Trades are a massive part of the Fantrax game we all love and play. We are here to give you the best players to try and trade in on a "buy low", and tell you which players might be worth selling on a high. At the end of the day a lot of trades will depend on the construction of your roster as a whole, but this list is a good place to start
Trade In Targets:
Bruno Fernandes
Prospects: United have struggled... a lot this year, and it has been somewhat reflected in Bruno's fantasy output. Despite averaging 14 PPS, Bruno can still be better than this. That is the scary part, that is why he is a trade in target. In the next 5 games United play: Sheffield United, Manchester City, Fulham, Luton, and Everton. There is no reason Bruno can't get 20+ in a few of those games. Bruno is currently the 10th overall player in Fantrax, but should be within the top 2 by the end of GW38 meaning an improvement in output. Most managers won't give away Bruno easily seeing that upcoming schedule, especially if they are United fans, but I do think now is the cheapest you could probably get him.
Verdict: A deal involving some of the assets above him or close to his overall points plus a sweetener might get the job done. Try to package one of: Trippier, Son, Bowen, or Alvarez with another high upside sweetener such as Jackson, Wilson, or Doughty for Bruno. I do believe Bruno will finish ahead of every other asset not named Maddison this year, so am happy to offer any of the other "big names" 1:1 for him as well.
Virgil Van Dijk
Prospects: Van Dijk is always considered a big name defender, no matter his production. This season he has shown the highs and lows of what he can do, but he should be in for a very good run of form given the upcoming schedule. With the likes of Everton, Forest, and Luton over the next 3 matches, Van Dijk could offer double digits in all three of these. Van Dijk also offers a consistent threat from set plays, and these three teams truly struggle to defend them. Over the rest of the season, I would consider Van Dijk somewhere between a low end DEF1 and high end DEF2. He should be a set and forget asset who will only miss games through injury and suspension, increasing his appeal even more.
Verdict: I would offer an overperforming defender such as the likes of: Cash, Ben White, Colwill, or Boly packaged with a steady-eddie midfielder such as Rice for Van Dijk.
Reece James
Prospects: Reece James is finally back, I think, from injury and ready to go after the break. Despite Chelsea's tough schedule, Reece James should offer some decent value. He will most likely take his fair share of set pieces, and Chelsea have really missed his creativity throughout their easy schedule. James is an elite DEF1 when he is healthy, and Chelsea seemed to have really been careful with him through this injury. They prolonged his return to make sure he can actually survive more than 55 minutes before another absence. If a manager has held onto James this long, they will be looking for an offer they cannot refuse.
Verdict: I would look to offer a manager a deal with some attackers to get James back. Most likely, anyone who drafted Reece may be struggling for either midfielders or forwards. A deal involving one of: Jackson or Richarlison packaged with Doucoure or Harrison might get the Reece manager interested, especially if they are struggling for wins.
Marcus Tavernier
Prospects: Bournemouth seem to be headed for the Championship, but I still expect them to put up a strong fight. The Cherries are about to enter a somewhat decent schedule over the next 6 or so weeks, and I would expect Tavernier to start finding his feet again. He missed the start of the season due to injury and hasn't scored more than 9.5 this season. Now is the perfect time to buy low on an asset that should offer solid MID3 value each week with MID2 upside in friendlier matchups. Tavernier also takes his fair share of sets, offering him that decent floor of your defensive midfielders. If the Bournemouth attack truly starts to figure it out, it will be largely be thanks to Tavernier. Managers may be open to selling him a bit cheaper than you would expect, given his somewhat disappointing start.
Verdict: I would look to offer a deal with a CDM type mid with a DEF2 or 5-10 FAB. Look to offer the likes of Rice, Soucek or Enzo packaged with Burn or 10 FAB to bring in the upside of Tavernier.
Trade Out Targets:
James Garner
Prospects: Garner has had 3 double-digit outings in his last 3 games, but unfortunately I feel his purple patch may come to an abrupt stop. Garner has been a good surprise to anyone who recently added him to their roster, getting returns in two of his last 3 games and 10.5 ghosts vs. Luton. Everton are about to enter a tough schedule and I fully expect Garner to go back to producing scores of 7 or less, similar to how he started the year. Garner might be a tough sell with many seeing the games he did well in as "easy" fixtures, but he could be a sweetener in a larger deal.
Verdict: You could potentially use Garner in a deal to bring in a player with more upside, such as Kudus. A package of something like Garner + Jensen might have a good chance of being accepted for someone such as Kudus.
Casemiro
Prospects: Casemiro has had himself a very poor season so far, and could see a long spell on the bench with or without his recent injury. United fans are at Casemiro's throat with his recent EPL performances, and Ten Hag even took him off at half-time in the come from behind win vs. Brentford. I would expect one of Amrabat, Eriksen, or McTominay to start over him this weekend and maybe longer with Mainoo eventually his long=term successor. Casemiro might be a tough one to trade out given his recent form, but I would look to target a United fan, or someone trying to buy United assets because of their schedule.
Verdict: I would look to offer Casemiro out in a deal for a more secure asset such as Rice, or push up to the next level for an upside MID3 such as Doughty or Tavernier. To get to that level you will probably need to add at least 15-20 FAB with Casemiro or another solid asset such as Dan Burn.
Michael Olise
Prospects: The rumours of Olise's return have started, with him pencilled in to return to the squad in 2 weeks vs. Spurs. I believe this is the perfect time to sell Olise. He will no doubt be rushed back into the XI within a week or 2 of his return, and is at risk of re-injury. With Eze out as well, Palace are truly desperate for some creative talent. A lot of managers will be looking to send some low ball offer for Olise with the news of his return, but I think you can get a pretty decent asset that will be more reliable than Olise.
Verdict: My top 2 trade targets for Olise would be Kudus and Doughty. I think these are two very realistic targets, both who should be a lot more reliable than Olise over the course of the season, mainly due to injury concerns.
Julian Alvarez
Prospects: Alvarez has proved a lot of people - myself included - wrong this year so far, but now I think is the time to sell. City are coming into some tough fixtures where they will look to play a secure midfield. With Rodri and Kovacic both ready to go, I would expect both of them to start alongside Bernardo Silva. This will leave just 2 spots outside of Haaland for the likes of: Foden, Grealish, Doku, and Alvarez. I think we will start to see some significant rotation from Pep, and now might be the time to sell Alvarez to someone who has some other City assets. Alvarez has been a set and forget FWD1 without a doubt, but I would expect you to be able to get a very good asset in return for him.
Verdict: I would push to use Alvarez in a larger deal for the likes of Maddison, Saka, or Salah. Packaging Alvarez with someone like Paqueta or Gross might entice a manger lacking overall depth. I wouldn't hesitate to add in a DEF2/3 or some FAB to turn Alvarez into a rest of season top 5 asset.
Why Reece Not Olise
After reading this article you may be very confused why Reece is a trade in target, but Olise is a trade out target. Both have poor injury records and both should get a start within a week or two of each other. Output wise both are top 15 players on their day and can easily be top 30 PPS players over the course of the season. Olise is coming off a 4-5 month injury that had multiple setbacks. It wasn't Palace just playing it safe, he truly has been struggling to get fit this season. Olise missed only a few games last season with a foot issue, but hamstrings as we know are more serious. One that is 4+ months long can easily be considered among the worst ones. His set backs don't show promising signs to staying fit for the rest of the season, and we know Palace will not be cautious when it comes to his minutes and starts. On the other hand Reece James is coming off a 6ish week injury, where Chelsea have decided to not rush him back largely thanks to Gusto and Cucurella being serviceable backups. Poch has decided to take the cautious route making sure Reece is 100% good to go. Rumours were he was ready to go for Burnley but was suspended. This is a good sign as it would mean he nearly has had 3 weeks of solid training and 1-2 games off the bench should get him up to the speed he needs to make a strong impact over the rest of the season. As well, this can be strictly my opinion but I fully believe Reece is just the better asset than Olise and is on a better side with a more potent attack especially with the loss of Zaha for Palace. All of these point towards me recommending trading in Reece but trading out Olise.
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