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Top Transfer Targets: Week 11

Harry Kane

Harry Kane

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Just like that, the third manager of the season bit the dust as Nuno Espirito Santo was fired from Tottenham. Nuno joins Steve Bruce and Xisco as the managers who have been fired but unlike the others, Nuno was never given a chance, to begin with. Tottenham’s managerial saga is well documented, so I’ll spare you the details, but they appointed Antonio Conte who was either their first or second choice during the summer.

The appointment alone shows that Nuno was destined to fail as sporting director Fabio Paratici’s goal was to court Conte all along. Sure, Nuno could’ve done better in the role but it is likely that he felt the writing on the wall as well so what motivation would there be when he was the sixth or seventh choice for the position and only chosen due to the fan reaction to almost appointing Gennaro Gattuso into the role.

While Conte is a home run of an appointment that matches what Tottenham’s ambition profile should be, it can’t be ignored that three managers are currently being paid to not manage Spurs while the current manager is under quite a lucrative contract. Basically, this appointment has to work or the string of costly mistakes will be something that the club can’t rebound from.

Looking at the appointment of Conte from an on-field perspective, it is hard to not be excited about what it can bring. While some players on the squad may not be able to coexist with Conte, there should be enough talent available to push for a Champions League place and be useful to fantasy managers alike. It’s clear that the wing backs, Cristian Romero, and Hugo Lloris will be winners from this while big things will also be expected from Son Heung Min. But this project as all things will go as far as Harry Kane.

If Kane wanted to leave and was demotivated this season because Spurs lacked ambition, getting Conte on board should be the type of move that can ignite a fire in him. If it can’t with how strikers like Diego Costa and Romelu Lukaku have performed under Conte, nothing can. The right winger or number ten spot will also be up for grabs depending on which formation Conte decides to roll with and figuring out who that will be quickly is an area for upside fantasy-wise.

Staying with managers, Newcastle United is still on the hunt for who will lead their rebuild project. All signs seemed to point to Unai Emery taking over but after a messy string of leaks, he will be staying at Villarreal at least for now. One of the other names in the mix is Eddie Howe but while he has had success at Bournemouth, this is a different level of pressure and expectation than being able to galvanize a team to rise up through the lower leagues and have staying power. Newcastle does have time to work to get this decision right with the international break incoming, but if they don’t come out of that period with a manager identified, the worried whispers will grow louder.

Looking at the NBC Sports league, Taylor Jackson rode a team without Mo Salah to a 105 point week. It helps to have Declan Rice and Conor Gallagher as budget mids who are exceeding expectations but it was Reece James who took the cake with his 21 point outing. Not having Salah, Taylor was able to captain Cristiano Ronaldo during his showing versus Tottenham. It’ll be interesting to see what this team does moving forward however, as a bench including Angus Gunn, Jacob Murphy, Callum Chambers, and Lukaku doesn’t leave much room for flexibility.


Week ten manager of the week

Week ten manager of the week


Also, there were dual managers of the month in Sandro Lulguraj and Kayla Smith who each collected 327 points during an impressive month. Both squads rode big defenses with a dash of Salah to their accomplishments with a sprinkle of some solid differential picks.

Top Transfer Targets will look at the roster tiers in FPL breaking down the best options in each. The tiers will be broken down as 25-40 percent owned, 15-24 percent, 10-15 percent, under 10 percent which also includes my favorite punt of the week. The 40 percent club includes players who I won’t be writing about as how many teams they are selected in speaks for itself.

Let’s look at this week’s fixtures:

Friday 5 November

Southampton vs Aston Villa

Saturday 6 November

Manchester United vs Manchester City

Chelsea vs Burnley

Crystal Palace vs Wolves

Brentford vs Norwich City

Brighton vs Newcastle United

Sunday 7 November

Everton vs Tottenham

Leeds United vs Leicester City

Arsenal vs Watford

West Ham vs Liverpool

The 40 percent club has dwindled but it includes Mo Salah and Michail Antonio.

Worth your consideration (16-24 percent rostered):

Antonio Rüdiger (DEF Chelsea 5.9m, 18.0%): We thought that Ceasar Azpilicueta was the choice for a safe Chelsea defender but with Reece James back even he has been rotated. This leaves Rudiger as the most rotation-proof defender in the side. While going with Ben Chilwell and James is a combination that creates massive upside for managers, a wing back plus Rudiger is a solid choice as well especially considering that a lot of managers still have double City defense instead of Chelsea defense. While all managers don’t follow the same risk profile, I think a nailed defender and an upside pick together is the best way to go unless you’re running triple Chelsea defense which is also an option with all of their injuries in the attack.

Solid if not stellar (10-15 percent rostered):

Diogo Jota (MID Liverpool 7.5m, 12.0%): Roberto Firmino is injured again which means that Jota will deputize in the middle for Liverpool this weekend versus West Ham. While the Hammers have been in form, the upside is too high to not select Jota right now. After the international break, Liverpool also begins an unreal run of fixtures through boxing day so you’ll want to have him in your side even when he doesn’t start.

Rolling the dice (under 10 percent rostered):

Conor Gallagher (MID 5.7m, 9.6%): After last week’s performance versus Manchester City, it feels like Gallagher is someone who you have to play and see what happens. His returns have come versus City, West Ham, Tottenham, and Brighton so it’s safe to say that he likes to get up for a big fixture. While Luka Milivojević eats into some of his set play appeal, Gallagher is doing enough from open play that it shouldn’t matter.

Harry Kane (FWD Tottenham 12.1m, 6.6%): Usually you’d want to see more from someone so expensive before bringing them in but 12.1 feels like a value that can’t be passed up for Kane. Considering both his form for England and the rest that he got to start the season during his mini tantrum, Kane is as fresh as he has ever been to play in Antonio Conte’s system. Assuming that the issue was that Tottenham wasn’t showing ambition there’s no reason to assume that Kane won’t put up numbers now and if he doesn’t you’re one move from any other striker in the game so the risk is low. With Lukaku still out and Cristiano Ronaldo playing Manchester City, there is no clear-cut option this week for a premium forward so why not get Kane early ahead of an amazing fixture run.