Gabriel Martinelli
If you followed our pre-gameweek 1 advice, Martinelli should already be part of your squad and you will have benefitted from two goals in his first two games and tidy 16 points, with the promise of more to come. If not, don’t worry: there’s still time to jump on.
Despite being the most transferred-in midfielder this week and his subsequent price rises, the Arsenal winger still offers excellent value at 6.3m with two excellent fixtures to come in the shape of Bournemouth away this weekend followed by Fulham at home.
Reece James
Some were put off James in pre-season due to the threat of him playing as a right-sided centre-back. It’s certainly a thing - James started in the back three against Tottenham on Sunday - but if anything, it increases his chances of playing regular minutes.
And as we saw on Sunday, an in-game switch to wing-back can produce a lot of points. James scored Chelsea’s second and set up Kai Havertz for a sitter minutes earlier from that position. A run against Leeds, Leicester and Southampton is too good to ignore.
Marc Cucurella
From the moment Cucurella began being linked with a move away from Brighton to one of the Premier League’s top clubs, fantasy managers knew that he had potential to be a mainstay in our squads at a price of only 5.0m.
The only question is whether he is a mainstay in Chelsea’s too. Rotation is a worry - particularly if they sign Wesley Fofana for the left-sided centre-back slot - but with Ben Chilwell still building up fitness, his place appears safe for now.
Ivan Toney
A lot of managers are settled with their frontline, with Jesus alongside one of Erling Haaland or Harry Kane, then either a non-playing 4.5m or Aleksandar Mitrovic depending on their structure. Toney is the only player threatening to shake that up.
The Brentford frontman has a goal and two assists to his name so far. Now it’s Fulham up next and Everton, Leeds and Southampton to come in the next five. That’s worthy of at least some consideration, especially if you’re on a gameweek 3 wildcard.
Demarai Gray
It’s tough going in the midfield market under 8.0m. Many managers are looking to move off either or both of Leon Bailey and Pedro Neto. Bailey is the more urgent sell, having dropped out of Aston Villa’s starting line-up last weekend.
If you have an extra 0.5m, consider Gray with Everton up against a shaky-looking Nottingham Forest. If not, moving down to a playing 4.5m like Romeo Lavia or Harrison Reed could be worth it, then bank the funds and spend in defence.
