FPL first-draft team reveals: 4-4-2 with Sancho

With Fantasy Premier League (FPL) live for 2022/23, we’re welcoming back our stellar team of Pro Pundits and Hall of Famers for the new campaign.

We’ll be hearing from a different writer every day in the aftermath of the FPL relaunch, to get their thoughts on the pricing and to see their initial picks.

Our contributors will be providing regular articles and team reveals throughout the new season, with only Premium Members able to access every single one.

Next up is Az, who added to his list of top 10k finishes in 2021/22.

Ah, pre-season hype. Of course, a 4-0 drubbing of Liverpool’s reserve squad and a 4-1 victory over Melbourne Victory has got me excited over Manchester United players, who I vowed to avoid just a week ago.

The thing is, with “big at the back”, Mohamed Salah (£13.0m), Erling Haaland (£11.5m) and Pedro Neto (£5.5m) featuring in almost every draft I see, I am looking for ways in which I can differentiate my squad a little bit.

I always like to have at least 2-3 players who I can get a bit excited about when I watch them play (usually before the crippling disappointment sets in). My first draft video for Fantasy Football Scout over on YouTube for example had me talking up the prospects of Chelsea-bound Raheem Sterling (£10.0m). I’m still very much sold on the new Blues recruit, but of course, when you see what taking out a premium-priced player for the rest of your squad can do, there is temptation.

So, I’ve traded Sterling out for Luis Diaz (£8.0m), who watchers of my “Who is the best £8.0m midfielder” video will know I rated as my top pick in his price bracket. A popular choice on the FFS boards, I’m backing him to have a stellar campaign after his immediate impact when signing for Liverpool in January.

MAN UTD PLAYERS

Using this money, I’ve then been able to upgrade one of my heroes of last season, Bruno Guimarães (£6.0m), who sits in a whopping 20% of all teams at the time of writing. In comes Jadon Sancho (£7.5m). Now I know full well this is off the back of some, quite frankly, meaningless pre-season friendlies. However, when I initially saw his price tag of just £7.5m (a huge £2.0m down from £9.5m last season) my curiosity was piqued. To have any chance of success in the Premier League next season, Erik ten Haag will need to get the absolute best out of Sancho, who managed 38 goals and 51 assists in his time at Borussia Dortmund but struggled in his maiden season in England.

A big factor in my decision as to whether or not to start with Sancho will likely depend on what happens with talismanic figure Cristiano Ronaldo (£10.5m). Rumours continue to swirl that he isn’t happy at the club, but in truth, it is my belief that his presence in the team negatively impacts the assets around him. If we see Ronaldo depart the club, might we see Anthony Martial (£7.0m) or even Marcus Rashford (£6.5m) lead the line for the Red Devils? If this happens, ten Haag’s new “press high, play aggressively” approach would likely see United’s cut-price attackers back on the radar. However, if Ronaldo sticks around and the team remains glued to feeding the 37-year-old, I fear their assets may be dead weights once again.

I want to see a bright, bold and attacking United side. While Ronaldo’s goals were crucial for Manchester United finishing semi-respectably, my sense is that his general presence in the team hindered those around him. A perfect example of this was the 3-0 win against Spurs last season, in which he scored all three goals. However, United’s general play was really poor, and they simply relied on moments of brilliance from the Portuguese superstar. Looking at Ronaldo’s defensive contributions for example, over the season, he made just two interceptions across all matches (equal with Edinson Cavani who played just 162 minutes). In terms of tackles, Ronaldo’s total of 12 paled to the likes of Diogo Jota (£9.0m; 81), Ivan Toney (£7.0m; 59) and even the likes of Neal Maupay (£6.5m; 31). In fairness to Ronaldo, Spurs forward Harry Kane (£11.5m) didn’t show massive difference in his stats, with just three interceptions and 26 tackles. However, Kane created nearly double the number of chances (49) compared to Ronaldo (26), highlighting the impact he has on the players around him. No player had a better mins/shot than Ronaldo last season (22.3), but it’s likely these will be shared more around the team if he was to drop out, with Sancho (hopefully) reaping the rewards.

SPURS DEFENDERS