This is a short article hoping to attract some attention to a few under-the-radar options that may shine for fantasy managers this season. While most are definite differentials and others borderline, each midfielder has been selected on the basis that they have seemingly not been considered to a full extent. Let’s take a closer look.
Gylfi Sigurðsson (£6.0m) – Gylfi Sigurðsson is a fantastic talent, who unfortunately has struggled to find his place at Tottenham Hotspur. 8 goals and 5 assists in the last two seasons can be credited mostly to the lack of minutes he was able to muster, the vast number of talented central midfielders Tottenham have acquired (Christian Eriksen, Paulinho, Moussa Dembele etc) and Tim Sherwood’s determination to bring young Algerian Nabil Bentaleb into the picture. Before his mixed spell at Spurs, Sigurðsson enjoyed a wonderful half-season at Swansea, scoring 7 goals and assisting 5, in as few as 18 Premier League appearances. With 10 goals and 2 assists to his name in the 2010/2011 season for German side Hoffenheim and 21 strikes in 44 games for Reading the season previous, the gifted Icelander might be the name on everybody’s lips this season, should his transfer back to the Swans be finalised.
Nemanja Matic (£5.5m) – Since the Fantasy Premier League site got back up and running and managers began selecting their teams, Chelsea have probably been the most discussed club. In Burnley and Leicester, they face two of the promoted clubs in the first two gameweeks. This has led to numerous debates on whether proven point-getter Eden Hazard (10.0m), expensive newcomer Diego Costa (10.5m) or ex-Arsenal sensation Cesc Fabregas (9.0m) is the best option when selecting attacking talent from the blues. Whilst all of these options should be considered, and one of them most definitely selected, Nemanja Matic is worth consideration as a second route to Chelsea points. Granted, he’ll spend more time in front of the defence than behind the strike force. However, he picked up a reasonable 4 assists after his purchase in January, and is almost certainly guaranteed a starting berth in a high-scoring outfit. At just £5.5m, he’s just about cheap enough to rotate from a manager’s bench if necessary so 2/3 points a week are secure, with the likelihood of more in easier fixtures.
Peter Odemwingie (£6.5m) – The fantasy football community has made rather a lot of Alexis Sanchez since he joined Arsenal, and rightly so. He’s primarily a forward, registered by the Fantasy Premier League as a midfielder. This leads to perks such as higher points for goals scored and a clean sheet point on occasion. OOP (out of position) players are seen as a rarity and a real advantage to managers who consider such details. As a Stoke City forward, Peter Odemwingie, is a rather less fashionable OOP option. Priced at a decent £6.5m, the Nigerian is played in a very advanced role for the Potters and can be viewed as a forward. He amassed 25 goals and 13 assists overall in seasons 2010-11 and 2011-12 for West Bromwich Albion, before controversially and unsuccessfully attempting to force through a move to Queens Park Rangers. This led to a place on the bench for many months afterwards, but last season he began to recapture previous form at Stoke after a brief spell at Cardiff. He picked up 5 goals in 15 games and helped Mark Hughes’ side to a mid-table finish. He could be a real differential considering the low percentage of managers selecting him (2.3%) and the justified interest in fellow teammate Marko Arnautovic (£6.5m), who also performed well at the end of last season.
Robert Snodgrass (£6.0m) – Now at Hull City, new tiger Robert Snodgrass will be looking to pay back Steve Bruce’s faith in him with some of his renowned set-piece brilliance. He picked up 6 goals and 9 assists two seasons back for Norwich City, following up with a slightly less impressive, but still respectable, 6 goals and 2 assists last season for the Canaries. Last season, though, the problem was not with Snodgrass, but with the forwards in front of him. While the Norwich backline conceded a hatful of goals, they were relying on the unimpressive Gary Hooper and injury-hit Ricky van Wolfswinkel to save them from the drop. By January, Snodgrass had created a massive 36 chances without being credited with an assist; only David Silva, Luis Suarez and Mesut Ozil created more chances per game at that stage. As a free-kick specialist, Snodgrass will likely be granted set-piece duty, this time aiming for the more reliable Nikica Jelavic and Shane Long. Hull face QPR, Stoke, Villa and West Ham in their first 4 fixtures so Snodgrass will have the opportunity to pick up some early points.
Jonjo Shelvey (5.5m) – In terms of real English talent, Jonjo Shelvey is considered by many to have been severely overlooked the past year. With 6 goals and 7 assists in the Swansea strip, Shelvey picked up 3 assists more in not many more minutes than Everton starlet, Ross Barkley. Whilst it appears to many that Barkley is undoubtedly the better midfielder, at £1.5m more, is he the better midfielder from a fantasy football perspective? With the Swansea man being selected by over 10% of fantasy football managers, he’s less of a differential than other names on this list. Even so, ex-red Shelvey might just be making Barkley’s near 30% percent ownership looks a little exaggerated considering the difference in both players’ price-tags. Food for thought.
Others to watch:
Oussama Assaidi (£5.0m) – Despite injury and not too many minutes, he smashed home 4 Premier League goals for Stoke last season and looks to be joining them on a permanent basis from Liverpool. If he gets the game time, he could be real asset at such a cheap price.
Jason Puncheon (£6.0m) – Like Shelvey, he too has probably surpassed the differential label. Despite this, such a fantastic second half to the season for Crystal Palace, in which he scored vital goals against Everton and Aston Villa can’t be ignored. He may also retain penalty-kick duty this season.
Remy Cabella (£7.5m) – A few managers were left disappointed that Cabella was priced quite highly, hence his placing in this part of the article, with many proven options around his price-range. With home games against Crystal Palace, Hull and Leicester in their first 7, the ex-Montpellier star, who picked up 14 goals and 7 assists last season looks good for points. He may even be a better bet than the more highly selected new Magpie, Siem de Jong (7.0m), who struggled with injury last season. If de Jong can stay fit, he too looks promising, holding a great record for Ajax before hamstring trouble.
Steve Sidwell (£5.5m) – He may not seem incredibly desirable, but Sidwell was very consistent last season for Fulham, who were falling apart from the off. 7 goals and 2 assists last season have proven the new Stoke signing’s worth as a fantasy option of decent value.
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Gylfi Sigurðsson (£6.0m) – Gylfi Sigurðsson is a fantastic talent, who unfortunately has struggled to find his place at Tottenham Hotspur. 8 goals and 5 assists in the last two seasons can be credited mostly to the lack of minutes he was able to muster, the vast number of talented central midfielders Tottenham have acquired (Christian Eriksen, Paulinho, Moussa Dembele etc) and Tim Sherwood’s determination to bring young Algerian Nabil Bentaleb into the picture. Before his mixed spell at Spurs, Sigurðsson enjoyed a wonderful half-season at Swansea, scoring 7 goals and assisting 5, in as few as 18 Premier League appearances. With 10 goals and 2 assists to his name in the 2010/2011 season for German side Hoffenheim and 21 strikes in 44 games for Reading the season previous, the gifted Icelander might be the name on everybody’s lips this season, should his transfer back to the Swans be finalised.
Nemanja Matic (£5.5m) – Since the Fantasy Premier League site got back up and running and managers began selecting their teams, Chelsea have probably been the most discussed club. In Burnley and Leicester, they face two of the promoted clubs in the first two gameweeks. This has led to numerous debates on whether proven point-getter Eden Hazard (10.0m), expensive newcomer Diego Costa (10.5m) or ex-Arsenal sensation Cesc Fabregas (9.0m) is the best option when selecting attacking talent from the blues. Whilst all of these options should be considered, and one of them most definitely selected, Nemanja Matic is worth consideration as a second route to Chelsea points. Granted, he’ll spend more time in front of the defence than behind the strike force. However, he picked up a reasonable 4 assists after his purchase in January, and is almost certainly guaranteed a starting berth in a high-scoring outfit. At just £5.5m, he’s just about cheap enough to rotate from a manager’s bench if necessary so 2/3 points a week are secure, with the likelihood of more in easier fixtures.
Peter Odemwingie (£6.5m) – The fantasy football community has made rather a lot of Alexis Sanchez since he joined Arsenal, and rightly so. He’s primarily a forward, registered by the Fantasy Premier League as a midfielder. This leads to perks such as higher points for goals scored and a clean sheet point on occasion. OOP (out of position) players are seen as a rarity and a real advantage to managers who consider such details. As a Stoke City forward, Peter Odemwingie, is a rather less fashionable OOP option. Priced at a decent £6.5m, the Nigerian is played in a very advanced role for the Potters and can be viewed as a forward. He amassed 25 goals and 13 assists overall in seasons 2010-11 and 2011-12 for West Bromwich Albion, before controversially and unsuccessfully attempting to force through a move to Queens Park Rangers. This led to a place on the bench for many months afterwards, but last season he began to recapture previous form at Stoke after a brief spell at Cardiff. He picked up 5 goals in 15 games and helped Mark Hughes’ side to a mid-table finish. He could be a real differential considering the low percentage of managers selecting him (2.3%) and the justified interest in fellow teammate Marko Arnautovic (£6.5m), who also performed well at the end of last season.
Robert Snodgrass (£6.0m) – Now at Hull City, new tiger Robert Snodgrass will be looking to pay back Steve Bruce’s faith in him with some of his renowned set-piece brilliance. He picked up 6 goals and 9 assists two seasons back for Norwich City, following up with a slightly less impressive, but still respectable, 6 goals and 2 assists last season for the Canaries. Last season, though, the problem was not with Snodgrass, but with the forwards in front of him. While the Norwich backline conceded a hatful of goals, they were relying on the unimpressive Gary Hooper and injury-hit Ricky van Wolfswinkel to save them from the drop. By January, Snodgrass had created a massive 36 chances without being credited with an assist; only David Silva, Luis Suarez and Mesut Ozil created more chances per game at that stage. As a free-kick specialist, Snodgrass will likely be granted set-piece duty, this time aiming for the more reliable Nikica Jelavic and Shane Long. Hull face QPR, Stoke, Villa and West Ham in their first 4 fixtures so Snodgrass will have the opportunity to pick up some early points.
Jonjo Shelvey (5.5m) – In terms of real English talent, Jonjo Shelvey is considered by many to have been severely overlooked the past year. With 6 goals and 7 assists in the Swansea strip, Shelvey picked up 3 assists more in not many more minutes than Everton starlet, Ross Barkley. Whilst it appears to many that Barkley is undoubtedly the better midfielder, at £1.5m more, is he the better midfielder from a fantasy football perspective? With the Swansea man being selected by over 10% of fantasy football managers, he’s less of a differential than other names on this list. Even so, ex-red Shelvey might just be making Barkley’s near 30% percent ownership looks a little exaggerated considering the difference in both players’ price-tags. Food for thought.
Others to watch:
Oussama Assaidi (£5.0m) – Despite injury and not too many minutes, he smashed home 4 Premier League goals for Stoke last season and looks to be joining them on a permanent basis from Liverpool. If he gets the game time, he could be real asset at such a cheap price.
Jason Puncheon (£6.0m) – Like Shelvey, he too has probably surpassed the differential label. Despite this, such a fantastic second half to the season for Crystal Palace, in which he scored vital goals against Everton and Aston Villa can’t be ignored. He may also retain penalty-kick duty this season.
Remy Cabella (£7.5m) – A few managers were left disappointed that Cabella was priced quite highly, hence his placing in this part of the article, with many proven options around his price-range. With home games against Crystal Palace, Hull and Leicester in their first 7, the ex-Montpellier star, who picked up 14 goals and 7 assists last season looks good for points. He may even be a better bet than the more highly selected new Magpie, Siem de Jong (7.0m), who struggled with injury last season. If de Jong can stay fit, he too looks promising, holding a great record for Ajax before hamstring trouble.
Steve Sidwell (£5.5m) – He may not seem incredibly desirable, but Sidwell was very consistent last season for Fulham, who were falling apart from the off. 7 goals and 2 assists last season have proven the new Stoke signing’s worth as a fantasy option of decent value.
If you enjoyed the article and/or have anything you'd like to add, please leave a comment!