An hour after Cristiano Ronaldo had been priced up by Fantasy Premier League (FPL) as a £12.5m forward, the Portuguese veteran had been transferred in by over 120,000 managers.
The almost unprecedented levels of demand suggests that not only will many among us be building our squads around the former Juventus striker but that there are huge numbers of Wildcards being deployed over the international break.
How to squeeze the premium forward and one or two other big-money assets into a well-balanced team is the £100m question, so we’ve asked the Scout Squad panel of Sam, Az, Tom and Neale, plus our social media manager FPL Partridge, for their own hypothetical Wildcard drafts ahead of Gameweek 4.
TOM’S GAMEWEEK 4 WILDCARD TEAM: 4-3-3
Firstly, I’m not Wildcarding this week, but if I was tempted to press the button, here’s a 4-3-3 draft I’ve put together.
This set-up enables a front-three of Cristiano Ronaldo (£12.5m), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£8.2m) – providing he is fit of course – and Michail Antonio (£7.9m), with an idea to bring in Patrick Bamford (£7.9m) for the West Ham man once the Hammers’ UEFA Europa League commitments kick-in.
In midfield, Mohamed Salah (£12.5m) is joined by Mason Mount (£7.5m) and Raphinha (£6.5m), but you could essentially slot in any number of mid-price midfielders here. Perhaps Diogo Jota (£7.6m) if team-mate Roberto Firmino (£8.9m) is confirmed out for a few weeks, or Francisco Trincao (£5.9m) if you think Wolverhampton Wanderers can kick on.
At the back, Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.5m), Antonio Rudiger (£5.5m), Luke Shaw (£5.5m) and Nelson Semedo (£4.9m) are all week-in, week-out starters. Lucas Digne (£5.4m) is another nice alternative here, or maybe Kieran Tierney (£4.9m), who should benefit from the return of Ben White (£4.4m), Gabriel (£5.0m) and Thomas Partey (£5.0m) to Arsenal’s starting XI.
As you are Wildcarding early, your goalkeeper will realistically have to see you through right up until the New Year, probably even longer, so I’m backing a defence here rather than focusing on immediate fixtures. Robert Sanchez (£4.5m) and Brighton and Hove Albion have kept 10 clean sheets since the turn of the year, have conceded just 24 goals and rank fourth for expected goals conceded (xGC) from open-play over the opening three rounds of 2021/22.
The bench is made up of Jason Steele (£4.0m), Tino Livramento (£4.1m), Billy Gilmour and James McArthur (£4.5m). Admittedly, it’s not particularly inspiring, but the outfield players should at least offer a couple of appearance points each week, maybe even the odd assist or clean sheet.
AZ’S GAMEWEEK 4 WILDCARD TEAM: TRIPLE LIVERPOOL, TWO £4.0M DEFENDERS
It’s always a dangerous game building a “here’s what I could have” team, but I’ve given it a go.
As I’ve mentioned a few times on different streams, I’m not sure Robert Sanchéz is going to be the standout £4.5m goalkeeper that we dreamed of, as he’s unlikely to make a lot of saves and Albion are still suffering from conceding sloppy goals. The £4.5m ‘keepers aren’t exactly awe inspiring but Daniel Bachmann‘s (£4.5m) seven saves against Spurs and great fixture run at least suggest that if Watford can keep a clean sheet, he should end up with a decent haul. Jose Sá (£5.0m) of Wolves is also a great option if you can find that little bit extra.
My defence actually wouldn’t change that much, with 3/5 of my existing players staying where they are: Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.5m), Vladimir Coufal (£5.0m) and Tino Livramento (£4.1m). With a couple of £4.0m defenders now emerging, Brandon Williams (£4.0m) looks a good enabler to pair with Livramento, especially with concerns over the long-term prospects of Shane Duffy (£4.1m). Nelson Semedo looks a steal at £4.9m and, while I doubt his overall quality, he has the underlying stats and fixtures to be a good long-term option.
Losing Bruno Fernandes (£12.1m) means I can grab a couple of options who looked a bit risky at the start of the season, but are starting to come into their own. With Man City not signing a striker and Gabriel Jesus (£8.5m) moving over to the right, the prospects for Ferran Torres (£7.1m) looks good (sorry Mark!) and I’d prefer him over Jack Grealish (£8.0m) even without the £0.9m price difference.
I’m waiting to hear some news on Roberto Firmino’s (£8.9m) injury and Diogo Jota (£7.6m) would be a lock on my WC team if he’s out for a little while – otherwise I still think Mason Greenwood (£7.6m) can deliver good returns.
Up front, I’ve moved straight for Cristiano Ronaldo (£12.5m), who – lets be honest – is the main person I’d be playing this Wildcard for. A total of 29 goals in 33 appearances for Juventus last season and the joint-Golden Boot winner at the Euros, he’s heading back to the club that “made” him and it will take a brave person to go without. Alongside him, I’ve gone for two mid-priced strikers who’ve started the season in great form. I don’t see a huge amount of weaknesses with this Wildcard team.
I could move for Ronaldo and Ferran Torres (£7.1m) for a -4 in my current set-up, which means I’ll probably refrain from pulling the trigger, but I have to say its tempting. When Gameweek 7 comes around, though, and we are all suddenly coveting Chelsea assets, we may be wishing we had held off pulling the trigger…
SAM’S GAMEWEEK 4 WILDCARD TEAM: 4-4-2/4-3-3 ALTERNATING
The international break is always a good time for a Wildcard but it’s made even better this time with the closing of the transfer window as well as some huge additions to the game.
Cristiano Ronaldo (£12.5m) has the better fixtures of the premium forwards at the moment and therefore he is my priority. I am likely to rotate forwards this year to buy into the favourable fixture runs that the players have at different times, so Ronaldo gets the nod for now and then Harry Kane (£12.3m) and Romelu Lukaku (£11.5m) will wait in the wings for the fixture swings: Lukaku from Gameweek 7 and Kane from Gameweek 13.
Ferran Torres (£7.1m) looks like the perfect City asset. With no forward currently signed by City and Gabriel Jesus (£8.5m) wanting to play out wide, Torres will likely play the number nine role at least until the January window. With the creative players in that team, his returns could be huge for a £7.1m asset.
Mason Mount (£7.5m) and a post-ban Reece James (£5.6m) will offer great value for the quality that they have. Their returns will be big this season in a Chelsea team who will surely be title contenders. I want to be trebled up on them for Gameweek 7 so having these two in now makes sense.
The West Ham boys stay, at least until their fixture shift and playing in the Europa League starts to bite: at that stage, I will look to move Said Benramha (£6.4m) to Norwich’s Milot Rashica (£5.4m) to free up budget and to benefit from Norwich’s favourable fixtures. Rashica has gone under the radar but looked especially attacking in Gameweek 1 against Liverpool.
With no Spurs forwards, Sergio Reguilon (£5.1m) comes in. Spurs have looked so solid defensively and he has the most attacking threat of that back line.
FPL PARTRIDGE’S GAMEWEEK 4 WILDCARD TEAM: 3-5-2, DOUBLE WOLVES
I was ready to move away from Robert Sanchez (£4.5m) in goal but with Brighton’s upcoming fixtures, he’d probably be a ‘hold’.
In defence, Tino Livramento (£4.1m) is vital to help free up funds elsewhere. I’d be tempted to go with two £4.0m defenders and Shane Duffy (£4.1m) is someone I’d consider but for longer-term assurance as well as excellent fixtures, I’d perhaps lean towards one of the £4.5m Wolves defenders. Marcal and Max Kilman are fairly well matched for goal threat and chance creation so far, but the more advanced position of Marcal might be the deciding factor. Aymeric Laporte (£5.5m) would be a placeholder for Reece James (£5.6m) over the next couple of games, but he may actually be a player we want long term if he continues to play regularly and show attacking threat.
In midfield, I would take a calculated punt on Adama Traore (£6.0m), who has posted incredible numbers recently and now has great fixtures to match. Raphinha (£6.5m) makes the cut for Leeds’ great run from Gameweek 5-10 and Ferran Torres at £7.1m seems too good to pass up on. Man City’s fixtures could be better but they are capable of scoring against anyone and with 43% goal involvement so far, Torres still has potential.
The biggest downside to 3-5-2 for me is the non-playing £4.5m forward, which is why I’ve instead opted for the slightly more expensive Emmanuel Dennis (£5.2m). At that price he is benchable but also can happily play when needed, especially in any of Watford’s next four.
I‘ve had Michail Antonio (£7.9m) since day one and he is as nailed on as anyone now in my FPL team. Cristiano Ronaldo (£12.5m) would take the final forward spot and is captain-able in any of the next four games. I’d also have £1.5m in the bank with this team, which may seem a lot, but it allows me flexibility to move to Chelsea players in Gameweek 7 or upgrade Traore or Raphinha to Diogo Jota (£7.6m) if the Roberto Firmino (£8.9m) injury keeps him out for any length of time.
NEALE’S GAMEWEEK 4 WILDCARD TEAM: 4-3-3, NO RONALDO…
Just to play the party-pooping Devil’s advocate, here’s my Wildcard squad that omits a certain veteran Portuguese.
It’s built on a rock-solid, fixture-proof backline plus Kieran Tierney (£4.9m), who I’m convinced will come good over this next eight Gameweeks despite Arsenal’s ongoing woes. Nelson Semedo (£4.9m) is another option at this price point who has the potential to compensate clean sheet losses with attacking returns, although Wolves do look like they could be this year’s Brighton with regards to ‘xG’ underachievement.
Portugal are away in Azerbaijan on the Tuesday before Manchester United take on Newcastle United in Gameweek 4 and I wonder whether Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will factor this into his thinking regarding Cristiano Ronaldo‘s (£12.5) start against the miserable Magpies, along with a lack of training time with his new teammates. The gradual integration of Raphael Varane (£5.5m) and Jadon Sancho (£9.3m) into the United starting XI is another thing at the back of my mind but then again, football’s Dorian Gray is a unique case.
Besides, the captaincy could be covered without Ronaldo up until United’s fixtures tail off in Gameweek 7: Romelu Lukaku (£11.5m) against an understrength Villa in Gameweek 4, Mohamed Salah (£12.5m) at home to Palace in Gameweek 5 and perhaps Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£8.2m) at home to Norwich in Gameweek 6. Saving two transfers from now till then would at least allow me the chance to swap Lukaku for Ronaldo for one week if I caved (downgrading Greenwood to a cheaper midfielder), reversing the move in Gameweek 7.
The bench is the weakness but I won’t be alone in that, and at least the likes of Allan (£4.5m) will contribute appearance points as a minimum if called upon.
