dont think montero has been mentioned he dosent start out with the best stats but he can be trained into an absolute beast i found him as a replacement for fabregas when i sold him to real for £100m and bought montero for £4m
i bought him late in the game and if i had him in his earlier years i could probably have a few 20's View attachment 88625
took a while to figure out what to play him as in his first season but as a box to but he scores sets people up and "bosses the midfield" on his motivation in matches 7 times out of 10 View attachment 88624
Moussa Sissoko..buy him very game I can and use him as box-to-box...strong on ground and air, and good tackling, but also has an eye for killer passes and scores amazing long shot goals..best box-to-box in game imo
Miguel Veloso, João Moutinho, Muntari, De Rossi...
There are a lot of good players to make that role...
I also think Palombo is a decent good signing if you need a first squad Box-to-Box urgently...
I've used Lucas as a box to box mid alongside Gerrard as advanced playmaker most times I've used a 4-4-2 with Liverpool in Fm2010 09/10 season. Took him off long shots and he was reg getting high 7's early 8's ratings in matches.
arturo vidal is fantastic as mentioned above. i really like stephan mbia from OM, although he could probably also be considered more of a ball winning midfielder. Lucho is also good and Miguel Veloso will be great at long shots
I also find that Gareth Barry does really well as a box to box midfielder! Always play him with that role. Recently I tried playing Wesley Sneijder in the b-t-b role. He doesnt really shine but do get a lot of assists. Was thinking of using him in the deep lying playmaker role as I already use Fabregas in the advanced playmaker role. Is that wise?
What is your budget/club etc..? I would recommend Aaron Gunnarsson as he will probably cost you less than 5m and he is a fantastic squad player, for any standard of team.