It’s not so clear which defenders Dream Team bosses should back right now.
Newcastle assets have generally been the best over the course of the whole season but, as we detailed yesterday, four games without a clean sheet has slowed their progress dramatically – they play the two Manchester clubs next as well.
Manchester City have conceded their fair share of goals and Pep Guardiola’s rotation policy means it’s hard to pin down a regular anyway – one week Rico Lewis (£3m) appears to be the standout bargain in the game and the next he’s totally inactive.
Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool all have their much-documented problems.
Even league-leaders Arsenal are averaging one conceded goal per game in the top flight.
All things considered, it’s a tricky position to master at the moment.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the best seven defenders currently priced at £4million or cheaper.
Kenny Tete
- Fulham
- £3m
- 71 points
- 0.3% ownership
- Ranked 16th in his position
Very much an unsung hero outside of Craven Cottage, as evidenced by his minuscule ownership.
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The Dutchman has chipped in with four assists from right-back and, while he’s prone to a yellow card, he’s been a key contributor to Fulham’s impressive showing upon their return to the Premier League.
In terms of Dream Team viability he’s not banging down the door but if Marco Silva’s side hold on for European qualification then he could be one to monitor next season.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka
- Manchester United
- £3.7m
- 73 points
- 1.7% ownership
- Ranked 15th in his position
Old Trafford’s resident spider averages 4.6 points-per-game, putting him above the likes of Dan Burn (£4.9m), Thiago Silva (£6m) and Ruben Dias (£5.7m) in the same metric.
Limited in attack but among the best one-on-on defenders in Europe, Wan-Bissaka did very well when tasked with filling in for Diogo Dalot (4m) while the Portugal international was injured.
Having impressed Erik ten Hag, he may be given a decent allotment of minutes in the final third of the season but Dream Team managers should be aware that Dalot is Man United’s first-choice right-back.
Nathan Ake
- Manchester City
- £4m
- 76 points
- 5.6% ownership
- Ranked 13th in his position
The Netherlands international is the best-performing defender for the defending champions this term (now that Joao Cancelo has exited) and he was a relatively safe pick when deployed at left-back.
However, Guardiola has been getting funky recently with Bernardo Silva (£2.7m) occupying the role vacated by Cancelo with mixed results.
Ake’s owners may have to ride out this current wave of tactical quirkiness.
Ben Mee
- Brentford
- £3.9m
- 92 points
- 2.8% ownership
- Ranked 12th in his position
A centre-back you can set your watch to.
The 33-year-old has improved Brentford’s defence since signing from Burnley in the summer and would be one of the first names mentioned when discussing the Bees’ ongoing unbeaten streak of eleven league games.
Mee’s total is boosted by three goals, an assist, and three fully deserved Star Man awards.
Gabriel
- Arsenal
- £3.8m
- 98 points
- 17.8% ownership
- Ranked 9th in his position
It’s interesting that William Saliba (£2.9m) is more popular (22.5% ownership) than his centre-back partner because he’s 32 points shy of the Brazilian’s total.
Mikel Arteta has remained loyal to his starting XI and Gabriel has played every minute of every league game in 2022/23.
It’s worth noting that the Gunners’ No6 has earned just one point from his last seven games but the fact he’s still a top-ten asset among defenders speaks volumes for his overall consistency – he needs to stop the rot sharpish though.
Diogo Dalot
- Manchester United
- £4m
- 108 points
- 5.4% ownership
- Ranked joint-4th in his position
One wonders what tally the Portuguese full-back would be on had he not missed 11 games through injury.
Dalot is one of just eight defenders to have achieved 100+ points at this stage of the campaign having produced four double-digit single-game hauls.
If Man United can edge out Barcelona on Thursday night and go deep in the Europa League then there could be plenty of Dream Team points on offer for the 23-year-old.
Luke Shaw
- Manchester United
- £3.8m
- 108 points
- 11.2% ownership
- Ranked joint-4th in his position
It’s a similar story for the Red Devils’ No3 who has the exact same points total as Dalot at the time of writing.
Shaw has admirably filled in at centre-back a few times in recent weeks but it’s at left-back, his natural position, where he truly excels.
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The England regular has contributed to 14 clean sheets so far this season and with 29 points across the last three and half Game Weeks, he’s on the charge.
It’s not unthinkable he could finish the campaign on the defenders’ podium.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
