As Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers will be aware, Manchester City forward Erling Haaland (£14.0m) missed Gameweek 16 with a foot injury.
His availability for Gameweek 17 remains in serious doubt, with Pep Guardiola intimating that the Norwegian will miss out.
In this article, we round up the latest injury news and the options available to managers ahead of Friday’s FPL deadline.
HAALAND INJURY LATEST: WILL HE BE FIT FOR GAMEWEEK 17?
Speaking in his pre-match presser, Guardiola cast into doubt the chances of Haaland recovering in time for the visit of Crystal Palace.
“He arrived today and the doctors will see him. We’ll see how he feels.
“He has been in treatment away.
“Hopefully he can travel to Saudi. He’ll arrive tomorrow after the game and I think he’s going to travel with us. And after, we’ll see if he is able to play the first game, or the second, or when we come back.
“I don’t think [he’ll play against Palace]. Maybe surprisingly they’ll tell me something new but I don’t think so.
“No, [I’m not worried about the injury]. It’s not a fracture, it’s just stress. Sometimes players recover quicker, sometimes longer. The doctors say day by day, week by week, how he feels. The moment he doesn’t have symptoms and doesn’t feel pain, he will be ready to play again.” – Pep Guardiola on Erling Haaland
HAALAND: KEEP OR SELL IN GAMEWEEK 17?
If managers assume Haaland will miss Gameweek 17, there’s a big decision to be made. That’s because Man City aren’t playing in Gameweek 18, as they’ll instead be participating in the Club World Cup.
Let’s explore the three main options and pick out some interesting replacements.
OPTION 1: KEEP
Free transfers are so precious right now. With recent rotations and upcoming suspensions providing fires elsewhere, some managers may feel that there isn’t an outstanding forward that justifies one – but likely two – of these valuable transfers.
A more defensive formation can briefly be used. Depending on budget, those with bench fodder as their eighth attacker could slightly upgrade him to a still-cheap name like Raul Jimenez (£5.3m), Jay Rodriguez (£5.3m) or Matheus Cunha (£5.7m).
The added benefit to this is that it’ll also add squad depth for the notoriously difficult festive period.
OPTION 2: SHORT-TERM ALTERNATIVE
If a squad is generally in good health, or the other issues are deemed less important, managers could take a two-week punt on another forward, with the intention to bring Haaland back for Gameweek 19.
There’d be no price limit either.
OPTION 3: SELL + REBUY ONCE SALAH/SON DEPART
The third option is to sell Haaland in Gameweek 17, spread cash throughout the squad and rebuy him once other expensive names like Mohamed Salah (£13.2m) and Son Heung-min (£9.6m) depart for AFCON and the Asian Cup.
They’re gone from Gameweek 21, meaning managers would have to survive Gameweeks 19 and 20 without the Norwegian. He’d be clashing with Everton (a) and Sheffield United (h).
Alternatively, you could free up some cash by selling Salah in Gameweek 20, when Liverpool host Newcastle United, and bring Haaland back as part of a two-transfer move. That way, you won’t miss that juicy Sheffield United fixture at the Etihad.
HAALAND REPLACEMENTS
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