Fantasy EPL Sleepers 22/23: West Ham

Updated: Jul 28, 2022

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 West Ham, 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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West Ham Sleepers

As noted above, these are potential Fantrax Sleepers from West Ham. 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.

Pablo Fornals

Position: Midfielder

21/22 Points: 286.5 (21st best midfielder)

21/22 Points Per Start: 8.8 (32 starts)

22/23 Projected Points Per Start: 8.2 (28 starts)

Recommended Draft Pick: 90 or later (12 Team League: Round 8 or later)

Overview: Fornals had a solid season, nailing down a spot in West Ham's best XI, and was utilised mainly on the left wing or centrally behind Antonio. With that versatility and work rate he was a reliable performer for Moyes who trusted him much more than Benrahma. While he has less upside than Benrahma, he still produced 6 goals (5.0 xG) and 4 assists (5.6 xA), and I see him as a much safer pick in terms of playing time this coming season, especially if a new attacking player is signed. Fornals could have snuck into the Best Players article, however his ADP of 94 seems low, and I have seen him go nearer the 130 mark in most mock drafts. By round 9 or later he becomes great value and I personally wouldn't sleep on him!

Aaron Cresswell

Position: Defender

21/22 Points: 220 (33rd best defender)

21/22 Points Per Start: 7.1 (31 starts)

22/23 Projected Points Per Start: 7.0 (28 starts)

Recommended Draft Pick: 95 or later (12 Team League: Round 9 or later)

Overview: Cresswell had a disappointing season for those that drafted him near his ADP of 67. He dropped

from 8.9 PPS (34 starts) in 20/21 to just 7.1 PPS (31 starts). Some of that can be attributed to West Ham's downturn defensively; they conceded 50 goals (44 in 20/21) and kept just 8 clean sheets (11 in 20/21). His number of assists dropped significantly from 11 (5.9 xA) in 20/21 to just 4 (3.2 xA) which is no surprise given his number of key passes significantly reduced from 57 in 20/21 to 31 as he saw his set pieces eaten into by Jarrod Bowen and others. So why am I recommending him? His early season form actually surpassed 20/21 with him averaging 9.2PPS up to GW27 (20 starts) even if his form after that was a shocking 3.3 PPS rest of season. Some of that could have been down to the strange back injury which saw managers drop him, only to see him miraculously return earlier than expected. I also expect West Ham's defensive performances to improve with a more settled back line after the signing of Nayef Aguerd to partner Kurt Zouma. With a full summers rest and pre-season under his belt I would expect Cresswell to get back to top form. Managers will likely sleep on him due to recency bias when they come to rank players which is reflected in Cresswells low ADP of 111. If you can pick him up in the 9th round or later he'll offer you amazing value.

Ben Johnson

Position: Defender

21/22 Points: 99.75 (95th best defender)

21/22 Points Per Start: 6.1 (16 starts)

22/23 Projected Points Per Start: 6.4 (10 starts)

Recommended Draft Pick: 180 or later (12 Team League: Round 16)

Overview: Now we're entering extreme sleeper territory with Ben Johnson. Johnson took advantage of both Cresswell and Coufal's injuries and poor form to gain a significant number of starts last season on both flanks. At times he looked the real deal, solid defensively and got forward well to deliver crosses into the box and even showed some goal threat. This coming season I think he has the potential to supplant Coufal as first choice right back. While his numbers weren't amazing overall with just 6.1 PPS, I think this was partly due to him coming into the side when West Ham were in poorer form and naturally as a young player he will be more inconsistent. On the flip side this means he has so much room to improve if he manages to nails down the right back spot. As a Round 16 flyer, you're really not taking on any risk - if he starts the first match you could have found yourself an absolute gem, if not you won't be shy to dump him for any new emerging talents.

Honorable Mention(s):

Maybe not an honourable mention given his cat kicking scandal, but Kurt Zouma could be worth a punt by the time you hit Round 15/16 if you need a defender to fill up your roster. Zouma didn't put up very good numbers last season with his ADP of 167 reflecting his poor 5.8 PPS (23 starts). However, he did have to contend to contend with a number of different centre back partners including Ogbonna, Diop and Craig 'CMFD' Dawson. In a settled partnership with Nayef Aguerd and an improved defence, I think he could thrive as the front foot defender hoovering up all of the aerials, tackles and interceptions, while he also poses a threat at set pieces as we saw in his time at Chelsea. Just know that this is a super late punt and you shouldn't be afraid to drop him quickly as new talents emerge in the first few gameweeks.