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FPL Gameweek 1 Deadline is on 10th August 19:00 BST. One can make unlimited changes in their FPL squad until GW 1 transfer deadline. It's time we get started drafting our team.
This series of articles will help you draft your team by creating a watchlist of every team in the Premier League. Today we take a look at Manchester United players.
Manchester United finished second last season in the Premier League, 19 points behind the champions Manchester City. Jose Mourinho is looking to bridge that gap this season. Diogo Dalot (£5.5m), Fred (£6.0m) and the goalkeeper Lee Grant (NA) are the new arrivals this season.
They have not finished with their transfer business yet. The transfer deadline for the Premier League is on 9th August. The players mentioned in this list will surely be regular starters and are immune to changes due to further arrivals at Manchester United.
Note: All the prices mentioned in this article are from the official website of FPL
#1 Paul Pogba - £8.0m
Manchester United played with a three-man midfield at the end of last season. Paul Pogba (£8.0m) was the player who benefitted the most from that change. He began to show sparks of his form from his Juventus days. He fired 23 shots on target after Jose Mourinho opted for this change, more than any other player in the Premier League.
Fred's arrival will give Pogba the freedom to move forward on the pitch, playing on the left-hand side of the three-man midfield. This is the position where he played for Juventus and his form there had convinced Manchester United to pay the then world record fee.
He produced 6 goals and 13 assists last season even though he played the majority of the season in defensive midfield. His change in position will potentially improve those stats. Paul Pogba could become one of the FPL hits this season.
#2 Alexis Sanchez - £10.5m
Alexis Sanchez has had his first summer off since summer of 2009 as Chile failed to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. This rest can help him get back to his best form of 2016/17. Sanchez was FPL's top scoring player that season, he produced 24 goals and 11 assists for Arsenal.
Sanchez scored 2 goals and assisted five since his arrival at Manchester United in January. Though these statistics look underwhelming, he has the ability to do much better and hardly anyone will doubt that. Sanchez is preferred over Martial and Rashford, hence he will be a regular starter for Manchester United.
His performance against San Jose Earthquakes was encouraging. He is on set-piece duties for Manchester United which will help him create goal-scoring chances. This will give him an advantage in bonus points system (BPS).
Sanchez plays in the left of the front three for United but is classified as a midfielder in FPL. This gives him an extra point for a goal scored and an extra point if his team keeps a clean sheet. This is an advantage over forwards in FPL and also justifies his (£10.5m) price tag.
#3 Fred - £6.0
Fred (£6.0m) will help Manchester United defensively as well as in attacks. Mourinho will go for a 4-3-3 formation with Fred at the right-hand side of the midfield.
Fred produced 3 goals and 5 assists in the Ukranian Premier League for Shakhtar Donetsk. He played as a defensive midfielder for the whole season. At Manchester United, he will play alongside Pogba, with Matic behind them. So, there will be less defensive duties for him in the Manchester United midfield as compared to Shakhtar's.
He can further improve one of the best defenses in the Premier League with his defensive abilities. United kept 19 clean sheets last season, more than any other team.
Fred's work rate will give him an advantage in BPS (Bonus points system). His ability to tackle, dribble and his tidy use of the ball will boost his potential in BPS and give him an advantage over his teammates in the midfield.
Also read - Fred: Strengths, Weaknesses and where he will fit at Manchester United
#4 Romelu Lukaku - £11.0m
Romelu Lukaku was Manchester United's top scorer last season. He scored 16 goals and assisted 7 last season. He suffered a two-month goal draught period in the first half of the season but came back stronger.
He was one of the best strikers at the World Cup not only scoring goals for his side but also playing an important role in creating them. His awareness inside the box before Chadli's goal against the Japanese and his assist for De Bruyne's goal against Brazil were the highlights of his performance at the World Cup.
He was one of the contenders for the World Cup Golden Boot and will surely fight for Premier League's Golden Boot.
Unlike Sanchez and Fred, Pogba and Lukaku will not be in contention to feature in GW 1 because of their participation in the World Cup. But they have the potential to be the top scorers in terms of points in the FPL this season.
