Fantasy Premier League gives you two FPL transfer windows whenever you choose – so you can switch up your entire team without points deductions
(Image credit: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Luckily for Fantasy Premier League players, you have two FPL wildcards to use. It's natural to want what your friends have, right?
Let's go back to basics on how FPL transfers work, though. You're permitted one free transfer per gameweek for your FPL team, which any other additional transfers allowed - but with at a cost: you'll be deducted four points.
A wildcard is a bonus chip, used in the transfer section, however. It allows you to make as many transfers as you like up until that deadline, all within the standard budget of £100.0m. Even if you've made transfers that were going to come with points deductions, use the wildcard and you won't lose any points at all.
The Wildcard chip can be used twice a season - once before Saturday November 12, 05:30 and once after Monday December 26, 05:30. It's only bonus chip that you can use twice – but you can't use any other chip, such as a Bench Boost or a Free Hit on the same week that you employ a Wildcard.
The Wildcard is the only chip that can't be rescinded, either. Once you've chosen to play it, there's no going back: but you don't have to make all your transfers at once and can still move players in and out before deadline. It's a little like the game state at the start of the season.
When playing a wildcard, any saved free transfers that you made will be lost. You will be back to the usual one free transfer the following gameweek.
Fantasy Premier League: When should I use my Wildcard in FPL?
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There's no perfect time to use the Wildcard. Some users find it useful to have a gameweek of unlimited transfers when they've got a number of injuries; others find they've totally misjudged players and want to play their hand early on in the season.
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It's worth seeing what happens with international breaks and during the World Cup, too. If an international break is only a week away, it doesn't make much sense to make wholescale changes to your teams based on injuries – you might well find that the injured players simply picked up knocks and were kept out of international squads as a precaution.
One thing that might tempt you, however, is a change in manager. Tottenham Hotspur last season, for example, were in a malaise under Nuno Espirito Santo – and there were plenty that tipped Spurs's attackers to flourish after his departure. A sensible time for a Wildcard may have been in the wake of Nuno's axing, to bring in players who might have played with a little freedom under a new regime.
Remember, there's no need to use the Wildcard at all, should you feel you don't need to. Don't feel pressured to employ a bonus chip, just because it's there.
Mark White has been at on FourFourTwo since joining in January 2020, first as a staff writer before becoming content editor in 2023. An encyclopedia of football shirts and boots knowledge – both past and present – Mark has also represented FFT at both FA Cup and League Cup finals (though didn't receive a winners' medal on either occasion) and has written pieces for the mag ranging on subjects from Bobby Robson's season at Barcelona to Robinho's career. He has written cover features for the mag on Mikel Arteta and Martin Odegaard, and is assisted by his cat, Rosie, who has interned for the brand since lockdown.
