Three suggestions ahead of May’s Dream Team transfer refresh – finish the season on a high!
THE last batch of transfers for the 2022/23 season will be available to Dream Team managers from Friday morning.
Please be aware this replenishment of five transfers will have to last you until June in the event of Manchester City and/or West Ham reaching the final of their respective European competitions.
Every gaffer will want to finish the campaign on a high, especially those chasing mini-league glory, so in the spirit of generosity we’ve created three transfer suggestions for your perusal.
As always, while it’s unlikely these recommendations will apply specifically to your team, you should be able to extract the logic and apply it to your strategic needs.
OUT: Bukayo Saka (£5.4m), IN: Jack Grealish (£4.8m)
This is nothing personal against Arsenal’s No7, who has been brilliant this season, it’s just business.
Saka is the third-best midfielder overall with 184 points and his ownership of 42.4% makes him the second-most popular asset in his position.
However, his impressive record doesn’t change the fact that the Gunners have just four fixtures remaining this season.
Whereas treble-chasers Man City could be in action eight more times if they reach the Champions League final.
Not only is Grealish is busier than his England team-mate, he’s in better form too.
The £100million man has banked 53 points since Game Week 27 compared to Saka’s tally of 12 in the same time frame.
Arsenal’s homegrown hero has served his backers well this term but there’s no room for sentimentality when mini-leagues are on the line.
OUT: Alisson (£3.9m), IN: Ederson (£4.9m)
Much of what’s written above about Man City’s busy schedule above also applies here but this suggestion also highlights the fact that Liverpool are among the crop of teams with just four fixtures left to fulfil.
This is notable because while Jurgen Klopp’s side have performed below expectations this season, several of their players remain the among the most popular in the game.
The Reds’ Brazilian custodian has outperformed every goalkeeper bar Jason Steele (£2.7m) – who is a viable option while we’re on the subject – this Game Week but with so few point-scoring opportunities at his disposal this month it’s a good time to pivot to his fully-booked compatriot.
At the time of writing, swapping Alisson for Ederson requires an additional £1million in budget but that gap should close when the latest price changes take effect as the latter registered minus one point in Game Week 32.
Whether the fixture-first approach extends to the likes of Mohamed Salah (£8.5m) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (£5.4m) is another matter – the prolific Egyptian has amassed 72 points across the last eight Game Weeks while the English right-back has claimed 53 in the same period thanks to minutes in midfield.
Decisions, decisions…
OUT: Ollie Watkins (£6.4m), IN: Solly March (£4.7m)
Man City are undoubtedly the best team to back as the season reaches its climax but that doesn’t mean there aren’t viable options elsewhere.
Cup exploits and subsequent calendar reshuffles mean Brighton have seven Premier League fixtures still to play, although one those comes prior to May’s transfer refresh this evening against Manchester United.
The Seagulls face some testing match-ups with Arsenal, Newcastle, Man City and Aston Villa to play before the season’s end (offset by favourable match-ups against Everton and Southampton) but they can give any team a game on their day, as proven several times over in recent months.
Kaoru Mitoma (£4.6m) is the most-selected of Brighton’s midfielders but the Japanese dribbler has been overtaken by March having registered three blanks in a row.
The 28-year-old Englishman has 147 points to Mitoma’s 142 with the pair seventh and eighth respectively in the midfield rankings.
March’s tally of seven goals, nine assists and six Star Man awards is mightily impressive when you consider the fact he started the campaign at just £1m!
We’re proposing a swap for Watkins, which would obviously require a change in formation, because while the Villains’ top scorer has been superb generally since the World Cup, he’s cooled off with three consecutive blanks since his magnificent display against Newcastle three weeks back.
And again, Villa are among the clubs with just four fixtures remaining so March is likely to have two additional games over Watkins in the coming weeks.