Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 27 – How to replace Son Heung-Min

BySiddhant Lazar, SportsCafe Editor

02/21/2020

With the world smack in the middle of another European round-robin, it’s perhaps the moment to avoid any rash decisions, but then Son Heung-Min gets injured. The news has been officially confirmed and there is a big chance that the South Korean is done for the season, so how do you replace Sonny?

Option one: Go all in on Tottenham

This is Son Heung-Min (10m) after all and while he may not be Mr. Consistent much like the Mo Salahs, Sergio Agueros and even the Sadio Manes of the world, for his price range, Son has been an excellent option. He’s averaged a rather impressive 5.8 points per game this season and scored nine goals this season with only the usual suspects ahead of him. But then you take another look at that list which sees Steven Bergwijn’s (7.5m) name pop up.

Now the Dutch forward did play over the week and he wasn’t half bad. But if you take Mourinho’s press-conference to heart, then Son’s injury will see Bergwijn play most of the remainder of the season and he is great value for money. He’s played two games, managed a tenner against Manchester City and then dropped a deuce against Aston Villa but that was most of Tottenham barring Sonny.

Consistency is the issue with the young forward and the problem with most of Tottenham this season. Yet, that’s where Lucas Moura (7.1m) should hopefully step in. The Brazilian has blanked in every game he has played since Gameweek 17 which means he’s up for a massive one. He’s still playing as the lone center-forward, still getting into all the right places but with his teammates falling like dominoes all around him it’s caused a few problems. Maybe that changes?

Especially with Dele Alli (8.4m), realising he’s no longer Mourinho’s favourite child with Giovani lo Celso (7.3m) slowly but steadily taking over that role. The former Real Betis man hasn’t scored yet but slowly and steadily the midfielder is getting into great positions on the field and the return of Tanguy Ndombele should see him play in a more advanced role. That's where he thrives with his time at Real Betis showing that he can actually score goals and score a lot of them. Plus now that he’s on corners, it makes Lo Celso a magnet for assist points especially since it doesn’t hit the first man.

Option two: Replace him with Richarlison

This is the greatest possible option and not just because the two are eerily similar players or because of the fact that the Brazilian is much better!! At 22, Richarlison (8.2m) is already the Toffees’ best which doesn’t account for much but in his position, the Brazilian is one of the best in the Premier League and has proved as much this season. 9 goals, three assists and a whole lot of shots inside the box makes for a brilliant read but the fact that he’s playing as a second striker, is sheer perfection.

And somehow, Don Carlo has done what he does best, bringing back consistency and goals into a good player which has made them even better. In fact, few players this season have managed to score more goals than the Brazilian this season but his form has been a little iffy. He’s missed two games through injury and then managed just two points before his 13 point haul last weekend.

Yet, this is Richarlison. The man has more points than Dominic Calvert Lewin (6.2m), Sergio Aguero(12.1m), Raheem Sterling(11.7m), Adama Traore (5.8m) and yet the world ignores him. The kicker? Barring the great Traore, the other three men have outscored the Brazilian.

Option three: Bring in Adama Traore and spend the extra money

This is the option to pick if you’re looking for a budget-friendly man and you have arguably the best option in the well-built flash. Adama Traore (5.8m) has not just scored goals and assisted more than any Arsenal player or overpriced playmakers but the young midfielder has been one of the best players in the league, let alone at Wolves.

And that’s saying a lot given just how well Jordan Henderson, Sadio Mane, Raul Jimenez, Danny Ings, and the great Kevin De Bruyne have performed. But this season, thanks to Nuno Espirito Santo, Adama Traore has turned into the club’s creative force with nearly every offensive move running through him. That works in Wolves’ favour, because if there is one thing he’s good or become good at, it’s creating chances, with an average of 1.4 key passes per 90.

That's not the highest in the league by any shot but thanks to the brilliant Raul Jimenez, it’s an efficient one and his price does give you an extra 4.2m to work with. That’s a lot of extra money, giving managers a chance to replace someone with a premium forward or midfielder or even defender.

Option four: Panic and dive into the Wildcard

A crazy option for sure, but what if you use the Wildcard and make wholesale changes? There are not one but two blank gameweeks coming around the bend in 28 and 30, there are a lot more European fixtures coming around the bend and then there’s the fact that the average points per game tally has been slowly dwindling. It says everything about the state of teams around the world and using the wildcard now lets you change up your team, remove Sonny and a few other bad eggs and prepare for a dystopian future.

Like the saying goes, better to be safe than sorry, right? Or you could just do what everyone else does and take a massive-points hit, allow you to save your wildcard for another day. Or you could just ignore this game, move on and live a stress-free life, but where's the fun in that?