Fantasy Premier League: How to buy and sell premium players at the right time

We can’t own all the premium options in Fantasy Premier League. This is why you either have to make your bed with one or two, or swap around the most expensive players based on their fixtures.

The first approach is a bit more conservative and is the safer option as you will typically be using your transfers for mid-priced and budget players, and leaving your premiums as the squad’s ‘glue guys’. This generally has less upside but is consistent in getting you points over a longer period.

The second approach, ‘premium-hopping’, has much more upside but also a greater chance of backfiring. That said, swapping around your premium assets based on their club’s upcoming games can yield big rewards and is a good strategy.

Also, with FPL’s new transfer rules this season, where you can save up to five free transfers, this tactic is much more justifiable.

In this article, we will be analysing the game’s top seven premium assets and looking at the best times for managers to transfer them in and out over the next six gameweeks.

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Mohamed Salah (£12.7m)

This is the time to jump on Salah. His Liverpool side play Nottingham Forest (H), Bournemouth (H), Wolves (A), Crystal Palace (A) and Chelsea (H) in the next five matches. He is the best captaincy option in Gameweek 5, too.

If you are planning to wildcard in Gameweek 6, you can sign him for the next two gameweeks, and then switch to an Erling Haaland draft — or even keep Salah until Gameweek 9, when Liverpool go to Arsenal.

Salah has made an excellent start to the season with three goals and the same number of assists, and sits joint-top across the whole game for points scored (41). Nothing seems to have changed under new head coach Arne Slot in terms of his role in the team — he is still the talisman and most nailed-on player to be in the Liverpool team.

Bukayo Saka (£10.1m)

Saka is one of the premiums we can jump off now, and Salah does look like the best replacement. Although, with the £2.6m difference in price, you will very likely need at least two free transfers to perform this swap for free. I wouldn’t make it happen for a hit.

In their next two games, Saka’s Arsenal play Tottenham Hotspur (A) and Manchester City (A), and will be without Declan Rice (£6.4m) and probably Martin Odegaard (£8.4m) for the first of those, too. I really like this move if you are wildcarding in Gameweek 6, as you can get Saka back for a run of plum games beginning then against Leicester (H), Southampton (H) and Bournemouth (A).

Saka is the best asset to own from Mikel Arteta’s side, and with one goal and three assists already we know he is very likely going to be their top points scorer this season. It’s just about owning him at the right time and for the next two gameweeks, he is droppable.

Cole Palmer (£10.6m)

If you can’t get Salah in without a hit, Palmer is the next-best Saka replacement for the next few weeks — and a great option in his own right. Chelsea’s next four games are great from an attacking perspective, as they take on Bournemouth (A), West Ham (A), Brighton (H) and Forest (H).

He is a good option to get in right away, or you could wait until Gameweek 6, in time for those matches against Brighton and Forest, especially if you plan to wildcard in Gameweek 8 when Chelsea’s fixtures get a bit tougher.

Palmer has a goal and four assists in FPL 2024-25 already, and with no European duty for him after being left out of Chelsea’s Conference League squad for their six league-phase matches over the next three months, he will play plenty of minutes in the Premier League.

He is clearly Chelsea’s talisman.

Erling Haaland (£15.2m)

Going without Haaland is not for the faint-hearted. However, if you don’t own him already, I think you can wait until Gameweek 7 to bring him in. He looks unstoppable after successive hat-tricks for Manchester City but does have Arsenal (H) and Newcastle (A) in two of the next three games.

I would be very wary of going without him from Gameweek 7 onwards though, as City enter a fine run of fixtures, playing Fulham (H), Wolves (A), Southampton (H), Bournemouth (A) and Brighton (A).

Going Haaland-less is, of course, risky and takes a brave manager, but downgrading him can do wonders for your overall squad and allows you to get in Salah easily.

Ollie Watkins (£8.9m)

If you’re feeling brave, you could consider downgrading Haaland to Watkins from Gameweek 5 onwards. From that point, his Aston Villa side have one of the best fixture runs of the season.

The money saved would be enough to get you Salah, who has matched Haaland on 41 points after three gameweeks.

However, if you want a safe route to the Villa forward, then getting rid of Alexander Isak (see below) is probably the route you want to take, if you own him.

I would exercise a bit of caution with Watkins, however. He has been subbed off after just over an hour in all three Premier League games so far this season, which manager Unai Emery put down to match fitness. Watkins also pulled out of international duty with England due to a minor knock, so keep an eye on Emery’s press conference this week.

It might be wiser to look at him in Gameweek 5.

Alexander Isak (£8.5m)

Newcastle forward Isak has three away fixtures in his next four games, and Eddie Howe’s men come up against champions City in the other one. This is a good time to hop off the Swede.

Watkins is a fine replacement if you’ve got the money for a straight swap, or have a few transfers stowed away. Or you can look to get Brighton’s Joao Pedro (£5.7m), who has Ipswich (H) and Forest (H) in his next two games, and the money you save can be used to upgrade somewhere else, such as Saka to Salah — which seems like a very popular move in the FPL community this week.

Son Heung-min (£10.0m)

Tottenham Hotspur’s South Korean star has been going slightly under the radar in the early weeks of this season. He is the least-owned from the premiums — only nine per cent at the time of writing.

But Son is an elite FPL asset and his two goals in Gameweek 2 against Everton were a reminder of that. If you are looking for a differential among the premium assets, he is the one to opt for.

From Gameweek 5 onwards, Ange Postecoglou’s lads play Brentford (H), Manchester United (A), Brighton (A), West Ham (H), Palace (A), Villa (H) and Ipswich (H). Son is nailed-on to start those matches if fit, on penalties, and might continue to play as the No 9 if Dominic Solanke (£7.5m) remains out.

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Premium-hopping should come naturally to your team and it is best not to try to force it. Also, you won’t be able to get every premium player for all for their plum fixture runs, so it’s best to pick one or two over the next eight gameweeks and capitalise that way.

You know your team best, so have a look at the upcoming matches and see what paths you can take.

With my team, for example, I have taken Saka and Isak out this week and bought in Salah and Joao Pedro. I am planning to wildcard in Gameweek 6 and will very likely get Saka back in, keep Haaland and forego Salah.

I had three free transfers, so had the opportunity to go for an upside move. This could easily backfire, but with Liverpool and Brighton having two attractive home games compared with those away trips for Arsenal and Newcastle, it’s a risk worth taking.

Below is a table with good gameweeks to jump on and off the premium players — but again, keep in mind that it’s always risky business swapping premiums around, so do it at your own peril.

(Top photos: Getty Images)