The budget FPL assets I’m considering to help finance a Gameweek 12 Salah swoop

Five-time top 1k finisher Tom Freeman reveals his team for Gameweek 11 and outlines his plan to recapture Mohamed Salah the following week.

Gameweek 10 was a challenging one for me.

After taking my first hit of the season, I returned a total of just 50 (-4) points and as a result, now sit 515,661st overall. 

Despite a good start (I was ranked just inside the top 150k after Gameweek 6), I’ve struggled to find consistency since.

Looking back, there are a few reasons behind the slump, but I’d largely put it down to not owning Bruno Fernandes (£10.9m) and Jack Grealish (£7.7m) and failing to invest in Chelsea’s backline. 

The lack of Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£7.9m) has perhaps been an issue, but less so considering my alternative, Patrick Bamford (£6.1m), has managed to keep pace and actually outscore him over the last five Gameweeks.

While most of the players I’ve transferred in have done well, João Cancelo (£5.6m) has disappointed. 

At the time of his signing, I was lured in by the number of chances he was creating, which was comfortably above any other defender in the game, but it’s one of those moves you look back on in hindsight and think, ‘what was I thinking?’. 

Frustratingly, I spoke about the threat of Benjamin Mendy (£5.9m) with fellow Pro Pundits Lateriser and Zophar on a recent FPL Wire pod, and how he would be preferred in certain games, which is exactly what happened against Burnley. 

Rúben Dias (£5.6m) was probably the safer play and the route I should have gone down, though I doubt anyone in that defence will be completely immune to rotation in the coming weeks.

So, a few mistakes, but how do I get back on track, and what are my plans going forward?

Well, Mohamed Salah (£12.2m) will probably come back into my team ahead of Gameweek 12 for Marcus Rashford (£9.5m), but to make that move I will need to downgrade one of my heavy hitters. That could be one of Son Heung-min (£9.5m), Harry Kane (£10.9m) or Jamie Vardy (£10.3m), so what I thought I’d do in this, my latest column, is highlight two of my main transfer targets who will essentially help fund the Salah move.

At this stage, I should point out that I’m planning to play my Wildcard ahead of Gameweek 16, in preparation for the Blank/Double Gameweeks to follow. That means I’m simply focusing on the four fixtures from Gameweek 12 onwards.

So, best of luck in Gameweek 11 everyone.

Thanks for reading, until next time…