Timo Werner’s cost of £6.5m in Fantasy Premier League could make him an appealing short-term differential for managers looking to invest in Tottenham Hotspur’s attack.
The German’s loan move to Spurs comes at a point where their two key players, Son Heung-min (£9.8m) and James Maddison (£7.8m) are unavailable due to international commitments and injury respectively.
Werner’s position as a forward in Fantasy, however, has dented his immediate appeal.
Timo Werner has landed in #FPL 🛬
— Fantasy Premier League (@OfficialFPL) January 10, 2024
Are you tempted to bring the @SpursOfficial forward into your team? 👀 pic.twitter.com/0hhGQoN46E
Although the versatile 27-year-old can play up front, he is initially expected to occupy the left-wing role vacated by Son’s departure for the Asian Cup.
This would allow Dejan Kulusevski (£7.1m) to take up the central support berth behind Richarlison (£6.9m), with Brennan Johnson (£5.8m) playing on the right.
Long-term, Werner may struggle to retain a role in Ange Postecoglou’s starting XI once Son and Maddison are both available, and he could ultimately be used as an impact substitute late on in matches.
Fantasy managers, however, will be hoping the German can oust Richarlison as the lone forward to offer a cut-price route into Postecoglou’s free-scoring side.
There’s no doubt that Werner was a hugely frustrating pick in his previous stint in the Premier League with Chelsea.
In his best season, in 2020/21 Fantasy, he scored only six goals while assisting a further 12 to total 128 points.
However, the tactics of Postecoglou can transform a player’s output, as evidenced by the success of their attackers this season.
Richarlison has already been involved in more goals than in the whole of the last campaign, scoring six and assisting three in 2023/24.
Kulusevski has equalled his best season haul of five goals, and Johnson has matched his total of five assists from last season, when he was at Nottingham Forest.
While that offers hope for Werner’s prospects, his listing as a forward makes him far less appealing at a time when the departures of Son and Mohamed Salah (£13.2m) on international duty makes midfield the priority position for managers to address in Fantasy.
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