FPL: Countdown to GW10 - 'Move Mountains' for James Maddison?

It was another one of those weeks where if you didn’t captain Erling Haaland, you were punished.

Owning him is simply not enough when the masses are captaining an 83% owned player, so despite clocking up 23 points for non-captainers, with every point he scores, you actually have a negative loss and you lose rank on the field.

But this isn’t a week to talk Haaland, because I can’t tell you anything you don’t already know. You simply have to own him and you simply have to captain him almost every time.

This is a week, however, for reflection. In last week’s column, I wrote that for the first time since I can remember, I wasn’t scared about not owning Liverpool assets and, with Arsenal and Manchester City up next, I’m still very comfortable with this strategy as I head into GW10 without Trent Alexander-Arnold (7.4) or Mohamed Salah (12.8).

I also said James Maddison (8.1) was on the top of my radar and my number one transfer target.

Regrettably, I didn’t make this move and lost out on the 18 points Maddison earned against Nottingham Forest. I’m known for being quite an aggressive manager but last week I stalled, and boy was I punished.

I was put off by the fact I needed to take a four-point hit to accommodate the Leicester playmaker but nine times out of 10 I know I pull the trigger on that move. The lesson here isn’t to be taking hits left, right and centre, but that if there is a week you feel really strongly about a player, move mountains to get him.

With Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, Leeds and Wolves up next, Maddison is a player I’m definitely targeting ahead of GW10 but it’s also worth noting there are other midpriced midfielders who had unbelievable weekends.

Hauls from Miguel Almirón (5.1), Leandro Trossard