WEST HAM’S midfielders have taken Dream Team by storm this season.
Jarrod Bowen’s (£5.3m) tally of nine goals in all competitions is the most among all assets in his position and his total of 123 points puts him third in the rankings.
James Ward-Prowse (£4.5m) and Lucas Paqueta (£4.2m) are also among the top eight midfielders with the former leading the way in terms of bonus points (28) among all players.
However, two other Hammers’ midfielders have come to the fore of late in the form of Tomas Soucek (£3.7m) and Mohammed Kudus (£4.2m).
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The Ghana international was a ray of light in an otherwise dull affair between David Moyes’ side and Crystal Palace on Sunday.
Kudus opened the scoring in what ended a 1-1 draw but what really caught the eye from a Dream Team perspective was the 23-year-old’s haul of five bonus points – the maximum available for a single fixture and a relatively rare achievement.
When all was said and done, the ex-Ajax man banked 14 points – only Enzo Fernandez (£3.1m) has bagged more so far this Gameweek.
More broadly, Kudus has earned 51 points since the start of Gameweek 10, averaging 7.3 points-per-game during this fruitful run.
As for Soucek, Sunday’s fixture was the first in nearly a month in which he didn’t score.
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The Czech workhorse has always been a threat in the opposition’s penalty area, as he exhibited with goals against Nottingham Forest, Burnley and Backa Topola in November.
West Ham’s No28 has produced 31 points across his last four outings.
At the time of writing, Kudus features in 1% of teams while Soucek’s ownership is just 0.6%.
It’s hardly surprising this pair have generally been overlooked as Dream Team bosses are spoiled for choice even if they restrict their hunt for a viable midfielder to the London Stadium.
West Ham are the only team with FIVE representatives inside Dream Team’s top 20 midfielders – a remarkable effort for a club currently ninth in the league table.
The Irons have already qualified for the knockout stages of the Europa League so this theme could extend well into the new year.
Now he’s fit again, Bowen has to be considered the optimum selection as he’s essentially a forward – he’s notched 20 shots on target in all competitions.
However, the England international is costly at £5.3m.
Gaffers on a tighter budget would probably be better served by Kudus, arguably the most talented of the midfield crop.
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What’s clear is that Dream Team managers would be foolish to underrate West Ham’s midfield contingent.
Bowen, Ward-Prowse, Paqueta, Soucek and Kudus have 526 points between them already!
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk