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Young Gifted and English




With the International break taking place, and a lot of debate around the England side and their options in midfield, I have decided to take a look at the best options from an FPL perspective.


Obviously Jack Grealish has been the standout performer both in FPL terms and England's performance against Belgium on Sunday, but with Grealish being in nearly everyone's team already, I'm looking for alternatives or players that can be brought in alongside the Villa man in midfield.


Firstyly, lets take a look at the Villa Man's season so far. The Villa talisman has played every minute possible in Villa's 7 games this season, and with the lack of European competition, and Villa already being eliminated in the Carabao Cup, there is minimal risk of rotation meaning he's an ideal FPL Asset. Add in his 4 goals, 6 assists and 4 clean sheets for Villa, all of which is available for £7.5m and he really is a must-have at the minute.


Looking at Grealish's touch Heat map (available in the members area on www.fantasyfootbalscout.com) it really is ideal for a midfielder, and reflects the more attacking role Grealish has been entrusted with this season.




Those touches in and around the penalty area show the threat Grealish is carrying this year, add in the corners he's taking, and there is an extra threat of assists.


Ideally in this article, we will find those carrying a similar threat to Grealish, at a similar price, perhaps without the points haul just yet, but ones that could soon haul in a similar style.


First up is Arsenal youngster Bukayo Saka. Available for just £5.3m. Saka definitely has the potential to be a decent FPL asset, apart from the fact that he's often asked to fill in at Left back/ Left wing back which reduces his attacking threat. I'm always impressed with Saka when he plays, but the fact that he ends up playing as a defender a lot of the time means he's one to avoid for me.


Next up is Ross Barkley (£6.0). Barkley started lie at Villa Park with two goals in two games against Leicester and Liverpool with his winner at the King Poiwer Stadium also earning him 3 bonus points. Since then however, he has struggled to have the same impact, despite positing similar underlying stats.


Having previously been burnt by Barkley, and the fact i already have three players from Villa, he's not one I will be considering currently, but it will be interesting to see if he can revert to the form shown against Liverpoool and Leicester, or if they were outliers in what has otherwise been an unspectacular, yet solid FPL season.


Everybodys favourite Gareth Southgate meme subject Mason Mount (£6.8m) has too much compeition for the attacking midfield spots at Chelsea, and has recently been playing in a more traditional midfield role. His touch heat map sees him taking up similar positions to Grealish, just 15/20 yards further towards his own goal. Mount does have the added threat of set-pieces in his armoury, but there are better Chelsea options out there. I've already got 3 chelsea players, and there are probably 3 or 4 more I'd want before bringing in Mason.


The panenka plonker, Ademola Lookman (£5.0) is next up. Lookman is a player i really like, and would consider if it wasn't for the upcoming fixtures for his struggling Fulham side. His dribbles and successful dribbles per game are higher than those of Grealish, His xG is similar, and he is shooting, more often and more accurately than Grealish. The big mblack mark against his name is that penalty miss though, and I'd be amazed if Scott Parker kept him on penalties. If he does though, £5m is a great price for something as threatening as Lookman has been this season, and he's definitely one I will be keeping my eye on.


Working his way back from injury, James Maddison (£7.0m) is a player that's often compared to Grealish.


As a Coventry fan, I would take Maddisons side in the argument if it was solely regarding ability (it's very close between the two), but one thing I'd like to see more from Maddison, is a goal threat.


All of Maddisons shot this season have been from outside of the area. Whilst he's good enough to test keepers from range, the closer in he can get, the more threatening he can be in front of goal.


I do like the fact that Maddison is on set pieces, and that he plays alongside Jamie Vardy. Those two have combined to devastating effect at times, and having a striker as clinical as Vardy gives a boost for the assist potential, and Leicester upcoming fixtures really are looking excellent.


Phil Foden (£6.5m) is a name I was planning to leave out of this article, as I don't think he will get enough game time, but last nights performance and 2 goals for England may be enough for him to force his way back into Pep's reckoning ahead of some very tasty looking fixtures.


I still think there are too many options for Man City for Foden to be nailed on, but if he gets a run of games, then I would expect a points tally that completely overshadows his price tag.


Similar to Maddison and Mount, Southamptons James Ward-Prowse (£6.0m) is a dead-ball specialist, and has already shown this with his double, against Grealish's Villa. Again, his heat-map isn't as advanced as Grealish's (I'm not sure many are), but Southamptons excellent defence has meant he's been able to pick up 4 clean sheet points in 8 games. It'ds worth noting that Ward-Prowse pulled out of the England squad with an injury but has since been pictured in training with Southampton and looks set to play this weekend.


Finally, we take a look at West Hams Jarrod Bowen (£6.3m) In terms of xG per Game, Bowen is at a similar level to Grealish, but hasn't shown the creativity levels of the Villa man. with only 1 big chance created all season. Obviously West Ham haven't been as attacking as Villa, so this will play a part in that, but i do like Bowens goal threat, especially as West Ham also have some nice fixtures coming their way.


What i like about Bowen, is that a lot of his shots come from "in between the posts" giving him the best chance of scoring, rather than shooting at angles, and he likes to get into the area, which leads to his decent xG output, which he has matched with 3 goals so far this season.



In summary, it's unlikely that we're going to find someone to match Grealish's points tally so far this season over the next 6/7 game weeks (i'm not even sure Grealish himself will be able to do that), but there appear to be a few decent alternatives that could get you a decent points haul, and potentially allow you to strengthen in other areas by freeing up some cash.


I definitely won't be getting rid of the Villa skipper, but am strongly considering the likes of Maddison and Bowen to come in to the side, allowing me to strengthen Son or Rashford to KDB, ahead of GW10 (injury/covid depending of course).


In terms of this week, I'm not sure what to do. with doubts over Chilwell, Rashford and Wilson, on top of Salah definitely being out, theres a lot that can be done. I also want rid of Ayling, as i can't see Leeds ever keeping a clean sheet, bur I'm not too keen on taking a points hit, after taking one last week too.


Will give myself as long as possible before making the moves!














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