FIFA 18: 27 Newcastle United Player Ratings Revealed

2. Central Midfielders

Mitrovic Fifa 18
Owen Humphreys/PA Wire

Jonjo Shelvey: 77

Henri Saivet: 77

Mikel Merino: 74

Mo Diame: 73

Jack Colback: 73

Isaac Hayden: 71

Spanish playmaker Mikel Merino is the unfortunate owner of Newcastle United's most disappointing player rating in FIFA 18. Rated at 76 last season, the former Dortmund man falls to 74 for this year's incarnation, despite an impressive string of displays at the heart of NUFC's midfield.

What's even more surprising is that his passing sits at just 71. Clearly, EA Sports saw Merino jumping ship from the German giants to the Magpies as reason enough for a significant downgrade.

Equally surprising is that Henri Saivet, who has played just 267 minutes of football for Newcastle, is still rated at 77 overall. The Frenchman made 35 appearances for Saint-Etienne last season, but isn't likely to feature in Rafa Benitez' XI much in 2017/18, so it's odd that EA consider him on-par with Jonjo Shelvey (also 77).

Isaac Hayden is NUFC's biggest improver, jumping five points to 71 overall in FIFA 18. Jack Colback and Mo Diame have both declined to 73, which is to be expected: the former Sunderland man remains a non-entity, while Diame is coming off a wildly inconsistent Championship campaign.

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