Steven8 matches out of 10… the number of times I swear I run into Future Star Thuram in a normal Weekend League. Is it just me? Let me know in the comments. For me, each and every time I curse myself for not having completed the towering Frenchman when I had the chance.
If you are like me and forever in the vicious cycle of Thuram using opponents then you will know two things. 1. He is a menace to play against and constantly everywhere on the pitch. 2. The idea that there is now a better version available on the market is a scary one to consider.
As TOTS kicks off I can’t help but feel excited to try some of the new options and perhaps we just might see the power curve start to move away from some of the more traditional options… Khéphren Thuram’s Future Stars included.
With Thuram selected it was a matter of choosing the right chemistry style to get the most out of the Frenchman and in this case I went for the ANCHOR style, shifting to the LENGTHY AcceleRATE type in the process. Once again it was the 4-2-2-2 formation and Thuram slotted in nicely playing both the Box to Box and Holding CDM during his brief stint in my midfield.
With my opponents set up and ready to sweat out one of the most competitive weekends of the year, Thuram proved to be the rock in the center of the pitch, making tackles and stringing together passes all weekend long in the following squad:
Overall
It has been some time since I played a match without Patrick Vieira in my Weekend League squad and this continued early on as I played Thuram Box to Box and Vieira in the Holding CDM. But as the weekend rolled on it became obvious that the Nice man could more than hold his own, prompting a switch from Vieira to Lothar Matthäus… Thuram took over the Holding CDM role and allowed the German to press forward up the pitch. The biggest compliment… I didn’t really miss Vieira at all.
Main Statistics – Defending
Pace Rating: 9/10
Degending Rating: 10/10
Physical Rating: 10/10
With the shoe firmly planted on the other foot it was finally my turn to wreak havoc on my opponent's attack and cause chaos in the midfield. Only amplified by some of my opponents using the same TOTS version that I was.
The North and South pace of this card is truly something to see. Both in and out of possession, this card flew down the pitch and was key to my transition strength throughout the review. The closing pace Thuram has when defending caught a lot of my opponents off guard… while the ability to then create more time and space on the ball was a huge advantage as well. This all comes down to 91 SPRINT SPEED, mixed with the height and LENGTHY AcceleRATE allowing Thuram to rocket into key areas.
It wouldn’t matter how fast Thuram was into position without the skills required to do something about my opponent's attacks. The 91 INTERCEPTIONS are incredible given the shear size and reach that this card has… The 97 STANDING TACKLE getting the job done in 1v1 scenarios.
The size of this card continues to be a factor when trying to dispossess the Frenchman… The 192 cm | 6’4 frame, HIGH/AVERAGE Body Type and 99 STRENGTH coming in handy in numerous situations. Winning tackles, winning headers, and even protecting the ball all proved relatively stress free when Thuram was in charge.
Value/Coins
Value/Coins Rating: 5/5
370k for a card that statistically looked and generally operated like my World Cup Vieira is a ridiculous price tag. The Thuram parade during my Weekend League continued during this review, with the vast majority of my opponents already upgrading to the Frenchman… And who can blame them given the price tag and performance? Unfortunately, I expect to see just as much of Thuram moving forward as I have in the past.
Good vs. Bad
Good vs Bad Rating: 5/5
There were other talents beyond the defending abilities and ultimately proved Thuram as a somewhat well-rounded option.
+ The height, flowing hair, and of course the 94 JUMPING were a perfect combination for this card. I lost nothing in the air during midfield battles and Thuram proved an extremely valuable asset on corners as well. The only issue I noticed was a lack of headed goals despite numerous chances… This might come from the 87 FINISHING or even 93 HEADING ACCURACY… Either way it is less effective than the rest of the air prowess that Thuram demonstrated.
+ The passing with Future Stars Thuram is one of the very few complaints I have heard lodged against the Frenchman… and without my own experience, I assume they are right… Regardless, there is definitely nothing going astray with the TOTS version. The 8 assists only scratch the surface of the range and accuracy that was created by the 93 SHORT PASSING & 88 LONG PASSING. Everything finding the target and with a good deal of zip behind them as well.
Still some disappointing factors to discuss, but for 370k, again what more could you expect?
- The Shooting with this card is generally poor and despite a couple of goals across the 7 matches (and a few more using Thuram later in the weekend), he was woeful in front of goal. The 3 STAR WEAK FOOT leaves nothing to the imagination and 87 FINISHING carries some of the blame. However, it is the 85 SHOT POWER & 83 LONG SHOTS that really hurt this card in the midfield role. Overall, not the card you want the final ball falling too in key situations.
- You can live with the shooting, but the horrendous dribbling is one that causes more issues. The LENGTHY AcceleRATE causes a fair bit of slowdown to the 90 ACCELERATION and overall Thuram is not quick out of the gates and hurts his dribbling significantly. The 85 AGILITY & 82 BALANCE impact the lateral, East/West movements, and too often Thuram required his crazy strength to yet again kick in and maintain ball retention.
Closing Words
It was certainly satisfying to be on the other end of the Thuram midfield coin this weekend and he definitely did not disappoint. If you have not tried the Future Stars then I definitely suggest a trial run on the TOTS to see what all the fuss is about… The power in the midfield can only help the majority of players and the passing was a sublime addition.
The FUT Community has lodged some complaints about cards not getting enough of a TOTS boost, but this one feels just about right. Not 100% the World Cup Vieira that I know and love… But close enough that not much changed in how I operated my squad this weekend. One for one on TOTS reviews so far, here is to hoping the rest of the promo follows suit.
Hoping you are well. Cheers for reading.
