It seems fair to say at this point that Gakpo has been absolutely lighting up the Eredivisie so far this season. In FIFA 23 Ultimate Team we have had Player of the Month SBCs for both September and October, and Cody Gakpo has won it both times. If you are wondering what the requirements and costs are, along with whether or not Gakpo is worth completing, everything is answered below.
Player of the Month Gakpo
There are mixed feelings about the new Gakpo POTM SBC, as there always are when a player wins the Player of the Month award back-to-back. This version is 87 rated, however, his previous POTM was 86 rated and is pretty negligible in differences as there were only +1 upgrades across the board, except for the +2 in both Ball Control and Heading Accuracy on the newer version. This alone sparks a lot of debate about whether it was a waste completing the 86-rated POTM or if it's even worth touching the new 87-rated option.
It must be said, that Gakpo is incredibly meta for both old-gen and next-gen gameplay, which makes him a tantalizing option for your Ultimate Team. He has both the Outside Foot Shot and Finesse Shot traits along with boasting 4* skills and 4* weak-foot. He has High Attacking and Medium Defensive work-rates and is 6'2" which makes him a viable option for multiple positions. Although he can only start as a LM/LW you could play him as a CAM, ST, or on the right-hand side in-game, which opens up plenty of opportunities. He's also Dutch which can open up some hybrid squad-building possibilities.
Typically the downside would be that he plays in the Eredivisie and is difficult to link, but EA has done a great job with providing some off-league options so far in FIFA 23 Ultimate Team. For example, if you require Eredivisie links you have the following options: RTTK Savio, Kuyt, De Jong, Brobbery, and all the Eredivisie Foundation Players. Meaning the main "downside" of Gakpo can be easily overcome.
How much does POTM Gakpo Cost?
In comparison to his previous Player of the Month SBC, there has been a slight increase in cost and considering this one is a higher-rated card with a minor upgrade, that does make sense. The previous Gakpo SBC was 32,000 coins, making it a no-brainer for people to complete at the time, even if it was to make him a super sub option. You can find the requirements for the new POTM Gakpo below:
Top Form
This costs roughly 20,500 coins and will reward you with a Small Electrum Players Pack. Requirements for this segment are as follows:
- Min. 1 Players: Team of the Week
- Min. Team Rating: 83
Netherlands
This will cost roughly 28,100 coins and provides a Small Prime Electrum Players Pack in return. This segment requires:
- Min. 1 Players from: Netherlands
- Min. 1 player with a minimum OVR of 85
- Min. Team Rating: 84
The total cost is 48,500 coins which is a decent increase in cost compared to his previous POTM. It would be cool to see EA implement some alternative Squad Building Challenge for players that had a previous POTM item in the same game cycle. For example, if people could submit their 86 Gakpo along with some normal player items and in return receive the new version, that would add a lot of value.
Should you complete POTM Gakpo?
This is a tough one to call because as mentioned, Gakpo is incredibly meta and can be easier to link into your team with the new chemistry system and abundance of Dutch and Eredivisie options. However, an incredibly large amount of players had already completed the 86 POTM as it offered fantastic value for the money at the time, meaning the minor upgrade on this version isn't overly appealing to those, and he does also have an 85 IF option that's not too dissimilar.
Complete or Yeet? Yeet. It feels wrong saying Yeet with how good this card does look, but if you have his 85 TOTW untradable or completed the 86 POTM (which a lot of people do), there is no point touching this SBC. With that said, if you haven't got any other version of Gakpo yet, then this is still a well-priced SBC and could be considered. Let us know if you will be completing the new POTM Gakpo SBC.