As part of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) early-season tradition, a frantic number of transfers are being completed in the build-up to Gameweek 2.
Based on form, injuries, suspensions and upcoming fixtures, managers are frantically switching players around.
Above: As of Tuesday afternoon, the most bought (left) and most sold (right) players heading into Gameweek 2
But whether it’s a good idea or not is a different matter. Looking at this week’s most popular ins and outs, let’s pick out a couple of players who are good to buy, keep and sell in preparation for Gameweek 2.
Tijani Reijnders (£5.6m)
£46.5m summer signing Reijnders already began in over 1.8 million squads, but that could reach three million by Friday’s deadline.
Hype escalated for the Dutchman once he scored twice in Manchester City’s final friendly. But in Gameweek 1, his Premier League debut ended with a goal and an assist against Wolverhampton Wanderers. The 10-point masterclass featured five penalty area touches, too.
Early opinions say that he could end up making a mockery of his original £5.5m price tag if Man City return to their usual standards and he gets close to last season’s 15 goals and five assists (in all competitions) at AC Milan.
In fact, his 77 shots ranked among Serie A’s top 10 players. Reijnders will likely be used in various roles by Pep Guardiola, but this one is clearly working.
VERDICT: BUY
Antoine Semenyo (£7.1m)
Beforehand, Friday night’s opener at Anfield saw Bournemouth’s Semenyo punish Liverpool’s defence on two occasions. He collected 15 points, one short of May’s Gameweek 38 brace versus Leicester City.
Ending last season as the second-best individual for box touches (212) and number three for goal attempts (125), the attacker was frustrating to own at times.
But the Cherries’ great fixtures between Gameweeks 2 and 7 rank third on our Ticker – a run of four home games, plus a trip to Leeds United, beginning at home to last-placed Wolves.
VERDICT: BUY
Florian Wirtz (£8.5m)
The scramble to buy one of those means that Wirtz is currently the most sold.
There’s been so much excitement over his arrival from Leverkusen and meeting such hype feels difficult. Sure enough, Friday seemed fairly quiet – although the 22-year-old shot once and set up three others, accumulating 0.42 expected goal involvement (xGI).
We think Wirtz could still become an FPL bargain and managers should keep faith beyond tricky matches against Newcastle United and Arsenal.
After all, pre-season brought one goal and three assists.
VERDICT: KEEP
Ezri Konsa (£4.5m)
Speaking of Newcastle, they kept Aston Villa very quiet in Saturday’s 0-0 stalemate. Their hosts lacked threat, albeit the final half an hour had to be played with 10 men, thanks to Konsa’s red card.
The centre-back pulled back a clean through Anthony Gordon (£7.5m) and will therefore miss Gameweek 2’s trip to former club Brentford.
Unless you’re a very unlucky manager who is already struggling to field three defenders, it’s probably worth keeping Konsa for Villa’s subsequent run against Crystal Palace, Everton, Sunderland, Fulham and Burnley. It’s hard to ignore.
VERDICT: KEEP
Alexander Isak (£10.5m)
Whereas this one is possibly too easy. Almost 850,000 began the season with Isak, despite the star centre-forward refusing to play until he leaves the Magpies for Liverpool.
Yet it’s never looked like the champions were serious about making a realistic bid; it’s more been about unsettling a rival.
Right now, the chances of Isak staying on Tyneside are quite high, but things could always change. It certainly feels like the majority of Newcastle staff, players and fans want this petulant figure gone.
But regardless of where the Swedish international ends up, there’ll need to be several weeks of training to build match fitness. He’s not currently an FPL option.
VERDICT: SELL
Jarrod Bowen (£8.0m)
Finally, perhaps selling a nailed-on talisman, someone who needs no Premier League adaptation, is an overreaction.
Three of Bowen’s last four seasons have brought in over 180 points and he looked bright in pre-season, forming a decent partnership with Niclas Fullkrug (£6.0m).
However, West Ham United looked absolutely woeful in their 3-0 humbling at Sunderland. Up next are Chelsea, Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur.
VERDICT: SELL
Do you agree or disagree with these conclusions? Feel free to leave a comment below about who to buy or sell before Gameweek 2.
