Our team of Hall of Famers and guest writers are offering regular contributions throughout the 2023/24 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) campaign. Here, five-time top 1k finisher Tom Freeman shares his current squad and reveals his big team decisions for Gameweek 22 and beyond.
TRANSFER PLANS
We are moving into a crucial phase of the season, where every transfer is important.
For my team, this week looks like the ideal time to save one, with Double Gameweek 25 and Blank Gameweek 26 fast approaching. Having two free transfers could be key, but I’m still unsure if this is the best strategy.
Making up ground can be difficult in the second half of the season, but I do feel a lot of players follow rather than lead. They generally won’t buy a player until after he has come good, which does create opportunities.
With that in mind, it is tempting to make a transfer this week, bringing in a player hoping for a quick haul, like Diogo Jota (£7.9m) in Gameweek 21. An example this week might be James Maddison (£7.8m) or Jeremy Doku (£6.5m).
I suppose with a rank around 200k, I can afford to be a bit different.
Bringing Maddison in now could create problems in Blank Gameweek 26, however, and once Son Heung-min (£9.7m) is back from the Asian Cup, he’s my preferred Spurs midfielder anyway.
Whereas with someone like Doku or Kevin De Bruyne (£10.6m), the long-term plan has always been to use the next few weeks to bring in two more Man City players for their ‘double’, so it makes more sense. We don’t know if they’ll start v Burnley, but there is a haul there if they do, which is why it’s so tempting.
Saving a free transfer this week opens up many more options for my team. It also makes it easier to get Erling Haaland (£13.9m) in Gameweek 23, I’m just not convinced going into Man City v Burnley with only Julian Alvarez (£7.0m) is enough.
READ MORE: FPL Gameweek 22 team news: Haaland + Salah injury latest
MY GAMEWEEK 22 TEAM
