Our ‘Buy, Keep or Sell’ article returns as we consider various transfer dilemmas for Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers in Gameweek 3.
These are the players with the most transfers in/out ahead of Friday’s deadline…
| Player | Transfers in (round) | Player | Transfers out (round) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cherki | 721,046 | Mbeumo | 290,079 |
| Wissa | 329,928 | Semenyo | 165,488 |
| De Cuyper | 291,008 | B Fernandes | 164,013 |
| Elanga | 290,701 | Szoboszlai | 136,567 |
| Ajayi | 234,011 | Mateta | 127,663 |
| Gvardiol | 224,633 | Brobbey | 125,324 |
| Hall | 172,199 | Calvert-Lewin | 120,964 |
| Palmer | 163,783 | Thiago | 115,534 |
| J Pedro | 162,387 | O’Reilly | 108,175 |
| Haaland | 147,095 | Gabriel | 105,403 |
The merit of some of these moves is open to debate – and that’s exactly what we’ll be weighing up in this article.
- READ MORE: £5.5m FPL forward Delap one to watch after Forest move
- READ MORE: Bouaddi to Man City – could it affect O’Reilly?
RAYAN CHERKI
It’s now four attacking returns in two matches for Rayan Cherki (£7.6m), who netted two fine solo goals at Selhurst Park on Friday.
In terms of underlying numbers, he’s remarkably created a chance every 16 minutes so far this season. He’s also chipped in with three shots.
We said last week that we’d consider Cherki from Gameweek 3. Not much has changed since then.
If you can swallow the rotation risk, the upside is clearly there.
But Cherki was fairly quiet in the first half on Friday, and it doesn’t sound like he was too far from being subbed off at the interval.
On a positive note, Enzo Maresca praised his defensive work against Crystal Palace.
“For sure he’s happy. His performance for me was very good not just the two goals but the way he worked off the ball. When Palace had the ball, he was in charge of Adam Wharton, I think his game was a complete game on the ball and off the ball. Probably he was not playing at his level in the first half. But we were happy with his performance off the ball.
“Then second half he scored twice and for sure he’s much more happy. First of all, he loves football. So that makes it easier to work with him. Rayan is like this, we know how good he is. We know the quality that he has. In this moment, he is helping the team with the numbers in term of goals and assists and no doubt he’s going to help more in the future.” – Enzo Maresca on Rayan Cherki
Even considering the above factors, given the home match against Coventry City, plus Cherki’s haul potential, he looks like a great pickup for Gameweek 3. This goes especially so for Gameweek 4/6 Wildcarders, who can U-turn on the decision if there are any lingering medium-term concerns over game-time.
Just be aware he faces Manchester United and Liverpool away in the three Gameweeks that follow. Cherki didn’t start either of those matches under Pep Guardiola last season.
VERDICT: BUY
BRYAN MBEUMO
Bryan Mbeumo (£8.0m) is on the chopping block for many Fantasy managers.
In fact, he’s the most-sold player since Friday’s Gameweek 2 deadline.
In truth, many had already started offloading Manchester United players before Sunday’s 5-2 win over Ipswich Town.
Mbeumo delivered 11 points in that match. However, it could easily have been more, having missed a sitter from only yards out:
He got his goal in the end, however, plus a Fantasy assist from a shot rebound, having been directly involved in eight goal attempts (five of his own, three created for others).
United travel to Everton next, which is why we think Mbeumo might be worth keeping for at least one more week.
Across their first two matches, David Moyes’ men have conceded 4.12 expected goals (xG), the fourth-most of any team.
Bournemouth looked pretty dangerous down Everton’s left flank on Saturday, too, with Rayan (£6.5m) squandering two big chances. The Brazilian international also finished top for shots (five).
Above: Everton’s open play goal attempts conceded map in Gameweek 1-2
Mbeumo is probably worth keeping this week, then, provided you haven’t transferred him out already.
VERDICT: KEEP
DOMINIK SZOBOSZLAI
There was no attacking return for Dominik Szoboszlai (£7.0m) in Gameweek 2, but he did bank defensive contribution (DefCon) points for his 42.3% ownership.
A shift to right-back helped him hit the threshold, as pointed out by Neale in his Scout Notes.
A reverse ‘out-of-position’ role regularly would need to be monitored from a Fantasy perspective, but his defensive work would naturally increase in this position.
Given his set-play threat (he has taken every corner and free-kick for Liverpool so far this season, plus a penalty at St James’ Park), Szoboszlai will still have multiple routes to points wherever he starts.
So, on the face of it, it isn’t a massive concern, especially as he’ll likely play for 90 minutes each week.
Despite the sales, this could be a classic ‘hold’ situation.
Certainly, with Ipswich Town and Fulham up next, two of the worst three defences for expected goals conceded (xGC) in the first two Gameweeks, you can afford to give Szoboszlai the next couple of matches.
VERDICT: KEEP
BRIAN BROBBEY
Owned by 11.4% of squads, Brian Brobbey (£6.0m) is the sixth-most sold player of Gameweek 3 so far.
It’s no surprise, having blanked in Gameweeks 1 and 2. Perhaps more worryingly, he’s averaged only 64.5 minutes per appearance in that time, with his replacement on Sunday, Wilson Isidor (£5.5m), netting the winner.
Prior to his withdrawal against Fulham, Brobbey looked isolated, with only one shot and two penalty box touches.
Given Isidor’s impact off the bench, he’s certainly in the mix for a Gameweek 3 start. Failing that, he’ll likely get 20-25 minutes off the bench.
“Our substitutes helped a lot. The second half was about our subs. It was the perfect time to change our energy in front of our attackers. We went with Enzo [Le Fee], Wilson [Isidor], and Habib [Diarra]. They gave us something different.” – Regis Le Bris
The appeal of Sunderland players in FPL was based purely on their first two matches. Now, they are bottom of the ticker over the next four Gameweeks. That run includes tricky fixtures against Brentford, Arsenal, Manchester City and Brighton and Hove Albion.
Plus, with Europe adding further complications, Brobbey feels like an easy sell for someone like Yoane Wissa (£6.1m).
VERDICT: SELL
NEWCASTLE PLAYERS
Newcastle United have started the season well, having taken four points from Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.
They have a very decent run of fixtures coming up, too:
In that period, the Magpies rank seventh for clean sheet % and sixth for projected goals.
It’s subsequently no surprise that Yoane Wissa, Anthony Elanga (£6.0m) and Lewis Hall (£5.0m) are all near the top of the transfers in column for Gameweek 3.
Wissa looks like an immediate buy. He netted his first goal of the season on Saturday, having previously supplied an assist against Liverpool. In those two matches, he has taken six shots, including three big chances. He might be eyeing up penalties, too.
Elanga meanwhile failed to score last season, but already has two goals from four attempts under Matthias Jaissle. He’s looked lively so far, but he feels like a trickier buy, particularly when compared to other players like Pascal Gross (£5.5m), Mamadou Sangare (£5.6m) and Anton Stach (£6.0m). Those players have more routes to scoring points, be it penalties, set-pieces and/or DefCons.
Elanga thrives on the break, too, and you’d think there will be less space in transition against teams such as Leeds United, Hull City and Coventry. Both goals this season have come on the counter-attack.
As for Hall, he’s banked DefCon in both matches so far and taken some corners. However, he could potentially wait until Gameweek 5, when the fixtures start to get really juicy.
