Cianan’s Column: GW21: The Ekitiké enigma

Ekitiké is owned, at the time of writing, by 32% of managers, and it’s challenging to know what to do with the Liverpool forward. Looking down the barrel of GW18, 19, and 20, he looked extremely promising, but his best score during those weeks was a 5-pointer against bottom-of-the-table Wolves, and yet he currently costs an eye-watering £9.1 (a value likely to drop substantially if his poor form continues). Still, he is Liverpool’s main number 9 at the moment, has shown his goal-scoring prowess in the Premier League, and has a delectable fixture against Burnley (H) in GW22. So, the question is, what are we to do with Ekitiké?

If you don’t own Ekitiké, by the way, congratulations! You officially dodged the conundrum which this article attempts to dissect. Fortunately, there should still be some useful analysis here and there for you, while you enjoy watching the rest of us run around like headless chickens.

As mentioned above, the Frenchman has upsides and most certainly downsides; however, neither keeping nor selling him is head-and-shoulders above the other option. He faces Arsenal (A) this week, and it’s a horrid situation when you have to start an attacker against the Gunners. Even if he produces a great haul in GW22, Liverpool’s subsequent run of fixtures is tough, bringing his long-term viability into question. Hence, selling right away is more than understandable, but so is keeping him until after that Burnley game if you’re confident he’ll excel. Still, whatever your decision, it’s worth entertaining replacement options.

In terms of premium assets, Villa’s Watkins is the stand-out, which feels unusual given almost no one has given him much thought since the early gameweeks of the season. He’s averaged 6.8 points per game in the past five gameweeks and has a staunchly impressive run of fixtures. To put it into perspective, if Villa continue their current strong run of form, there isn’t a match where you wouldn’t want to play him between now and GW37 – the penultimate game of the season. Plus, this week’s fixture is Crystal Palace (A), a side that is winless in the last five games. The only fly in the ointment is that he is at some risk of rotation, having been benched in GW18, though his minutes have been generally passable since GW16. It wouldn’t surprise me if even the Ekitiké-less cohort begins to entertain the potential this move has to offer.

Fellow countryman Bowen is also an option, coming in at a flat £1.0m cheaper than Watkins, but buying him off the back of a 4-pointer against the worst team in the league (Wolves (A) last time out) feels uninspiring, a description that suits West Ham well on the whole. Continuing down the price points, Thiago is another half a million cheaper and just produced a whopper 17-pointer in GW20. However, he also isn’t without flaws, as his upcoming fixtures aren’t great, and buying now feels akin to trying to catch a train that’s already left the station, although he remains Brentford’s penalty taker. He’s in don’t buy, don’t sell territory.

The final option is to commit to a strategy I discussed all the way back in GW11: dead-ending a striker slot. Bringing in one of FPL’s cheapest striker options to rot on your bench can free up necessary funds elsewhere, allowing you to bring in the more desirable, if expensive, assets across the rest of your outfit, though it involves running the risk of reduced squad depth. I think it’s more than worth the risk; if I hadn’t already pursued this strategy, bringing in Guiu several weeks ago, this is what I’d be doing. Astute managers will ensure they capitalise on expensive but high-scoring Arsenal assets (Gabriel, Rice, Timber, Saka), particularly from GW22 onwards, alongside picking up Chelsea players for their impressive fixture run from now until GW27 (Palmer (if you can afford him), Fernández, Sánchez (if fit), Chalobah). £4.2m Barnes and Obi never looked so good.

Rapid recommendations

● This gameweek’s big game is Arsenal v. Liverpool. In general, you should play your Arsenal assets even if it isn’t an ideal fixture, and bench your Liverpool assets if you have genuine points-scoring alternatives.
● Gabriel is evidently a must-own from GW22, though you can wait until then to bring him in. He has such a strong goal threat, as well as clean sheet and DEFCON potential, that anyone who doesn’t have him soon enough will live to regret it.
● So long as he doesn’t start suffering from Pep roulette, I’d hold onto Foden. His form will inevitably turn, as will Haaland’s, and then everyone who sold them will want them back.
● Cunha and Dorgu are nearing the end of their lifespans. No one should own them (and plan on doing anything other than benching them) heading into GW22, so make plans for how you’re going to move them on.
● Fernández looks like a cheap Cunha replacement, and works as a way of spreading around funds, even allowing Dorgu to Tarkowski if you wanted (yes, Everton’s defence is still worth investing in, even after conceding four to Brentford!)

The Boar standings

1st: Dwight Club (1216) – managed by Cianan Sheekey
2nd: parths11 (1179) – managed by Parth Malik
3rd: Meganerd FC (1163) – managed by Megan Green