Fantasy Premier League is boring when we all have the same players. With Marcus Rashford’s injury, things are definitely about to be freshened up a little.
In terms of effective ownership, Rashford is second in the whole game right now after only Haaland. Basically, everyone who’s taking the game seriously has got him, and now he’s going to be out for a while.
Who are we getting to replace him? Glad you asked, amigo. Read on for your top five candidates.
Aren’t We Being a Little… Rash?
One option is simply to hold Rashford, and wait for him to come back.
If we knew he’d be back in a week or two, we’d probably all do this. He’s the second-highest scoring midfielder in the game, and is coming off back-to-back returns in the last two gameweeks.
If only it were that simple.
Erik ten Hag has lost the one player he couldn’t afford to for the foreseeable future in Marcus Rashford. Time for United’s mixed bag of other attackers to step up #MUFC https://t.co/w5ewtoeBvw
— James Ducker (@TelegraphDucker) April 13, 2023
I’m not a physio at Carrington (really, I’m not), so I can’t put a return date on old Rashy. Ten Haag reckons it will be ‘a few games’, however, which is long enough for me to want Rashford gone.
There are just too many other good midfielders – and he’s just expensive enough – that we need to use that spot more productively.
The Rashford Replacements
Obviously, who you can actually get in to replace Rashford depends on your team construction, your budget, blah blah blah. I’ve been sure to highlight players at very different price points though, and from a range of different teams, to make sure there’s something for everyone.
Please note, before you fall off your chair at my number two pick. These are ordered by price, not preference!
1) Mo Salah – 12.8
‘Ooh, recommending the guy who scores the most points in FPL every year. What an expert!’
Yeah, yeah.
For the first time in ages, Mo hasn’t been nailed into our teams this season. He’s only the fourth-highest scoring mid, and is super-duper expensive at 12.8. 12.8!
If you can get to Mo without sacrificing another premium, however, then you should just go for it. My Full90 FPL co-host James, for example, can go straight from Rashford and Maddison to Salah and Andreas, which I’d do in a heartbeat.
Is Mo at his very best? Nope. His finishing was dreadful against Arsenal, he could (and probably should) be taken off penalties, and his team’s a bit rubbish.
But he’s still Salah. We love him in FPL because he shoots all the time, and gets an absolute ton of chances. Oh, and his upcoming fixtures – particularly in the next three gameweeks – are just sumptuous:
If you need to bin another premium to get him… I’m not so sure.
Obviously you’re not binning Haaland. Kane will be the more likely sacrifice for most, and that becomes a case of personal preference.
I love having someone like Kane in my team, because I just know I can rely on him to return every week (he’s returned in 9 of the last 11 gameweeks, which is ridiculous consistency). His ceiling is definitely lower than Mo’s, though – he’s only got a double-digit return once in those 11 games.
Personally, I’d stick with Kane over Salah and get another midfielder in instead. If you’re looking for more of a differential though, go with Mo. Kane’s effective ownership is 86%, while Salah’s is a mere 14%.
2) Son Heung-Min – 11.6
Remember him?
Son used to be nailed-on as one of the best midfielders in FPL every year. I wrote about his illustrious history in my full lament, ‘We Need to Talk About Sonny’.
Overall this year, he’s been rubbish. He currently has 112pts, which is fewer than Xhaka and Jensen, and only three more than Billing.
Recently though, Son has shown signs of life. He’s returned in three of his last four games, and – after being rotated earlier on this season – is starting every game and playing at least 80mins.
Two things complicate this move.
One is obviously his price. He’s still very expensive, at 11.6. The second is his fixtures, with Newcastle and Man U coming up soon:
I’m still very tempted.
Firstly, there’s that mouthwatering home game against Bournemouth.
Son has absolutely thrived in games against lower-table opposition, returning against Southampton, Forest, West Ham, and Crystal Palace in the last 10 weeks or so. Even if you treat this as a one-week punt, you’ve still got a very high chance of getting at least 8pts from him.
(You’ll probably need to hit him in (I’d do it for Maddison, for example), but you’re still getting positive points from the move.)
Secondly, you can hold him through the post-Bournemouth games.
Many of us will be free-hitting in Gameweek 32 anyway, so that takes care of the Newcastle game. Man U isn’t a great fixture, but you can either bench him there or just gamble. Then in Gameweek 34 he has one of the best matchups in the league, as a top left winger against Trent. I’m not being mean there – it’s just true. We just saw Martinelli feast against Liverpool, we saw Vinicius do the same in the Champions League, and Son could definitely do so. After Gameweek 34, his fixtures are fine. it’s Palace home (good), Villa away (bad), Brentford home (good), and Leeds away (great).
TLDR: Son’s a flexible move. You can get him just for Bournemouth, but you can definitely keep him for the reason of the season too. His high price also makes him very easy to move, if you do need to restructure.
Finally, Son’s effective ownership is a miniscule 0.3%. Talk about a differential. This is a gamble, but I like it.
3) Bruno Fernandes – 9.6
An obvious candidate. He plays for the same team, and will presumably shoulder more of the burden with Rashford out.
I’m just not crazy about it.
The fixtures are fine, but not great. Forest in GW31 is great, but then it’s Spurs, Villa, and Brighton all in a row.
If Bruno was peak Bruno, we wouldn’t really care. But he’s blanked in five games in a row now, including games against Southampton, Everton, and Brentford (at home). This is doubly frustrating (and confusing) because he’s actually done fine in other competitions. He’s also not cheap, and his blank in Gameweek 32 means you shouldn’t even consider this if you don’t have your free hit.
This seems like a gamble… without very much upside.
4) Saka / Odegaard / Martinelli – 8.6 / 6.7 / 6.7
I thought the recent rush for FPL players to bin Arsenal assets was absolutely bizarre. All three of these guys have been great for most of the season, they’re all pretty cheap, and they play for the best team in the league.
Right now, I’d have them right at the top of the list for Rashford replacements.
The fixtures aren’t great the rest of the way. But they’re fine, and – anyway – Arsenal have scored against everyone this season.
Saka remains the steady option, and he’s on pens.
Martinelli is the pick of the bunch right now though. He’s in incredible form, with seven goals and two assists, and looks back to his menacing best. He’s ridiculous value too, at 6.7.
Odegaard is an intriguing option if you’ve already got the other two (as I have), and no Arsenal defender. He’s by far the least explosive, but has still got the fifth-most points among midfielders this year, and he’s cheap. He’s basically returning every other week right now, and never approaches double digit points. He’s an option, but not an exciting one.
5) Grealish – 7.1
Grealish is the hot name in FPL right now. He seems to be the one everyone’s turning to, with his price rising twice already this week. He’s got 12pts in back-to-back FPL games, and played very well against Bayern Munich in the Champions League too.
I’m just not sure I can bring myself to do it.
We’ve been here too many times before.
We all know how this goes:
- City player is in amazing form, and is part of a team that’s smashing everyone
- FPL players rush to get him in
- Pep suddenly benches him
- Best case scenario: he doesn’t play, and you get someone from your bench
- Usual scenario: he comes on and gives you 1pt
We literally saw this exact same Grealish situation play out earlier this very season.
Foden had scored a ludicrous 38 FPL points in three games. Then, after one blank, he was benched and not heard from again until after the World Cup. That sealed his place as one of my 10 Most Disappointing Players of the First Half, but – as I said at the time – it wasn’t his fault.
Will Grealish score if he plays?
Probably. Leicester at home is as good as it gets.
Have we got the faintest idea if he’s actually going to play, from one week to the other? Compared to, y’know, every other player on this list, all of whom are nailed to start?
Nope.
It’s super tempting. It always is, with these City players. I just don’t know if I can be bothered with going through all the nonsense again.
Final Thoughts
That’s about it, for your Rashford replacement options. Technically any of the three Brighton midfielders would also be fine, but I’m assuming you – along with everyone else – are capped-out on Brighton players. If not, get Mitoma. Easy!
To summarise, here’s how I view the five main choices.
- Salah – Definitely get him if you don’t need to sacrifice a premium. If you do need to… I prefer Kane, but Mo is more of a differential, and higher-upside
- Son – I’m sorely tempted. He’s a massive differential, is in decent form, and has a great home game against Bournemouth. He’s risky, though
- Bruno – Nah. Poor form, middling fixtures, and he’s not cheap
- Arsenal Midfielders – Get Martinelli, if you don’t have him already. Get Saka, if you do have Martinelli. I wouldn’t bother with Odegaard
- Grealish – The trendy pick, and the toughest to analyse. Super cheap, plays for a great team, and has a dreamy fixture. But we have absolutely no idea if he’ll actually play or not
Personally, I’m choosing between Son and Grealish.
To get Son, I would need to take a hit. The move would be Rashford and Madisson (who I’m desperate to bin anyway, to Son and Andreas.
Grealish would be a straight swap for Rashford. Not taking a hit is the only real reason I’d consider this over Son. It still leaves me with Maddison wasting a chunk of my budget though, and I just don’t see Grealish as a long-term hold, because we know he’ll get rotated at some point.
That’s where I’m at right now. I’ll make the decision before the deadline (obviously), and probably before I post the Gameweek 31 preview. Follow us on Twitter, @Full90FPL, to get that article as soon as it’s posted, and to find out where I land.