Our Fantasy EPL 22/23 Draft Kit promises to be the most comprehensive set of pre-season Draft Premier League articles ever produced! A key component of our Draft Kit will be the Team Preview articles which analyze key assets to sit alongside our all-important Draft Rankings. This article highlights Fantrax Fantasy EPL Sleepers from Newcastle United, as we highlight three potential hidden gems for the new season! Click here for details on how you can access our 22/23 Draft Kit.
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Newcastle Sleepers
As noted above, these are potential Fantrax Sleepers from Newcastle. These Fantasy EPL players are likely to be drafted in the later rounds. Read below for three under the radar players who could provide excellent value in your pre-season draft.
Joelinton
Position: Midfielder (Forward in 21/22)
21/22 Points: 266.5 (14th best forward / 29th best midfielder)
21/22 Points Per Start: 8.7 (28 starts)
22/23 Projected Points Per Start: 8.5 (29 starts)
Recommended Draft Pick: 75 or later (12 Team League: Round 7 or later)
Overview: Completely reinvigorated under Eddie Howe, the Brazilian has gone from a strong do-not-draft candidate last year to a potential set-and-forget MID3/4 for your squad in the upcoming campaign.
Given everything that’s happened globally since he joined Newcastle as Steve Bruce’s first signing in the summer of 2019, you could be forgiven for not remembering that Joelinton arrived as Newcastle’s most expensive ever signing. The £40m outlay, in addition to wearing the #9 jersey made famous by club legend and all-time EPL leading scorer Alan Shearer, meant the Brazilian joined the club with almost impossible expectations heaped on his shoulders. So it’s no surprise that after just 6 goals and 4 assists in his first two Premier League seasons, the striker entered the 21/22 campaign as one of the most maligned and ridiculed forwards in the league. But, as it would soon be shown, it was the manager and the system that contributed to Joelinton’s poor showings, and not the player.
Eddie Howe’s arrival not only brought the heralded new manager bump, it also saw the Magpies transform into a more energetic counter-attacking system similar to the one in which Joelinton thrived at Hoffenheim, where his skillset earned him comparisons to another Brazilian and ex-Hoffenheim player, Roberto Firmino. You can see why he didn’t succeed as an out-and-out goal-scoring 9 or a left winger. When Eddie Howe made the decision to move Joelinton into a central midfield role, we finally started to see glimpses of the player Newcastle were willing to make their record signing.
The fantasy output followed suit. Joelinton finished the 21/22 season with a respectable 8.7 points per start (7.5 ghost points per start) and will look to build upon that with a full season in his revised role, where he picks up points from both attacking and defensive categories. Add in the versatility to fill in across the front line in a pinch and Sir Joseph of Lintonshire could be a shrewd pick-up as your third or fourth midfielder, who can reliably get you 7-10 almost every gameweek.
Dan Burn
Position: Defender
21/22 Points: 242 (19th best defender)
21/22 Points Per Start: 8.7 (27 starts)
22/23 Projected Points Per Start: 8.6 (18 starts)
Recommended Draft Pick: 110 or later (12 Team League: Round 9 or later)
Overview: A ghost point giant who helped change Newcastle’s fortunes, Burn could be a mainstay in your team as a second or third defender. But will he keep his spot with the arrival of Sven Botman?
Big Dan Burn has become a bit of a cult hero around these parts. During his time at Brighton, the 6’7” defender showcased surprising versatility, splitting time between the left-sided CB in a three-at-the-back setup and the LB in a back four. While he scored fairly well as a fullback, it was centrally where he was able to dominate aerially and rack up valuable fantasy points. When he moved to Newcastle in January and was asked to play as the left-sided center back in Eddie Howe’s 4-3-3 system, he flourished, establishing a rock-solid bond with Matt Targett and Fabian Schar either side of him on the way to being one of the Premier League’s stingiest defenses in the second half of the 21/22 campaign.
Burn’s aerial prowess (10th overall for AER won in 21/22 with 100) and the improved defense at Newcastle means he could easily outperform his draft position. However, the native Geordie wasn’t at the top of the new owners’ transfer list back in January. Summer arrival Sven Botman was reportedly the main target, but a deal couldn’t be reached last window. So, they turned their attention to the Seagulls’ center back instead. While Botman has played as an RCB before, both he and Burn are left-footed and have primarily played on the left side of a defensive setup, particularly in a back 4. There is some question as to whether Botman will replace Burn or Fabian Schar in the back line (or perhaps alongside them in a back three, though that seems unlikely).
It would be harsh on Burn to drop him following his role in Newcastle’s turnaround but Schar was equally impressive alongside him. It’s worth keeping an eye on the setup during pre-season to determine whether Burn will be worth the investment in the middle rounds of the draft, or if he's better suited as a late-round punt. If it does look like Burn is going to be on the outside looking in, Botman himself isn’t a bad replacement option in your draft, though perhaps a couple rounds later given his inferior ghost points (6.5 gPP90 to Burn’s 9.0). It must be said, however, that the new shiny toy effect currently has Botman's Average Draft Position (ADP) at 93 (Burn's is 110).
Joe Willock
Position: Midfielder
21/22 Points: 201 (55th best midfielder)
21/22 Points Per Start: 8.2 (23 starts)
22/23 Projected Points Per Start: 8.8 (24 starts)
Recommended Draft Pick: 145 or later (12 Team League: Round 13 or later)
Overview: A fairly consistent starter under Eddie Howe, the former Arsenal youngster was dropped from the lineup at the end of the campaign. Can he earn his place back in the first team? If so, he’s proven he can be a consistent fantasy asset with a high floor and decent ceiling. Not a bad pickup towards the end of your draft as a wait-and-see option.
A prolific goal-scoring run to close out the 20/21 season, where he scored in seven straight appearances, likely earned then-Arsenal loanee Joe Willock his permanent move to Newcastle last summer. The youngster primarily made an impact from the bench while on loan, but both Steve Bruce and Eddie Howe trusted him in the engine room from the start on multiple occasions last season. Willock produced some impressive fantasy scores between January 22 and April 23, scoring 8 points or more on all but one occasion across 11 starts, and registering two goals and three assists in the process.
Howe began experimenting more with his midfield and attacking contingent once they had secured their safety (and as players either returned to fitness or struggled with late-season injuries), meaning Willock found less time in the starting eleven for the final month of the season. It remains to be seen whether the arrival of Bruno Guimaraes and the reinvention of Joelinton as a midfielder will crowd Willock out of starting opportunities. But he does provide a more direct attacking threat that could be relied upon from the start in matches against opposition outside the top 6.
Don’t reach too high for Willock given the uncertainty around starts. But if he’s available in the last few rounds, he’s worth stashing for the opening couple weeks of the season to assess how the Magpies' manager will make use of his attacking talent. If he earns a regular starting spot, you’ve got a late-round gem. If not, dump him and keep an eye out for him as a high-upside streamer when he does ultimately break the starting eleven.
More Fantasy Sleepers: Arsenal | Aston Villa | Bournemouth | Brentford | Brighton | Chelsea | Crystal Palace | Everton | Fulham | Leeds | Leicester | Liverpool | Man City | Man United | Nottm Forest | Southampton | Tottenham | West Ham | Wolves
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