FIFA 23: Is the Haaland POTM SBC worth completing?

It's official - Erling Haaland is April's Premier League Player of the Month (POTM).

As usual, the Premier League POTM winner, Haaland, has been rewarded with a special SBC card in FIFA 23 that is available to unlock right now.

The 22-year-old sensation netted six goals and provided two assists in four appearances in April, including three crucial goal contributions against title-challengers Arsenal.

The Norway international striker has been given a 91-rated Player of the Month item in FUT 23 - but is it actually worth completing?

We're taking a detailed look at Haaland's April POTM card and whether the Squad Building Challenge is worth your fodder/coins in Ultimate Team.

POTM Haaland Stats Breakdown

EA has handed Haaland a 91 OVR POTM card that boasts some top-tier base stats including 94 Shooting, 92 Pace, 91 Physicality and 87 Dribbling.

As we take a closer look at Haaland's in-game stats, the Man City striker's special item is not so impressive, though.

Haaland's pace split of 85 Sprint Speed and 97 Acceleration makes any chemistry style that boosts pace slightly wasteful, as his Acceleration will max out with a +2 at 99.

83 Agility and 78 Balance will also make the POTM Erling Haaland card feel pretty clunky in-game, especially when compared to the incredible Team of the Season (TOTS) strikers that are dominating the meta now.

An Engine chemistry style can be used to boost Haaland's Agility to 87 and Balance to 86, whilst it'll also give his passing a healthy boost.

Haaland's shooting is impeccable, though. With 97 Finishing, 97 Shot Power, 92 Positioning, 91 Volleys and 90 Long Shots, he is no doubt one of the best finishers in the game.

EA has chosen to bump Haaland's weak foot up to four stars from his original three, which is a huge bonus.

However, his skill moves remain at three stars, which may be a limiting factor for top-tier players that regularly use advanced skill moves.

Worth it?

The Player of the Month Erling Haaland SBC is priced at roughly 335,000 coins on the PlayStation and Xbox transfer market.

Of course, players will be able to reduce the price of this SBC by submitting untradeable high-rated fodder that is already in their clubs.

However, considering Haaland's Ones to Watch (OTW) item can be purchased for 270,000 coins on the market, the POTM SBC seems overpriced.

Haaland's OTW version is almost identical to that of the POTM card and has the potential for further upgrades too.

There are several top-tier cheaper alternatives on the market too, like Harry Kane's 95 OVR Team of the Season card.

The England skipper's TOTS card can be purchased for roughly 160,000 coins - half the price of Haaland's Player of the Month item.

Kane's 95-rated special card trumps Haaland in the Shooting, Passing, Dribbling and Physicality departments, whilst he also has a five-star weak foot.

Dubbed the best finisher in the entire game, TOTS Harry Kane represents far better value than Player of the Month Haaland.

So, unless you are a die-hard Manchester City fan, the Erling Haaland April POTM SBC is not worth completing.

FIFA 24

With the FIFA 23 game cycle in a bit of a lull right now, fans are beginning to wonder when the next title in the series will be released.

Well, it's important to understand that FIFA as we know it will not be named 'FIFA 24'. Instead, it will now be named 'EA Sports FC', following the well-documented split between FIFA and EA Sports after ongoing licensee fee issues

So, we're not looking forward to a FIFA 24 release date but now an 'EA Sports FC' release date - the title of EA's new footballing sim, set to arrive in 2023.

We expect to see an EA Sports FC release date of around Friday, 29 September 2023, in keeping with the FIFA titles that have gone before.