break, which coincided with his side slipping down the Ligue 1 table. He has recently returned, however, and Lyon need him. They’re currently way down in ninth in the French top flight and will need Tolisso firing on all cylinders throughout the second half of the season.
Darwin Núñez - Original Rating 82 > Current Rating 87
Darwin Núñez has come in for a lot of stick from football fans so far this season. That no doubt is due to the fact that Liverpool forked out an eye-watering €80m to Benfica for his services. And there is no question that the Uruguayan hitman has missed a few chances, but he has still managed to bag ten goals so far this season for the Reds.
The Premier League is a notoriously difficult league to acclimatise to, and at 23 years of age, Núñez still has plenty of time to do exactly that. But fans of Liverpool the world over will be hoping he finds his shooting boots sooner rather than later, as they are currently some ten points off of Champions League qualification.
Richarlison - Original Rating 81 > Current Rating 86
If we're talking about missing chances, look no further than Richarlison. The Brazilian attacker made the move from Everton to Tottenham Hotspur in the summer for a transfer fee that could rise as high as £60m. So far this season the Watford man hasn't managed to net a single Premier League goal all season long however, he has managed to bag twice in the Champions League.
While Richarlison has struggled in North London, the 25-year-old was a revelation for Brazil at the World Cup. He was chosen by manager Tite to lead the line for the Seleção, and he didn’t let his international boss down. Flanked by Neymar and Vinicius Junior, the Spurs man netted three times in Qatar, including a genuine Goal of the Tournament contender against Serbia.
As we all remember, however, it ended in heartbreak for the South Americans. They were stunned on penalties by Croatia in the quarter-finals of the tournament. Spurs boss Antonio Conte will be hoping that his big-money summer signing can put that behind him as the Premier League season approaches its business end.