All the leaks, expected content and when the new cards will be in packs - including 91-rated forwards from Chelsea and PSG - as well as the return of Icon Swaps and Future Stars Academy
Virgil van Dijk in EA Sports FC 26
EA Sports FC 26 players are set for new content tonight(Image: EA Sports)
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As the Team of the Year promo draws to a close, EA Sports FC 26 players are gearing up for the latest release of new content.
The next promo to arrive in EA FC 26 is the annual Future Stars event, which celebrates the very best wonderkids of world football. Since it arrived back in FIFA 19, it offers a unique twist on upgrading players.
Reserved only for players aged 23 or under, the boosted cards tend to reflect the potential overall ratings for the respective players in FC's Career Mode. For example, last year in EA FC 25, Lamine Yamal led the first Future Stars team with an overall of 94 - just shy of his Career Mode potential of 95.
So who will be included in the FC26 Future Stars team? And what other content can we expect?
EA FC 26 Future Stars Team 1 leaks and ratings
EA FC 26 players can once again expect a stacked line-up for Team 1, with the hottest prospects in football getting juiced-up cards to reflect their undoubted potential. Around 25 players are expected to be included in Team 1, while a further five Icons and four Heroes are also mooted for release.
Future Stars Team 1 and Future Stars Icons Team 1 are set to drop at 6pm tonight (Friday, January 30). According to leakers, the Future Stars Team 1 will include:
GK - Senne Lammens (Manchester United) - 88 rated
RB - Jade Le Guilly (PSG) - 89 rated
CB - Eduardo Quaresma (Sporting) - 88 rated
LB - Valentin Barco (Strasbourg) - 88 rated
LB - Alvaro Carreras (Real Madrid) - 90 rated
LB - Nico O'Reilly (Manchester City) - 88 rated
CAM - Rodrigo Mora (Porto) - 88 rated
RM - Estevao (Chelsea) - 91 rated
RM - Francisco Conceicao (Juventus) - 89 rated
RW - Desire Doue (PSG) - 91 rated
LM - Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake) - 89 rated
ST - Nick Woltemade (Newcastle) - 90 rated
ST - Mateus Mane (Wolves) - 88 rated
ST - Michelle Agyemang (Brighton) - 89 rated
EA Sports have already confirmed the arrival of two new heroes, celebrating the promise that a duo of Premier League stars showed early in their careers. Both ex-Arsenal and Chelsea man Cesc Fabregas and Manchester City icon Micah Richards are set to arrive in-game, rated 91 and 89 overall respectively.
Richards is expected to be released as a Squad Building Challenge, and SBCs are expected for the following players, too:
RW - Yan Diomande (RB Leipzig) - 89 rated
LM - Patrick Dorgu (Manchester United) - 89 rated
LW - Kika Nazareth (FC Barcelona) - 88 rated
Other exciting cards that might be featured throughout the promo include ones for Adam Wharton, Antonio Nusa and Grace Clinton.
How the Future Stars Academy evolution works and who to upgrade
EA Sports FC 25 Futurer Stars Academy cards
Last year's Academy line-up included the likes of Ethan Nwaneri and Lewis Hall(Image: EA Sports)
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The Future Stars Academy is set to return once more, allowing certain players to be upgraded via completed via specific objectives. This feature first debuted in FIFA 19 when players could improve cards via the Objectives screen, but since the Evolutions feature arrived in FC it has moved to that area of the game.
As such, it allows for further customisation rather than simple attribute upgrades. Last year, FC 25 players were able to upgrade one of 15 players into an eventual Future Stars Icon card, with chosen Playstyle+ and alternative positions.
According to insiders, gamers will get a pack of 11 players to choose one from to put through the Academy. Although details on the Evolution and the Starting XI Academy Pack are scarce, leakers suggest that the final result of the Evolution will include two Playstyle+ and the return of the finished Future Stars Icon card.
Icon Swaps
EA Sports also confirmed that Icon Swaps will return tonight at 6pm. On its FC26 website, the studio said: "Complete themed Objectives to receive Tokens and use Squad Building Challenges to exchange them for select ICONs, Packs, and Evolutions, as ICON Swaps returns in EA SPORTS FC 26 Football Ultimate Team. Play Football Ultimate Team from 30 January to start earning the first batch of 10 Tokens."
Quite what this will entail is under wraps for now, but leakers have suggested the following players could be unlockable via the Icon Swaps system:
GK - Gianluigi Buffon - 92 rated
RB - Gianluca Zambrotta - 90 rated
CB - Rio Ferdinand - 92 rated
CDM - Xabi Alonso - 89 rated
ST - Hristo Stoichkov - 91 rated
ST - Eric Cantona - 92 rated
ST - Ronaldo - 94 rated