The Fourth Midfielder

Now that we are beyond the festive period, we head into January where the winter Wildcard and the January transfer window promises another hectic month for Fantasy managers.

During Gameweek 20, Harry Kane’s heroics have seen him transferred into plenty of teams given his incredibly cheap price and fixture-proof appeal. With the arrival of Kane into an emerging template three-man frontline that also features Charlie Austin and just one premium forward, it leaves a lot of money to spend on the midfield.

Given that most of the expensive defenders (with the exception of John Terry) have failed to live up to their price tag over Christmas, there is further cash to spend in the centre of the park. As it stands, a template midfield is already emerging with Eden Hazard, Alexis Sanchez and David Silva taking three slots, alongside either one of Gylfi Sigurdsson and Stewart Downing or a budget midfielder such as George Boyd. This leaves a slot for a fourth midfielder who, depending on budge,t could cost up to 10.0. Here is my analysis of the key contenders to fill this role, with an eye on Gameweek 21 but also over the coming Gameweeks for those who are Wildcarding early.

Santi Cazorla

Arsenal – 8.2 – 3.5%

Alexis Sanchez currently seems undroppable given his out-of-position appeal and sheer consistency. The Chilean aside, the returns from Arsenal players are very scattered. Thus doubling up on Arsenal is a risk, especially because they have scored three or more goals only twice in the league this season.

Nevertheless, Santi Cazorla is in form and high up in the penalty taking pecking order, averaging seven points per game in the last six. He is staking his claim as a differential, but with Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain back in the fold, coupled with the possibility of the returning Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil, there is a  severe question mark over his first team spot.  However, it’s hard for Arsene Wenger to bench him given his form, and for late Wildcarders, he seems an effective short-term differential. For early Wildcarders, though, his price tag makes him difficult to remove if he fails to remain a regular. You can’t upgrade him without using another transfer so you’d have to downgrade to Sigurdsson or Downing.

Mesut Ozil has failed to sparkle recently and there isn’t any definite news on when he’ll be back, while Theo Walcott has been out for over ten months and has expectedly not looked fully up to speed yet. This puts both in the wait-and-see category. Aaron Ramsey, however, looks like someone you could get in early, for a price of 8.7. He was injured just as he was starting to show signs of last season’s magical form, and with his predatory instincts, you wouldn’t put it past him to pick up where he left off. For now, though, the spotlight is on Cazorla.

Cesc Fabregas

Chelsea – 9.7 – 42.9%

Cesc Fabregas, the assist king, will always remain an option. Clocking up an incredible 14 assists, he is the third highest-scoring player in the game. Fabregas has been as consistent as ever, registering returns in 13 of the 19 games he has played. Chelsea’s defensive resilience also sees him pick the odd point for a clean sheet, while he is joint top for the highest number of bonus points received. Surely he can’t be ignored? The problem is that his team contains the much more explosive Eden Hazard, who has started to find the consistency that rivals Fabregas. With many people electing to have Eden Hazard and John Terry, the choice is between Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa for the third Chelsea player. The Spaniard has the clean sheet points as well as a higher bonus appeal, while Costa’s level of goalscoring remains hard to ignore. Also factor in that with Chelsea’s packed schedule, they have more backup to Costa than they have to Fabregas. It’s not as easy a choice as it looks, but right now people seem to be preferring Fabregas. Also, the reason I take trebling up on Chelsea as a given is because most of their tough games are now at Stamford Bridge and they seem to be assured point-scorers, a slight rarity right now.

Raheem Sterling

Liverpool – 8.4 – 32.4%

Raheem Sterling’s role at the tip of a front-three in this new Liverpool side has seen his stock pick up again. Initially fielded there against Man United, Sterling registered a blank but the signs were there – he got into great positions before uncharacteristically fluffing his lines (or running into Captain America, whatever rocks your boat). Since then, however, Sterling has registered a goal and a very fortuitous assist, though you might consider him unlucky not to have netted against Swansea. Now with the imminent return of Sturridge, he’ll find himself playing at the left again. He was brilliant during the three games he played with Sturridge but struggled massively with Balotelli or Lambert leading the line. Sterling right now still has a lot of potential to fire and some good fixtures too.

The reason I am excluding Coutinho is that, while he’s been brilliant lately, he will be either fighting for a place with Lallana or reverting back to central midfield with the return of Sturridge. He is an effective short-term punt, though, if you are looking at him. I’d still prefer Cazorla over him, though.

Manchester City

Considering you are likely to already have David Silva, there doesn’t seem to be a pressing need for a second City midfielder. Any one of  Frank Lampard, Sami Nasri, Jesus Navas or James Milner can pop up with returns so it’s hard to choose anyone in particular. Lately, Navas has been the most consistent, though you could perhaps take a punt on Lampard. However, Lampard has yet to play 60 minutes in a game for City, so you should be warned about the possibility of a lot of one-pointers along the way. A potential appeal for Lampard, though, is penalties. In the absence of Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero, the former England international looks to be next after Alexsander Kolarov, who is even more prone to rotation.

Angel Di Maria

Manchester United – 9.4 – 11.4%

The most expensive signing in British football made his return from injury in the FA Cup at the weekend and is currently available for the cheapest he’s been all season. Angel Di Maria started his career on fire before a move a wider position dampened his returns somewhat. During the time Di Maria was in the first team, Juan Mata barely registered any significant minutes. With Radamel Falcao now firmly in the fold, Marouane Fellaini and Ander Herrera staking claims for a berth in midfield and Wayne Rooney a given to play every game, Juan Mata might well struggle for game time. However, given his price tag and ability, Di Maria is expected to brush off any competition for a first-team spot. He is also expected to take all right-sided set pieces. Lately, Van Gaal has returned to his 3-5-2 formation – in which Di Maria sparkled initially. Given the fixtures coming up for Man Utd, Di Maria looks a promising option to climb up the rankings as well as offer a differential captaincy condender.

Nacer Chadli

Tottenham – 6.4 – 12.5%

Nacer Chadli has been brilliant this season, consistently getting points whenever he has played. Meanwhile, Cristian Eriksen has been hit-and-miss, with his best scores coinciding with Chadli’s benchings. Now Chadli has returned to the fray, Eriksen blanked even when Tottenham scored five goals in a game. Thus, the significantly cheaper Chadli seems to be the better option. However, Spurs are a wildly inconsistent side and the same applies to Chadli. Furthermore, after their win against Chelsea, teams will be paying much more attention to him than before. Chelsea were on the front foot and Spurs exploited the space on the counter to devastating effect – it’s hard to envision that remaining the case now. In the end, it turns to a burning question: would Harry Kane owners want to double up on Spurs?

Gylfi Sigurdsson

Swansea – 6.8 – 45.2%

Stewart Downing

West Ham – 6.5 –    25.3%

Finally, we could revert to the original fourth midfielders, should they not already be in your side. Stewart Downing really was staking a claim for inclusion in our line-ups but he completely flopped during the festive period and now the fixtures get significantly tougher. Gylfi Sigurdsson, meanwhile, ended his barren spell during the festive period with two goals. Both have set-pieces in their locker, too. However, both teams have lost important players to international tournaments, which damages their appeal, especially in front of the similarly priced Nacer Chadli.

NOTABLE OMISSIONS

Kevin Mirallas, Dusan Tadic – I found both too inconsistent and/or injury prone to merit a place in Fantasy line-ups over the other illustrious names.

CONCLUSIONS

Are you going for a cheap fourth midfielder? If so, Chadli might look the part but Spurs look too inconsistent a side to double up on just now. They might turn the corner, but recent history suggests otherwise.

If you are going mid-price, Santi Cazorla seems the best route right now for the short-term, while Raheem Sterling seems the best long-term option.

If you are going for an expensive midfielder, it probably turns into a choice between Costa and Di Maria or Rooney and Fabregas (though Sturridge might have something to say about that). It is an interesting choice and whoever gets it right will climb up the rankings. Who are you going with?