Fantasy Premier League 2020/21 – How you can replace the irreplaceable Danny Ings

BySiddhant Lazar, SportsCafe Editor

11/05/2020

With the second international break around the corner, it’s perhaps the moment to avoid rash decisions, but then Danny Ings injures his knee and is set to miss upto six weeks. Ralph Hasenhuttl confirmed the news and that means he will miss up to seven games, so how do you replace one of FPL’s best?

Option one: Panic and then bring in Jamie Vardy

Sure, the FPL commandments say not to panic but Danny Ings, scorer of twenty-two goals last season in the Premier League is injured. And given his form this season the Southampton man was owned by quite a few managers although that number has dwindled to 15% with 290173, at the time of writing, dropping the now injured striker. The 28-year-old has been a breath of consistent fresh air in what has been a chaotic start to the 2020/21 season but there is a solution.

There are lots of solutions especially with Harry Kane, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and a few others all thriving but Jamie Vardy is the man to go for. Sure at €10 million, the Leicester City forward is a little more expensive than Danny Ings and may require a manager to chop and change elsewhere. But the ancient one is on a great run of form with four goal contributions in his last two games.

That includes an off the bench goal against Arsenal which ended a two game goal drought for Vardy but the concern with him is the Foxes’ fixture list. It is about as tough as it gets with games against Wolves this week and then Liverpool after the international break, but he’s a gamble worth taking.

Option two: Too expensive? Then replace him with Turbo Timo Werner

Don’t believe in the Jamie Vardy party? Then go for someone younger, in great form as well and thriving in all competitions. That’s right, I’m taking about Timo Werner and it seems that Chelsea actually knew what they were buying and not just throwing bags of money against teams. Because Werner has now scored seven goals in 11 games so far for the Blues with three in his last two games in all competitions.

It’s a great run of form and given Chelsea’s fixture list, it makes the German international a great pick even if he was shuttled out to the wing by Frank Lampard in the mid-week fixture. Even then, Werner is now apparently on penalties for the Blues, but that may not last long once Jorginho finds his mojo although so far, the German has scored every spot-kick he has taken. The caveat is the fact that at €9.3, Werner is a little more expensive than Ings and thus again, forces a manager to make adjustments.

But it’s a hit that will be worth it, especially if Hakim Ziyech keeps pulling the strings for Chelsea because the former Ajax man is another one in good form. Not only that, he’s linking up very well with Werner and in Kai Havertz’s absence, after testing positive for COVID-19, expect the duo to find their groove.

Option three: Bring in a budget option and spend the extra money

Unwilling to tinker with your team? Looking for the cheap and miserly option? Well then look no further because we’ve got your budget picks. There are two and they’re both iffy options but then again, that is what you get for going budget. Option number one is Callum Wilson and guess what? At €6.3 million, the Newcastle United forward is a lot cheaper than Ings and at the same time just as locked into Steve Bruce’s team as anyone gets.

He has already shown his ability in front of goal with six goals and two assists which makes him a lot more reliable than anyone else Bruce has, so there is no dropping Wilson. Not only that, we already know what a good, fit and in form Callum Wilson can do from his time at Bournemouth and while the fixtures may be slightly against him, they’re also for him at the same time. That brings us to option number two, new Premier League superstar Patrick Bamford.

Leeds United have been a joy to watch and nothing defines them more than Patrick Bamford because the former Chelsea youth star has been a joy to watch. No player in the league has managed more big chances or shots inside the box than Bamford over the last few weeks and he’s combined that with the best xG. Combine that with his unluckiness to not score against Leicester and you’ve got potentially the most in-form striker at the moment and all for €6 million. Not too bad, is it?

Option four: Wildcard your team to space

The last gameweek before another international break is possibly the worst time to panic but an injury to a key superstar and panic is what FPL managers do best. It upends the balance of an entire team, sends plans straight into the dustbins and forces a re-jig which forces the use of a wildcard. Had it been a simple injury, one where Ings would have missed ten days at the most, then benching him works but not in this case.

It’s a four to six week injury and that causes serious problems which is where the wildcard comes into play for those who haven’t already used it. For those who have, well best of luck to you guys.