Written for Gameweek 8. Its deadline has passed. Read the newest: Gabriel scores 17 as João Pedro misses out and Fernandes stays on the bench
FPL Tilt · Team talk · Transfers · Gameweek 8
Szoboszlai and Semenyo are out with no return date. Where does the £15.1m go?
Be the first to comment ↓Szoboszlai and Semenyo are both out with no return date. Cherki, Isak, Wirtz, Mbeumo and Saka as replacements, which one to sell first, and whether two transfers are worth a hit.
Dominik Szoboszlai lasted half an hour at Brentford on Saturday before his hamstring went again. Andoni Iraola said afterwards that Liverpool would be without him "for some time". At the Etihad at the same time, Antoine Semenyo came off the bench for the last 13 minutes against Ipswich, and by Tuesday morning FPL listed his knee injury with no return date either.
Since the Gameweek 7 deadline, Szoboszlai has been sold by about 253,000 managers and Semenyo by about 213,000. They are the two most sold players in the game, and together they cost £15.1m.
The players being bought in their place are mostly not the ones FPL Tilt's projections rate highest. If you can only make one transfer this week, Semenyo is the one to move first. If you want both gone, the choice is between one premium and a cheap bench player, or two midfielders who start every week.
Cherki can wait until tonight
Rayan Cherki (Manchester City, £8.0m) is the second most bought player of the week, bought by about 159,000 managers on the idea that he takes Semenyo's place in the side. Nobody knows that yet. Enzo Maresca has started him five times in seven games and left him on for the full match once, and against Ipswich on Saturday he did not come on at all.
That is why he is projected for only 9.1 points over Gameweeks 8 to 12, about a third of what the best midfielders are projected for. When he plays, the numbers are good: four goals and two assists, with 14 points at Palace and 10 at Anfield.
If Maresca starts him every week from here, all of that changes. City play AEK Athens in the Champions League tonight, and the deadline is not until Friday evening. There is no reason to make this move before seeing tonight's team sheet and what Maresca says before Villa on Saturday.
Liverpool
Szoboszlai's own club has the same pull. Alexander Isak (Liverpool, £9.0m) has been bought back by about 107,000 managers. He has five league goals, and with Szoboszlai out he is next on Liverpool's penalties on FPL's list.
Liverpool's results this season are odd. They have won three of their four away games and none of their three at Anfield, and the next two are both at Anfield, against Brighton and Arsenal. Isak is projected for 15.9 points over the five Gameweeks.
Florian Wirtz (Liverpool, £7.2m) is the more interesting case. At Brentford he created nine chances from open play, according to Opta figures published by Liverpool, played Victor Muñoz in for the equaliser and was named player of the match. Only Bruno Fernandes has a higher creativity score in FPL among midfielders this season.
Still, the size of those chances matters. All nine together came to about a fifth of an expected assist, and Brentford were down to ten men from just before half-time, when Yehor Yarmoliuk was sent off. Wirtz is projected for 18.3, has three assists and no goals in seven games, and is next on the free kicks. If you want to stay at Liverpool, he is the one to look at.
Bruno, or Mbeumo for £4m less
Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United, £11.8m) is the third most sold player of the week. He scored a hat-trick against Ipswich in Gameweek 2 and has not scored since, with 2, 2, 2, 1 and 1 points.
FPL Tilt's projections still put him second among all midfielders, at 25.1 over the five Gameweeks. What makes him hard to keep is the price. Bryan Mbeumo (Manchester United, £7.8m) is projected for 24.1. He has played every game in full, is next on penalties after Bruno and has four goals from chances worth about four, so his season is not built on luck. We wrote about him on Sunday. Mbeumo is leading United's attack
For a Semenyo owner, Mbeumo is the straight swap with £0.5m left over. The cost is United's run: Chelsea away and Liverpool away are both in the next four, and United are 13th.
The one being sold
Bukayo Saka (Arsenal, £9.6m) is projected higher than any other midfielder for the next five Gameweeks, at 26.0. This week twice as many managers are selling him as buying him, after 2, 2 and 3 points in his last three.
His chances tell a different story. Over Gameweeks 1 to 7 his expected goals came to nearly four and he has three, and his expected assists came to more than one and he has none. Arsenal are second, have let in five goals in seven games, and play Everton and Hull at home in the next three.
Cole Palmer (Chelsea, £9.7m) is the other premium being bought, by about 67,000 managers, and Chelsea's next five look slightly easier. Saka has had more than twice Palmer's expected goals, and he is projected nearly four points higher for £0.1m less.
The cheaper end
- Marcus Tavernier (Bournemouth, £6.2m) is where the crowd and the projections agree. He is projected sixth among midfielders, takes Bournemouth's corners and free kicks and has four goals. Bournemouth are 15th.
- Jack Rudoni (Coventry, £4.9m) takes Coventry's penalties and free kicks and has two goals, and Coventry have the easiest five Gameweeks in the league. They are also 17th, so he is a bench player for a squad built around a premium.
- Enzo Le Fée (Sunderland, £5.7m) has started every game for the team at the bottom of the table.
Pascal Groß (Brighton, £6.2m) is the most bought player of the week, by about 162,000 managers, and he is projected 18th among midfielders. The next two games, Liverpool away and City away, are most of the reason. Brighton are third and have scored 23, more than anyone.
The case against doing both now
Szoboszlai and Semenyo are projected for nothing until there is a return date. Mbeumo is projected for 5.1 points in Gameweek 8, so a second transfer for a four-point hit only just pays for itself this week.
Over five Gameweeks it pays easily, if both stay out that long. "Unknown" can mean a fortnight. Iraola's "for some time" is the most anyone has said, and the press conferences before the deadline may say more.
What it comes down to
With one free transfer, the projections favour selling Semenyo first. His £8.3m reaches Mbeumo, projected for 5.1 points this week, while Szoboszlai's £6.8m reaches Tavernier, projected for 3.9, and is the easier money to stretch later.
With both gone, there are three shapes. Saka with Rudoni costs £14.5m, and the pair are projected for 46.5 points over five Gameweeks. Mbeumo with Tavernier costs £14.0m and is projected for 45.0. Mbeumo with Le Fée is projected for 45.2, and it leaves £1.6m for a problem elsewhere. In Gameweek 8 alone the three are within a point of each other, so the choice rests on whether you would rather have one premium and a bench player, or two who start every week.
The Gameweek 8 deadline has passed.
Points, prices, ownership, transfers since the Gameweek 7 deadline, starts, goals, assists, expected goals and assists, creativity, penalty and set-piece order, FPL's injury listings and fixtures are Fantasy Premier League's, read on 20 October 2026 at 13:18. League positions are worked out from FPL's results. Projections are FPL Tilt's for Gameweeks 8 to 12, from the run published on the morning of 20 October 2026. Iraola's words are from ESPN's report of 17 October 2026. Wirtz's nine chances created are Opta's, published by Liverpool FC on 17 October 2026; the player of the match award and the assist for Muñoz are from the same report and Sky Sports' match report. Yarmoliuk's red card is from Sky Sports' match report.
Figures read on 20 October 2026. Players shows today's figures.