5 Players Who Deserve Attributes Drop in Football Manager 2023

Some players have seen their stock hurt in the last calendar year – who should see their attributes come down in Football Manager 2023?

Some players have seen their stock hurt in the last calendar year – who should see their attributes come down in Football Manager 2023?

Football is a sport of peaks and troughs. Legends rise, and then fall. New players take their place, and eventually meet the same fate. The hands of time, and form, wait for no man. And while the below players are still excellent footballers, they are due an attribute drop. Who, then, are set to see their stock dip quite considerably as we move into a new edition of Football Manager?

 

1. Virgil van Dijk

Seen as the greatest defender in the world until recently, Virgil van Dijk has fallen on hard times. Though his form was much improved in 2021-22, he is not the dominant defensive playmaker he was before his serious injury suffered against Everton.

The Dutchman will definitely see his attributes fall; sadly, he looks to be on the same decline as just about every elite defender falls into. VVD will still be a defensive force within FM23, but he will not be the best centre-half in the world anymore. Expect drops in his physicality, reading of the game, and his overall concentration ability.

 

2. Romelu Lukaku

The Belgian now goes down in history as the worst player Chelsea have ever signed. The two eye-watering fees paid for the player over two spells produced a pitiful return on investment. Now back in Italy, even his biggest fans cannot claim that Lukaku is the elite striker he looked even in 2020-21.

Few players in the world have endured the kind of crushing drop that Romelu has endured in the last year. Expect him to see drops in almost every step as he dips down from being a truly world-class forward to simply a very good Serie A goal scorer.

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3. Luis Suarez

This might seem harsh as Suarez is approaching his mid-30s, but the time has come. His last year at Atletico Madrid was a waste of time, and there is a reason he now plays back in Uruguay. Despite still possessing excellent mental attributes and a solid work rate, Suarez should see some considerable dips physically.

His explosion is almost gone entirely, and he looks nothing like the player he was even in his first year at Atletico. It looks like most of the juice is out of the tank for one of the most impressive forwards of the modern era.

 

4. Paul Pogba

Injuries and a preoccupation with life away from football has seen Pogba dip massively since his 2018 peak. The Frenchman now looks nothing like the player he was during the FIFA World Cup success of 2018, or even the player of a couple of seasons ago.

His explosiveness is gone, he is injury prone, and it has been months since Pogba has put together an impressive run of games. Expect his form to be matched by a major drop in almost every attribute, hidden or visible. Pogba simply hasn’t become the era-defining midfielder he was once anointed as.

 

5. Dusan Tadic

The Serbian is now reaching an age where even his limited physicality is beginning to show. While never the fastest and still as sharp technically or tactically as ever, Tadic will see his stats come down quite a lot. The limited pace he once had is now gone entirely, and he will no longer be able to use his balance and agility quite to the same standard.

Despite still being a very good footballer indeed, the days of Dusan Tadic being a genuinely elite playmaker-goalscorer are gone. In his mid-30s, this might be one of the last FM editions he is seen as a viable Champions League level player.

Conclusion

Which players do you expect to see come down in form this season? Many players have risen and fallen, after all. The above players, though, are almost certainly the ideal example of players who have significantly lost their way this season.

READ ALSO: Top 5 Free Agents to look out for in Football Manager 2023