Jérôme Boateng Review

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Name: Jérôme Boateng
D/O/B: 03/09/1988
Position: Defender
Club: HSV (Germany)

Background
A strong, quick and composed player, Boateng can operate comfortably anywhere across the back four. Before signing for his current club, HSV, he was a first-team regular at Hertha Berlin, even though he was only just 18-years-old at the time, provoking many pundits to state that we should expect big things from the youngster. Boateng, the brother of Portsmouth's Kevin-Prince, has firmly established himself as a constant and almost essential part of HSV's back line since his move in 2007, leading to his first international call-up from the German national side in October 2009. However, things didn't go entirely to plan for Boateng, who would also be eligible for Ghana due to his father being from the country, as he received his marching orders in the second half of the game against Russia, after picking up a second yellow card.

Attributes
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Positions

Tactics
Literally, the only positions Boateng isn't able to play (according to FM) are Central Attacking Midfielder, and Goalkeeper. He's possibly one of the most versatile individuals I've seen on the game. Rather more realistically, he performs best in the centre of defence, or at full-back on either side. He has some impressive attributes; Strength, Jumping, Pace, Composure and Tackling are just some of the key ones. He's tall as well - 6'4" in fact - which makes him almost ideal for a place in the heart of the defence. However, good Anticipation, Crossing and Creativity, as well as the ability to use both feet, also make him an outstanding candidate for a position at either full-back. I personally, would play him in the middle, just so his height is utilised to its full potential. However, his Heading ability is slightly disappointing, but could be balanced with a central defensive partner who is good at it. His attributes do suggest that he possibly likes to go wandering up field a bit, so a defensive-minded central midfielder might be needed in order to fill his gap if this occurs. In terms of formations, I don't think it's a massive deal as to how you play, as being a defender he will more-than-likely fit into most styles.

Transfer
Signing Boateng would probably be a little easier than signing Toni Kroos or Aaron Hunt, mainly because Boateng's only been at HSV for three seasons. On my AFC Telford game, he signed for Bayern Munich in 2009-10 for £8million and has performed increasingly and consistently well since then, achieving an average career rating of over 7. If you do wish to sign Boateng, it will be both easier and cheaper to do it sooner rather than later, also due to the fact that another big club, like Bayern, are likely to come in for him. He's been a first team regular at Bayern in 2016 for a good five or six seasons, which suggests that he would be able to cope in most Premier League sides.

Overall
Even if you buy Boateng and don't play him week-in, week-out, he's an almost ideal candidate for a back-up defender, at least at the start of the game, due to his immense versatility but as you get further into the game, he is likely to develop into a very solid part of your defence.
Recommended Rating: 9/10