The devs did optimise the Recommendations feature in the past several months. Well to be honest, its been an ongoing process since the inception of the whole feature really. Either way - The game uses quite a few algorithms to figure out what your team would benefit from with its current composition of players. To put it simply (and boy is this a brutal simplification of it), the game is supposed to learn as you play with your team.
Now I do get that some would love to just have a table with specifics about a player, tick all the boxes that concern them press "Construct Clone" and have a brand spanking new player who is perfect for what they need. Well this feature isn't meant to be exactly like that and this is most obvious I think.
This is just another way to get some nice players a few times per season. For a greater diversity I would suggest you hit up the Auctions. That's what I do and have been doing since I've started playing.
Still, I've been reading some positive feedback about the Recommendations and how the thing finally started diversifying the choices it gives you. I'm actually really happy about that! And with time the feature will work better and better for your each one of your teams.
And yea I know - This isn't what we want Jeeves!!!!!!! ROAR! - Again, this feature is yet another way to get some nice players every now and then. It's not a guaranteed win/success, call it what ever you will.
At the end of the day the transfers in Top 11 are a place where you
try to find the best players. It's not a guarantee. It is part of the gameplay.