5. Benedikt Howedes
Club: Schalke Price: £7m Schalke are typically over-powered in Football Manager games, despite their under-achieving in the German league in real life, but they do have some genuinely great players, including their defensive line. Of the centre-halves on the book, Kyriakos Papadopoulos is probably the most renowned, thanks to his insanely high stats in the full game and a release clause that makes him an essential purchase for any top European clubs. But his defensive partner Benedikt Howedes has similarly high stats, and is available to purchase for less than the Greek player's value. He's a rock, and a mobile one at that, with high scores in all of the key defensive areas and a Potential Ability of 4.5 stars. He's unlikely to swap Schalke for a struggling Premier League team, but if you can convince him (it's a lot easier with the likes of Chelsea) to swap the Bundesliga for the English top division. That means a likely wage of around £120k a week, but in the upper echelons of the Premier League that shouldn't be too much of an issue.