FPL tips: Market’s big moves flop in gameweek 25

Most of the big FPL transfers ahead of gameweek 25 of the season failed to produce immediate dividends.

Looking at the market activity as of 4pm on Friday, the big movers and shakers from defence to attack had drawn more than a million transfers between them.

Those managers who brought them in however will have to show some patience after a disappointing weekend.

Vanilla Villa

Aston Villa’s Philippe Coutinho was the big draw ahead of GW25, attracting more than 350,000 new owners going into his side’s game against Newcastle.

His teammate Jacob Ramsey, meanwhile, saw an ownership boost of around 180,000 after his brace against Leeds in GW24 returned 14 points to his backers.

Coutinho’s blistering form upon arriving at Villa Park saw him score two and assist two in his first three games, his £7.3m price tag appearing excellent value as a result.

Neither player returned any goals or assists against the Magpies however as Newcastle triumphed 1-0.

Elsewhere, Mohamed Salah‘s return from the Africa Cup of Nations prompted an ownership boost of around 340,000, but he only managed three FPL points in Liverpool’s 1-0 win against Burnley.

The £12.9m man has 16 goals and 10 assists this season, but has now gone two Reds appearances without an attacking return.

Seagull beats Magpie

Not every big signing disappointed in GW25 however – Brighton’s Neal Maupay picked up six points thanks to a goal against Watford.

The £6.6m striker had gone five games without a goal, making his ownership rise of around 140,000 ahead of the gameweek particularly intriguing.

Newcastle may have picked up three points against Villa, but popular forward Allan Saint-Maximin was unable to contribute in attack.

The Frenchman has five goals and five assists this term and saw an ownership increase of around 130,000 ahead of the weekend, but he could only manage two points.

With Newcastle now on a run of three wins in a row however, his popularity may hold for the time being.

Manchester United’s Edinson Cavani enjoyed a modest managerial increase of around 7,000 this week, perhaps due to his side’s appealing double gameweek against Southampton and Brighton.

The Uruguayan however did not appear in United’s 1-1 draw against the Saints.

Manchester misfire

Speaking of Manchester, two popular defensive additions from the city were unable to make a good first impression among their new managers.

Manchester City’s Aymeric Laporte gained around 50,000 new managers ahead of GW25, the defending champions visiting relegation strugglers Norwich.

While his side impressed with a 4-0 win at Carrow Road, Laporte was left out of the side and therefore missed out on any clean sheet points.

Manchester United’s Luke Shaw, meanwhile, enjoyed a similar ownership bump and, unlike Laporte, was selected to play this weekend.

At £5m the England full-back is reasonably priced, but could only return two points in a disappointing performance from Ralf Rangnick’s team.

Last but not least, Leicester’s Daniel Amartey added around 20,000 owners ahead of GW25 thanks in part to his very low price of £3.8m.

That makes him the second cheapest player in the game after Liverpool’s Konstantinos Tsimikas (£3.7m) – for a player with more than 1,000 PL minutes this season, that’s not bad.

Amartey was unable to return much to his backers however, picking up just one point in his side’s 2-2 draw against West Ham.