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Step Into My Office

It's pink slip time for some, while we lay out the welcome mat for two budget signings

Huddersfield Town v Liverpool - Premier League
I am number one!
Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images

With the Premier League on hiatus for the week, let us assess some viable point generating transfers that should augur well for navigation upward on our respective leaderboards. There are only eleven game weeks left, and each passing week will become even more vital.

Teams at this stage are very similar; our opponents’ lineups mostly include players such as Kane, Salah, Otamendi, Firmino, and Sterling. Differentials are important at this time of the season, so today we take a look at two popular and expensive players we might drop, and two bargain players with low ownership we might buy. If we make the right call, we will find the passing lane to move past those ahead of us.

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Step Into my Office

You would not think a player with three clean sheets and three bonus points in his last five games would be someone I’d tee up to deliver the news that I’m going to give him the sack. It is however time to let go of trusted steward Cesar Azpilicueta. The Spanish international faces both of the Manchester giants and Tottenham in his next five fixtures, putting further clean sheets at risk. The £7.0 could be better used elsewhere.

The next player up for a pink slip is one that netted yesterday in the FA Cup and in two of his previous five Premier League games. So why should we sell such a player? Well in the case of Romelu Lukaku, there are several factors at play: Sergio Aguero and Harry Kane are a little more must-have I believe, and Manchester United face Chelsea and Liverpool in upcoming games where Mourinho is known to employ bus-parking tactics. At £11.2, it’s time for his 20% ownership to drop.

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The Welcome Mat

Now we look at some shrewd purchases that can elevate our teams to the next level:

Loris Karius is cemented as the Liverpool goalkeeper, with a price of £4.8 and under 1% ownership. The addition of Virgil Van Dijk has solidified ‘Pool’s defense. Clean sheets have become a reality on Merseyside, and with three of the next four games at Anfield, unsullied sheets are a possibility against the likes of West Ham, Newcastle, and Watford.

Speaking of Watford, it’s time to add Gerard Deulofeu folks. Priced at £6.0, the Barcelona loanee brings his enormous talent to a stalled team ready-made for him to reinvigorate. Home to Everton, West Brom, and Bournemouth in the next five matches, this player with less than 5% ownership is one to bring in.

There you have it, two players to release, and two to sign. Let’s do this again in a few weeks. Until then, let us know whose parking has expired for you.