THE Dream Team stock market can be a volatile environment.
Take your eye off the ball and all of a sudden one of your under-performing assets has shed £1million in value and you’re therefore limited in terms of potential replacements.
Conversely, pick an underrated gem at the right time and in no time you’ll be “banking reddies” as Danny Dyer would say.
Here we’ve assembled a workable XI of players who have increased in price the most from the start of the season to this point in time.
GOALKEEPER: Nick Pope £2.5m > £4.2m
Newcastle’s custodian started the campaign as the most-popular asset in his position as Dream Team gaffers recognised that £2.5m was a generous starting price.
The England international had been relegated with Burnley the previous season but joining Eddie Howe’s organised troops instantly improved his clean sheet prospects.
In fact, only David de Gea (£3.9m) has kept more Premier League clean sheets at this stage and the Spaniard is just one ahead of Pope on 14 in the race for the Golden Glove.
DEFENDERS
- Kieran Trippier £3m > £5.6m
- Lewis Dunk £2m > £4.1m
- Nathan Ake £3m > £4.8m
Most read in Football
Newcastle’s unexpectedly parsimonious defence is evidenced again here but the Magpies’ vice captain has carved out a bracket of his own among defenders because of his contributions at both ends of the pitch.
Set-piece specialist Trippier has provided eight assists and claimed eight Star Man awards en route to 214 points at this stage of the season – his closest rival is 71 points adrift.
Again, with the power of hindsight, a price of £3m prior to Game Week 1 was too good to pass up.
Brighton’s midfielders have earned plenty of headlines this season – more on them in a moment – so it’s easy to overlook the fact their skipper has more than doubled in price.
An ultra reliable performer, Dunk has contributed to 13 clean sheets in 2022/23 and he’s been on a tear of late, registering 68 points across the last 12 Game Weeks.
Completing the back three is Manchester City’s Dutchman, who deserves plenty of credit for his efforts in recent months.
Having been a peripheral figure in his first two seasons at the Etihad, Ake has been a regular starter this term and a key contributor to a side still chasing a historic treble.
The 28-year-old certainly won’t start as cheap next season.
MIDFIELDERS
- Solly March £1m > £4.6m
- Kaoru Mitoma £1.5m > £4.8m
- Miguel Almiron £1.5m > £3.6m
- Mathias Jensen £1m > £2.8m
Brighton’s long-serving midfielder is the player who has increased in price the most this season!
March was not much more than a useful utility player under Graham Potter while Mitoma was virtually unknown just a few months ago but the pair have thrived and enthralled under Roberto De Zerbi.
With 17 goals and 16 assists between them in all competitions, the Seagulls’ assets have to be considered among the standout performers of the Dream Team season based on their performances against pre-season expectations.
Full credit to any gaffers who picked either of them up for cheaper than £2.5m.
Nobody can criticise us for giving Almiron a modest starting price.
The Paraguayan winger works his socks off but he didn’t make much of a splash in the world of Dream Team during his first four years at Newcastle.
With 11 to his name this season, he’s bagged more Premier League goals in 2022/23 than his first four seasons combined.
Brentford may be on the beach now but a comfortable mid-table position is evidence of yet another campaign in which they have performed above the level expected of a club with their resources.
In this hypothetical XI, Jensen symbolises the Bees as a whole – a consistent performer who rarely grabs headlines but who opponents underestimate at their peril.
The Danish midfielder started among the joint-cheapest players in the game but he’s notched ten goal involvements in the league and plenty of 7+ ratings.
FORWARDS
- Marcus Rashford £3.5m > £7m
- Ollie Watkins £3.5m > £6.4m
- Erling Haaland £7m > £9.9m
It’s easy to forget that Manchester United’s No10 endured a torrid 2021/22.
Rashford mustered just five goals in 32 appearances last season with many pundits wondering whether a transfer was needed to reinvigorate his career.
As it turned out, a change of head coach at Old Trafford did the trick as the 25-year-old has reached a new peak under the guidance of Erik ten Hag – his season tally of 28 goals is a career best already.
The contrast between where he was a year ago and now is the reason he’s increased £3.5m in price since Game Week 1.
Aston Villa’s top scorer has scored 11 goals in his last 13 games, a prosperous streak that has catapulted his price upwards.
Many gaffers will feel £6.4m is too pricey for Watkins but it’s simply a reflection of the undeniable fact that’s been one of the league’s best players in recent months.
Last but not least, it’s Man City’s ominous poacher.
Haaland started the season among the game’s most-expensive players but his game-breaking exploits have pushed every boundary that exists in Dream Team.
The prolific Norway international has plundered 386 points with plenty more fixtures yet to fulfil.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
