More than 1million Fantasy Premier League managers were rewarded for recruiting Son Heung-min (£9.9m) for Double Gameweek 35 (DGW35).
The Spurs star converted a second-half penalty in Tottenham Hotspur’s 3-2 defeat to Arsenal for a seven-point return.
And it could get even better for its owners, as Son faces Chelsea on Thursday in their second match of DGW35.
Son is the No 1 transfer target for the fifth time this season, and this is set to be his best return of the lot.
The mantle of being the Gameweek’s most-bought player has seen him blank three times previously, but he has traditionally done well when facing the Gunners.
He scored twice in the reverse fixture in Gameweek 6 and now has 72 points in his last nine outings versus Mikel Arteta’s side.
They are most-bought player
| game week | Opp(s) | Transferred in by | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| GW35 | ARS (H), CHE (A) | 1,013,199 | 7 |
| GW29 | FUL (A) | 2,091,060 | 2 |
| GW27 | CRY (H) | 661,955 | 7 |
| GW8 | LUT (A) | 1,457,982 | 3 |
| GW5 | SHU (H) | 921,945 | 2 |
The second most-recruited player, Alexander Isaac (£8.2m) rewarded his 904,000+ new owners with two goals and the maximum three bonus points for a 13-point haul. It’s his third double-digit return in six appearances.
Isak impressed as Newcastle United beat Sheffield United 5-1 at St. James’ Park, taking five shots in the match.
With seven returns in his previous four outings, Bruno Fernandes (£8.4m) was snapped up by nearly 700,000 managers for Manchester United’s home encounter with Burnley.
Fernandes was unable to extend that run, however, failing to score or assist as the match finished 1-1.
Fernandes picks up extras
Nonetheless, a lack of returns didn’t preclude him from picking up two bonus points.
His impressive underlying statistics were rewarded in the Bonus Points System; Fernandes created nine chances including four big chances.
He becomes only the third midfielder this season to collect at least two bonus points without registering a goal or assist.
Fernandes follows Jeremy Doku (£6.4m), who earned maximum bonus in Manchester City’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool in Gameweek 13, and Mathias Jensen (£5.3m), who picked up two bonus points when Brentford drew 1-1 with Man Utd in Gameweek 30.
DGW35 most-bought players
| player | Transferred in by | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| Are | 1,013,199 | 7 |
| Isaac | 904,441 | 13 |
| Fernandes | 692,823 | 4 |
| Foden | 587,778 | 0 |
| jackson | 586,696 | 2 |
A 16-point haul away to Brighton & Hove Albion last Thursday led to 587,000+ buying Phil Foden (£8.3m) for Man City’s trip to Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
However, much to their disappointment, Foden did not make the trip to Nottingham having been ruled out with illness.
He still needs just one point to break the 200-point mark for the first time in Fantasy.
Bought by more than 586,000 managers, Nicolas Jackson (£6.9m) completed the top five transfers in.
Chelsea are the other team to benefit from two matches in DGW35, and traveled to Aston Villa on Saturday in their first match of the round.
Jackson had a goal disallowed and hit the post as the Blues came back to draw 2-2 at Villa Park, and his owners will be hoping for better fortune on Thursday against Spurs.
DGW35 most-captained players
| player | Captained by | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| Haaland | 3,194,496 | 5 |
| Palmer | 2,073,986 | 2 |
| Salah | 893,067 | 1 |
| Are | 721,063 | 7 |
| Watkins | 432,451 | 2 |
Erling Haaland (£14.1m) was the most-captained player for DGW35, handed the armband by over 3m people.
He marked his return to the Man City squad with a goal after coming on in the second half of their 2-0 win.
He now leads Cole Palmer (£6.2m) by one in the race for Golden Boot.
Palmer received his biggest-ever captaincy backing for his pair of matches in DGW35, with more than 2m turning to the Chelsea talisman.
The best value-for-money player in Fantasy, having returned 33.9 points per million spent, Palmer produced a rare blank in his first outing of DGW35.
It wasn’t for a lack of trying, however, as he attempted a match-high six shots and had a big chance saved towards the end.
Keeping faith with Salah
Close to 900,000 managers kept faith with Mohamed Salah (£13.5m) for Liverpool’s 2-2 draw at West Ham United. But having been left out of the starting XI, he was unable to avoid a one-point return after coming on in the second half.
And Ollie Watkins (£9.0m) completed a miserable Saturday for the top captains, blanking for the first time in four appearances in Villa’s draw with Chelsea.
Top 100 managers’ DGW35 captains
| player | Captained by | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| Palmer | 91 | 2 |
| Are | 9 | 7 |
Palmer was the overwhelming favorite armband among the leading 100 managers in Fantasy, with 91 of this elite group selecting him for double points.
His DGW35 rival, Son, is the differential pick, selected for the captaincy by nine of the top 100.
