Winter is well and truly underway, and with the January Transfer Window coming to a close soon, we can begin looking forward to FIFA Ultimate Team’s annual Winter Refresh.
During this event, transferred cards are released, ratings are upgraded for certain cards, and a full team of cards are released showcasing the biggest January moves, as well as adding depth and variety for squad building purposes.
Winter Refresh is certainly an event you don’t want to miss out on, here are our predictions for various types of content to expect this year!
Transferred Cards
With the January Transfer Window coming to a close soon, and some big transfers being finalised, these cards will feature heavily in the Winter Refresh Promotion.
Last year, Winter OTW was abolished in favour of Winter Refresh items, which gave newly transferred cards big, one time upgrades in favour of newly transferred dynamic items.
FUT 20 saw us receive players such as 91 Eriksen, 90 Ibrahimovic and 89 Bruno Fernandes all at their newly transferred clubs.
In FUT 21, several high profile transfers throughout the Top 5 Leagues could feature as Winter Refresh cards, including:
- Alejandro Gómez > Sevilla
- Martin Ødegaard > Arsenal
- Morgan Sanson > Aston Villa
- Arkadiusz Milik > Marseille
- Moussa Dembélé > Atletico Madrid
Be sure to check back at the end of the transfer window for our full prediction!
Winter Refresh Cards
Outside of the transferred cards, other cards are released into packs as Winter Refresh items that “fill either a position gap, aid team building, add depth, accessibility or new options within their league or nation in FUT.”
What this means, is that EA can really add in high rated, massively boosted cards to whichever players they feel meet the given criteria, in some cases leading to some very interesting, demanded new cards that add to the pool of meta players in FUT.
Last year saw us receive cards such as Nico Schulz, filling a gap at the LB spot in the Bundesliga, Matheus Cunha, who bridged a gap up top for Brazilian strikers, and finally, Patrick Van Aanholt and Nathan Ake, who increased the depth at the LB and CB positions in the Premier League.
While there are endless options for Winter Refresh items that could be released in the event, here are some ideas for cards we’d like to see included!
- Richarlison - Fills a gap with few Brazilian ST options
- Malcuit - Adds depth for Serie A RBs, and fills a gap with very few top French RBs
- Rashica - Adds depth to somewhat limited meta Bundesliga ST options.
Winter Upgrades
Over recent years, the Winter Upgrades have been an area that is always heavily debated in the FUT Community, with plenty arguing over who is or isn’t deserving of a boost in rating mid-way through the season.
Last year in FUT 20, only the top 50 most improved players in FUT received permanently upgraded ratings to reflect their outstanding form in the first half of the season.
This meant that only players that received a +3 or higher OVR boost received upgrades last year in FUT.
In FIFA 21, we’re expecting a similar system to be put in place, meaning only upgrades to the lower-rated base cards, i.e. 82 or under, will be likely.
Be sure to check back over the coming weeks, where we’ll be going over:
- Premier League Expected Upgrades
- Bundesliga Expected Upgrades
- La Liga Expected Upgrades
- Serie A Expected Upgrades
- Ligue 1 Expected Upgrades