As you are all undoubtedly aware, Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers will receive extra free transfers in Gameweek 16 to help prepare for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Prominent FPL names such as Mohamed Salah (£14.0m), Bryan Mbeumo (£8.3m), Ismaila Sarr (£6.7m) and Iliman Ndiaye (£6.6m) will all be jetting off, but how exactly do we get the most out of the transfer top-up from a Fantasy perspective?
We take a closer look in this article.
USE ALL FREE TRANSFERS IN GAMEWEEK 15
This is the most important part.
Regardless of how many you have, make sure you’ve used all your free transfers by the Gameweek 15 deadline on Saturday 6 December 11:00 GMT.
This approach will give you an extra four free transfers, as well as your normal weekly one, for Gameweek 16.
But if, for example, you rolled two going into Gameweek 16, you’d only get a) your normal weekly transfer and b) two additional ones.
ATTACK SHORT-TERM FIXTURES
Safe in the knowledge that we have five free transfers in Gameweek 16, you could use the upcoming period, i.e. Gameweeks 12-15, to play more aggressively, targeting shorter-term punts.
Above, we’ve sorted the Fixture Ticker by difficulty for this timeframe, with the easiest runs at the top and the most challenging at the bottom.
For example, you could look to bring in a low-owned player from Brighton and Hove Albion for the next four Gameweeks, such as Yankuba Minteh (£6.0m). Fabian Hurzeler’s side are set to play three home matches during this run, facing Brentford, Aston Villa and West Ham United, in addition to an away game at Nottingham Forest.
You can subsequently transfer the player out in Gameweek 16, knowing you have a viable exit plan, which coincides with Brighton’s fixtures taking a turn for the worse (liv/SUN/ars).
He has a higher ownership (16.1%), but the same applies to Crystal Palace’s Daniel Munoz (£5.7m). Acquire him for wol/MUN/bur/ful, and then simply transfer him out for MCI/lee/TOT.
Alternatively, you may wish to target one of the players heading to AFCON, such as Salah, Mbeumo or Sarr, due to their favourable upcoming schedules. With five free transfers in Gameweek 16, they can be easily replaced when they depart without incurring a points hit.
MINI-WILDCARD IN GAMEWEEK 16…
You could use your five free transfers in Gameweek 16 to play a mini-Wildcard, removing the deadwood and bringing in players who have favourable fixture runs.
For planning purposes, here’s the schedule sorted by difficulty in Gameweeks 16-22, which covers the entirety of AFCON.
There might be some new names to consider, like Nico O’Reilly (£4.9m) and Benjamin Sesko (£7.3m), who could benefit from Rayan Ait-Nouri (£5.7m), Mbeumo and Amad Diallo (£6.3m) going to AFCON.
We’ll be discussing those two players, along with others who could prosper from similar situations, in an upcoming article.
… OR KEEP THOSE FREE TRANSFERS AND ROLL
You do not need to use all your free transfers in Gameweek 16, however.
If your team is already in a good place, the transfers can be saved for future Gameweeks and used whenever needed.
They’ll surely come in use during the hectic festive period, which frequently brings fixture congestion and player rotation.
The extra transfers will provide you with greater flexibility to manage this situation, along with any injuries or suspensions that may arise.
STOCK UP ON PLAYERS FOR A BENCH BOOST
For those who haven’t played the chip already, you could use the extra transfers to help prepare for a Bench Boost.
Gameweek 18 carries appeal, as this is the only remaining round in which Burnley, Leeds United and Sunderland all have decent fixtures.
Additionally, it’s a good week for budget midfielders such as Granit Xhaka (£5.1m), Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (£4.9m) and Josh King (£4.5m).
Gameweek 18 is, of course, a Boxing Day-28th December round, so the usual caveats apply, i.e. rotation/minute management and lack of team news.
