A player's position in Fantasy Premier League determines how he scores points - and six players have changed FPL position for the start of the new campaign
(Image credit: Future)
A player's position isn't everything - but it can be in Fantasy Premier League. A midfielder will score more FPL points for a goal than a forward, for example - so it's important to work out who plays where.
And since players are constantly evolving and moving positions in real life, FPL has to reflect this. It's rare these days for a footballer to go his whole career playing in the same space of the pitch and Fantasy Premier League makes positional changes to players at the start of every campaign, just to keep the game fair.
This season, just six players have seen a change in position. Let's go through each of them...
Pierre Emerick Aubameyang
(Image credit: PA)
Old position: MID
New position: FWD
Arsenal captain Auba has been on a journey with boss Mikel Arteta. When the Spaniard first took over in north London, he deployed his striker on the left-wing, with Alexandre Lacazette up front. Aubameyang was tasked with cutting inside on his favoured right foot, with width supplied from full-back.
But as time has progressed, Arteta has played the Gabonese hitman further up the pitch, on the shoulder of a defender. In FPL terms, Aubameyang earns fewer points for a goal this season than he did last - so he might not justify his eye-watering £10.0m valuation this time around.
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Stuart Dallas
Old position: DEF
New position: MID
Stuart Dallas is a beacon of Marcelo Bielsa's management. Leeds' Player of the Season and the Players' Player of the Season, he's seamlessly moved from a wing-back role into more of a midfield berth over his short time in the Premier League, showing a superb engine and chipping in with eight goals last term.
Unfortunately, he's not going to get you as many points for his strikes this season, since he's been moved into midfield by the FPL admins. At £5.5m though, he's a solid option in the middle of the field for any manager looking to fill a hole on a budget.
In Roy Hodgson's final days at Crystal Palace, Cheikhou Kouyate receded into a tough-tackling defender at the heart of the Eagles' defence. To reflect this, he's now a defender in FPL - but since Patrick Vieira has come in and signed two centre-backs, you might be able to capitalise on this reassignment.
Kouyate costs £4.5m and could well feature in midfield this season - potentially even as a no.8, should Vieira favour a more technical passing midfielder at the base of his midfield. While this might seem innocuous, Kouyate is £4.5m: why not get him on your bench from the start and see what Vieira does with him? At the very least, you might get a goal or an assist early on in the season... if you're very lucky.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles
(Image credit: Getty)
Old position: DEF
New position: MID
Unfortunately, there are few positives with Ainsley Maitland-Niles's latest positional change in FPL, making an already unlikely choice for your team even less likely to get into your team. All that transfer speculation doesn't help - and a £5.5m fee doesn't make him outrageously cheap, either.
Last season, AMN was down as a defender but with the Hale End graduate keen to establish himself as a central midfielder, he went on loan to West Bromwich Albion in order to make that happen. FPL admins have noticed and now the Arsenal man will earn you fewer points for goals and assists than before.
Matt Ritchie
Old position: MID
New position: DEF
Matt Ritchie has predominantly played as a winger in the Championship but with both Newcastle United and Bournemouth in the Premier League, the Scotsman has featured at wing-back.
This is now reflected in FPL, meaning that he'll earn you more points for goals and assists than before. Given that these days he plays second fiddle for Steve Bruce to Jamal Lewis, it would be a brave Fantasy manager that gives Ritchie the nod - even at just £5.0m.
Allan Saint-Maximin
(Image credit: PA)
Old position: MID
New position: FWD
One of the most entertaining players in the Premier League, Allan Saint-Maximin has also seen a positional shift in FPL to reflect Steve Bruce's three-at-the-back system. ASM tends to feature at the top of the pitch for the Magpies - and now he does so in FPL, too.
At £6.5m, he's not too overpriced for an established Premier League forward but you have to weigh up the Frenchman's output in relation to the drop in points he would have got you, were he playing in midfield. Is Saint-Maximin as prolific as other similarly-priced strikers in FPL? The choice is yours...
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.
