Millions of Fantasy Premier League managers were celebrating in Gameweek 23 as each of the three most-bought players produced returns.
Recruited by more than 624,000 people, Justin Kluivert (£5.7m) registered a second successive double-figure haul with a 13-point return to add to his 22 points from Gameweek 22.
The No 1 transfer target, Kluivert scored, assisted and collected a share of the bonus as AFC Bournemouth triumphed 5-0 over Nottingham Forest.
Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo (£7.6m) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.3m) both delivered attacking returns after being bought en masse.
Rewarded with the maximum three bonus, Gakpo bagged a career-high 16 points in the 4-1 win over Ipswich Town, courtesy of two goals and an assist. He surpassed his previous best of 14 points versus Manchester United in Gameweek 26 of the 2022/23 campaign.
Alexander-Arnold supplied the assist for Gakpo’s second goal to take his tally to six for the season, one more than he managed across the whole of 2023/24 Fantasy. It could have been even better for his new owners, however, with the England international striking the post with one of his two efforts on goal.
The pair’s ownership has already increased by over 400,000 ahead of Double Gameweek 24, when Arne Slot’s side play twice.
Liverpool travel to both Bournemouth and Everton in the next round, giving their players two opportunities to earn points.
GW23 most-bought players
| Player | Bought by | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| Kluivert | 624,077 | 13 |
| Alexander-Arnold | 546,105 | 5 |
| Gakpo | 503,794 | 16 |
| Wood | 429,203 | 2 |
| Hall | 336,940 | 2 |
It wasn’t such a good weekend for those who snapped up Chris Wood (£7.1m) or Lewis Hall (£5.1m).
Wood blanked for the first time since Gameweek 18 after failing to register a single shot in the defeat at the Vitality Stadium.
And set-piece duties didn’t help Hall in Newcastle United’s 3-1 win at Southampton as none of his five corners led to a goalscoring opportunity. He came away with just two appearance points to show for his efforts.
Top captains on point
The top-three captain choices also rewarded their backers with returns.
Mohamed Salah (£13.7m) scored his 19th goal of the season and earned a share of the bonus for an eight-point total.
Salah moves up to 222 points overall as he continues his pursuit of the all-time season record of 303 points, a mark he set in 2017/18 Fantasy.
At £13.7m, the Egyptian is currently more expensive than he’s ever been and is found in more teams than ever before, with close to 8m managers owning him.
GW23 most-captained players
| Player | Captained by | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| Salah | 5,572,087 | 8 |
| Haaland | 1,884,253 | 12 |
| Isak | 1,139,599 | 13 |
| Palmer | 607,907 | 2 |
| Watkins | 201,713 | 5 |
Erling Haaland (£14.7m) continued his recent revival with 12 points in Manchester City’s 3-1 win at home to Chelsea. The Norwegian has racked up six goal involvements over his last five matches.
For the third Gameweek in a row Alexander Isak (£9.5m) was handed the armband by more than a million Fantasy bosses. He repaid their faith with 13 points thanks to a brace of goals and maximum bonus in Newcastle’s win at St Mary’s Stadium.
Since scoring in Gameweek 9, the Sweden international has amassed 129 points, second only to Salah’s 148 over that period.
Backed by 201,000+ managers with the armband, Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins (£8.9m) delivered an assist in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with West Ham. Watkins has now produced an attacking return in four of the last five Gameweeks and has appealing encounters with Wolverhampton Wanderers and Ipswich next.
The only member of the top five captains to blank was Cole Palmer (£11.3m).
Palmer’s captaincy total dropped by more than 50 per cent from the previous round ahead of Chelsea’s match at Manchester City. It proved to be the correct decision with the Blues on the wrong end of a 3-1 scoreline and Palmer finishing on two points.