With the Gameweek one deadline under two weeks away managers around the world are drafting and redrafting their 15 players who they hope will lead them to glory this season.
This FPL Dilemma series focuses on the dilemmas many managers are facing. This time I will be examining the pros and cons of two Everton midfielders. The toffees started pre-season with a comical 22-0 victory over an Austrian side, but have been without a win in their 4 outings since. With a favourable run of fixtures to start the campaign many managers are looking to get some offensive Everton coverage into their sides, two being Sigurdsson and Richarlison. But who should you pick?
Richarlison (£6.5m, Everton)
The Brazilian has represented Everton’s only foray into the transfer market this summer and with an initial fee of £35 million which could eventually rise to £50 million.
Once again Richarlison will not be a player to excite managers who see previous stats as the basis for picking their team. After a bright start to the 2017/18 campaign, his season ground to a sudden halt with all his 5 goals and most of his 8 assists coming before November, seemingly linked to the departure of manager Marco Silva who had brought the winger to Vicarage Road. Richarlison showed huge promise in his early showings for Watford and Silva’s decision to make Richarlison his marquee signing shows how highly he is rated.
For FPL, managers willing to look beyond his barren spell during the second half of last season, at only 6.5 million Richarlison is probably the most exciting player within his price range. With a proven eye for a goal and also creating goals, it is no surprise that 13% of managers have already decided to take a punt on Richarlison. With a decent run of fixtures to start the campaign I struggle to see a better comparable midfielder within FPL.
Gylfi Sigurdsson (£7.5m, Everton)
The Icelandic number 10 arrived from Swansea last summer with a huge £45 million price tag over his head and while he didn’t have a poor season many Evertonians expected more from their record signing. His stats from last season probably wouldn’t leave many FPL players desperate to secure his services with just four goals and four assists in 27 appearances, but with Marco Silva now at the helm, the system Everton employ is expected to be more suited to his style. In addition the departure of Wayne Rooney and Davy Klassen means Sigurdsson will almost certainly be playing in his natural position behind the striker rather than isolated on the wing as he found himself on far too many occasions last year.
During his time at Swansea the Iceland international was a valuable FPL asset and if Everton manage to hit the ground running this season the he could certainly be a good option for your FPL side once again.
The Verdict
The answer to this FPL dilemma is of course subjective and you should use your own judgment to decide whether to include one of these options in your final draft. I would suggest it comes down to what you’re looking for, Sigurdsson is likely to be a reliable points scorer who over the course of a 38 game season could quite easily score you 150 points but isn’t the sort of player to set the world alight while Richarlison may blank for 5 weeks in a row before playing like a world beater and bagging a huge points haul. I believe both players will have quality campaigns but if I had to pick one for my FPL team it would have to be Richarlison because of his lower price and untapped potential.
Thanks for reading I hope you found it useful. Happy drafting everyone!
Written by Bonus FPL (@BonusFPL)
