FPL tips: 6 players that managers are ditching already

With the third gameweek of the season fast approaching, Fantasy Premier League managers have not been shy in cutting players from their squads just two games in.

Expensive players and those with pedigree at the highest level of the game have not been spared, with stars from Chelsea and Arsenal feeling the heat.

Forwards

Timo Werner was deemed to be one of the most exciting prospects ahead of the 2020/21 season, the new Chelsea striker backed by almost three million managers – but plenty are already ditching him.

More than 200,000 managers have seen fit to sell the £9.5m man after he returned just one assist and no goals in the Blues’ first two league games.

With favourable fixtures against West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace to come however, millions are keeping faith that Werner will come good soon enough.

Further north, Callum Wilson notched a goal in an impressive 2-0 win for Newcastle before a 3-0 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion.

Perhaps the nature of the Magpies’ defeat, ahead of some tricky fixtures against Tottenham Hotspur, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester United, has put managers off the £6.5m forward.

Midfielders

While Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has returned 12 FPL points in two games, more than 600,000 have decided to boot the 31-year-old from their squad.

Auba’s price has dropped to £11.9m as a result, despite scoring once and registering one assist, but being one of the most expensive players in the game comes with its own demands.

Instead, managers could have opted for Son Heung-min or Wilfried Zaha, who have both notched more points at a better price.

Back at Newcastle, the man many hoped would become the bargain signing of the season, Allan Saint-Maximin, has seen almost half a million managers drop him ahead of GW3.

With just four FPL points from his first two games and an ankle knock picked up too, the midfielder’s bargain potential is already in question.

Defence and goalkeeper

Meanwhile, managers are no less ruthless at the back, with two defensive players in particular giving thousands of bosses reason to give them the boot.

Sheffield United’s John Egan is one of just a handful of players to have registered a negative overall points total so far this season, after a -2 point return against Aston Villa thanks to a red card.

Egan returned 133 FPL points last season, positioning himself as a solid and affordable option, but no player remains popular with negative returns.

Another defensive player who is learning FPL bosses don’t have much time for poor returns at the back is Southampton goalkeeper Alex McCarthy.

Having conceded six goals in the Saints’ first two games, McCarthy’s selection remains at a healthy 19.5 per cent, but more than 100,000 have sold him ahead of GW3.

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