Two bargain buys are among the players who have enjoyed a bump in their ownership after pre-season injuries scuppered FPL managers’ plans.
In the week building up to the 2021/22 Premier League season, question marks over player fitness had bosses shuffling the pack.
And Liverpool’s Konstantinos Tsimikas, along with Leicester’s Daniel Amartey, are two whose ownership has benefited as a result.
Both players are valued at just £4m, the lowest starting price in the game, but could see minutes from the first whistle.
In Tsimikas’ case, a late injury to Andy Robertson – who fell awkwardly and injured his ankle against Athletic Bilbao – may have opened the door.
The Greek left-back reportedly impressed in pre-season and, at almost half the price of his team mate Robertson, offers excellent value for a Reds defender.
As a result, his FPL ownership has risen from 1.4 per cent to 14.8 per cent in just a week.
Elsewhere, Amartey was selected to play in the Community Shield for the Foxes after Wesley Fofana was ruled out until 2022 through injury.
The Ghana international helped his team earn a 1-0 win against Manchester City to scoop the trophy, and as a result has seen his FPL ownership increase from 4 per cent to 12.1 per cent.
The biggest mover and shaker in the week leading up to the big kick-off however was Danny Ings, whose ownership rose from 7.3 per cent to 31.1 per cent from August 5 to August 12.
Ings’ move to Aston Villa undoubtedly played the biggest role in this, with the Englishman set for three favourable fixtures against Watford, Newcastle and Brentford first up.
With Ollie Watkins‘ fitness in question after a toe injury – prompting his ownership to fall from 33 per cent to 10.4 per cent – it looks like Ings will get his chance immediately.
Over at Old Trafford meanwhile, Bruno Fernandes has enjoyed an ownership rise of more than eight percentage points in a week.
The Portuguese netted an extraordinary 244 FPL points in just his second Premier League season, with 18 goals and 14 assists making him the game’s hottest property at one point.
With an influx of managers registering to play the game ahead of the first gameweek of the new season, more and more seem to be gravitating to Fernandes.
And last but not least, West Ham’s Michail Antonio has seen his ownership rise to over 20 per cent with just hours until Brentford kick things off against Arsenal.
As a forward, Antonio’s 10 goals in each of the past two seasons are modest, but the fact remains he is West Ham’s only striker according to the FPL’s categorisation.
Are any of these players in your thoughts ahead of the season’s opening game?
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