International Break - Genie's Corner and Trade Advice

This article will focus on trade advice that highlights players that are either worth trading in on a low, or trading out on a high. This could involve players who could see their minutes reduced, have a purple patch come to an end, or on the flip side involve players who might be starting to heat up. This article will also feature advice and strategy tips from our very own Draft Genie, and his interesting style of playing the game.

Players To Trade-In

This section will focus on players to target in your trade offers. Usually there are two types of players to trade-in. The ones you "buy low" on, who may be in a poor patch of form, injured, or not seeing consistent minutes with all that about to change. The second is where you "buy high". While that will sound contradictory, these players could be showing no signs of slowing down and are en-route to a breakout season. You want to try and trade-in these players before they become unattainable, even if it involves offering more than what their draft-day or early-season value was.

Kaoru Mitoma (BHA - MID)

Analysis: Mitoma has had two mediocre games back to back. Against United and Arsenal he managed 9.5 (with an assist), and 8 points, respectively, after a solid 21 point haul to start the season. This may be the cheapest Mitoma will ever be. He has the left side for Brighton nearly on lock, and should see as many starts as he is fit for, barring the odd rotational game. The Japanese winger is on one of the most dangerous attacks in the league, and should continue to offer a high ceiling. While Mitoma's draft day value may not have fallen much or at all in the eyes of his manager, if you can pay around his draft day capital right now, that could be a steal. Mitoma was going around the 4th round in many leagues, but could return early 3rd/late 2nd round value. He has every chance to be a top 25-30 asset this season, and should be your top target this break for trades.

Brighton are going up against Ipswich, Forest, Chelsea, and Spurs in the next four gameweeks, four teams that have proven to have leaky defences. Mitoma could easily get double digit outings in all of these games, and then will be impossible to trade in. Brighton could welcome back a few of their injured bunch as well, which only helps their team improve, but this shouldn't affect Mitoma's minutes, especially as the Seagulls don't have European fixtures that require rotation. Mitoma is a set and forget MID2 with borderline MID1 upside depending on the matchup.

Trade Offer Value: I would offer players drafted before Mitoma, who may be looking like they will not reach the same heights. Assets such as: Martinelli, Garnacho, Bruno G. Rodri, Rice, Robertson, and Nkunku should all be thrown in an offer for Mitoma. Getting any of these across the line in a 1:1 trade will be tough unless a manager believes in their improvement, but if you throw in some FAB and a solid defender/MID4, you may get it over the line. "Sweeteners" such as: Romero, Jensen, Cook, Schade, or Pinnock may give the Mitoma manager something to seriously think about.

Phil Foden (MCI - MID)

Analysis: Foden has yet to start for Manchester City, and only made a 45 minute cameo vs Chelsea in gameweek 1. Since then he has failed to even make a City squad. Right now it is being said that it is due to illness, but there are no real updates on his condition or a potential return. City are ticking along just fine without him or Rodri, which might make Foden managers, especially those who used a top 5 pick on him, worry about what prospects of consistently making the XI.

I am not worried that much about Foden. I would still back him to get around 25-30 starts, and have a top 8 PPS by the end of the season. He is a key part of Pep's system and could occupy either a wing role, or the other attacking midfield role beside KDB. That would see Lewis, Kovacic, and potentially Bernardo battling for one of the two "pivot" spots. Bernardo will also provide competition for Foden in that attacking role and he has had a great start to the campaign.

Managers who used an early pick on Foden could be looking at an 0-3 record if they didn't get their next few picks spot on. I can envision somewhere there is a manger who went: Foden - Nunez - Trippier/Toney, and is panicking right now. Look to target those managers to get Foden at a discount. In this type of trade don't expect these managers to just give away Foden for any decent start such as Tielemans. But if you tempt them with 1 solid upside midfielder, and 1-2 more set and forget assets that could help them start getting wins, then you could find yourself in a win-win deal.

Trade Offer Value: It's hard to fully write out a trade for Foden as a lot will be team specific to the Foden manager, as well as their level of patience. For the solid upside midfielder look to include someone such as: Martinelli, Kulusevski, Szoboszlai, Bernardo Silva, McNeil, Gibbs-White, or Kudus as the first asset. Now as you see there is a bit of the range in the "first asset", so that will inherently determine how strong of a second and a third asset you will need to include. For a second asset players such as: Andreas Pereira, Minteh, Iwobi, Trossard, Tavernier, Hudson-Odoi, and Rogers can be used. Now the third asset could either be a solid DEF3, or another attacker that will obviously not be a top tier asset, but one that can give the manager consistent starts that is slightly better than what they will get on the waiver wire. Examples can include: Enzo Fernandez, Strand Larsen, Burn, Tielemans, Mazraoui or Pinnock. A sample offer could look like this: Kulusevski + Minteh + Mazraoui + 10-15 FAB for Foden. While this may seem like a crazy offer given Foden was a top 8 pick, it will give the manager 3 useable assets every week to help start putting up wins.

Players To Trade-OUT

This section will focus on players that you should be actively trying to trade out over the next week or so. These players could be on course to see a minute reduction or be having a bad season that it seems they can't recover from. A lot of times name value players will feature here, as you will still find managers who believe they can return to their glory days. Each season brings new challenges and as we have seen even the very best assets can fall off a cliff in just a single season (Rashford of 2024). Look to trade out these players before their value becomes so low that you may need to consider dropping them.

Yankuba Minteh (BHA - FWD)

Analysis: A second Brighton player features in this article but for different reasons. Minteh was a fantastic summer signing and is being fully trusted by Hurzeler having started all three games so far. His fantasy production has been very solid for a player that was probably taken after round 7 in many leagues, with scores of 14.25, 10, and 8.5 so far. He has 2 assists so far (1 real & 1 fantasy), and has been occupying the RW role for Brighton. After hyping up one Brighton attacker, their overall attack, and their schedule, why on earth would I suggest to trade out another, especially one who is a starter?

Minteh's points have been a lot better than he has actually been in real life. While others may disagree, he hasn't really passed the "eye test" for me, which is a big judgement I use in trade/player values. As well, the Brighton attack is getting very crowded with Enciso fit, Rutter starting to get embedded, and Adingra making it very hard for his manager to keep leaving him out of the XI. All of these will lead to earlier subs for Minteh, and potentially even games where he starts on the bench. I think Minteh is a good representation of what it means to "sell for a profit": a player who hasn't really looked as good as his points show and could be set for a decline. While Minteh is far from droppable, and not a panic sell yet, use the Brighton friendly schedule to trade him out in a trade for an asset who has looked better, or in a larger deal.

Trade Offer Value: Some players I would look to target 1:1 include: Adama, Rogers, Savio, Semenyo, and Iwobi. Throwing in some FAB is also an option to get those across the line. My main recommendation would be to use Minteh as a package for a better player but not swing for the fences in a top 20 asset. Try for players such as: Cunha, Jackson, Muniz, Pedro, Robinson, and Szoboszlai. To make this happen you will probably need to throw in another player such as: DCL, Ben White, Paqueta, Tielemans, or Elanga. Adding in up to 20 FAB should help you get this done.

Andrew Robertson (LIV - DEF)

Analysis: Robertson is always an asset that can be relied on, but he seems to be lacking to ceiling everyone would like from a defender drafted between rounds 2-3. Liverpool defenders as a whole haven't exactly been impressing, apart from their clean sheet captures in the last 3 games. As a result, I think now is the perfect time to trade out Robertson. You can use the upcoming schedule (NOT, BOU, WOL, CRY) to your advantage to potentially even get back more than he may be worth. Robertson has scores of 10.25, 18, and 9 this season. If you remove the clean sheet points (+6 for defenders), these aren't exactly great scores. So far he has 5 key passes, 2 shots on target, and 3 accurate crosses not corners (ACNCs). Outside of that he really doesn't offer other outlets for points. He will be reliant on clean sheets or returns to have a ceiling, which just don't seem as likely as they once did. Liverpool are ticking well, and using Salah and Diaz as their width, and Szobo as their "10" creator, which is looking like a strategy that will stay.

Robertson should still command name value, and Liverpool have three clean sheets in a row. This will have quite a few managers interested in him, especially Liverpool fans. Again, he is not a panic sell, but one that I would look to move on from to improve my team elsewhere and get some more upside.

Trade Offer Value: I think there are two types of Robertson trades I would look at. One where I receive 2 players (a defender and an attacker), or one where he is packaged with one of my attackers for a better midfielder/forward. Looking at option 1, defenders I would be targeting include: Robinson, Dalot, and Munoz. Packaged with one of those three I would look to ask for a MID3/FWD2 type asset. Players such as Tavernier, Fatawu, Bernardo, and Iwobi all fit that bill. Robinson being the best of the three you probably won't be able to get him and Bernardo, but getting him and Tavernier is a very good deal. Using Robertson in a bigger package could include using him plus a MID3 to get a midfielder from the second round. Target players such as Bowen, Maddison, and Gordon. Robertson + Andreas P. might tempt a manager who has a very weak defence and hasn't had much luck with streaming them.

Strategy Section

This section will highlight some of my unique strategies I use in Fantrax, and how you can apply them to your own style. I will look to discuss trends I am seeing in leagues, or tactics that I may shift to, that will better my chances of winning my league. A lot of these strategies could involve a high-risk high-reward approach, or be tactics I see my fellow managers using that I will be advocating against.

International Break Holds

Analysis: Similar to last week with the drops, I will highlight a few players I think are worth holding during the break for various reasons. I will only include players that are under 45% rostered.

• Jadon Sancho (CHE, FWD) - Sancho moved to Chelsea, and will be used off the left reportedly. No one has thrived in that LW role so far. This will require patience but he will get his chance.

• Ferdi Kadioglu (BHA, MID) - While he may not be the most exciting pickup, he will be fit for GW4 and should win a starting spot by GW5/6. An upside punt that you could pick up for free.

• Ricardo Pereira (LEI, DEF) - Leicester aren't improving at all, and Ricardo had a masterclass in the cup tie. Maybe Cooper finally benches Justin for him.

• Geroginio Rutter (BHA, FWD) - I am not a huge fan of rostering him, but this one is solely about trade value. Pick him up and see if you can trade him out if there's news of him improving in training. If you have the space, hold GW4 and hope for a good off the bench performance to sell high on.

• Mateus Fernandes (SOU, MID) - He came on at the half for Smallbone. He could easily start GW4, and has shown promise. he offers some skill and flair that Saints lack right now. If it doesn't pan out in a week or two, he's an easy drop.

• Jacob Ramsey (AVL, MID) - Came on for the injured Bailey and is in line to start the fixture vs. a very shoddy Everton. A must pickup if available. Only 27% rostered.

When is it Time to Panic Sell?

Analysis: Those in leagues with me whether it be this season, or in previous know I send offer after offer. A lot of times they involve me trying to panic sell a player. I'm not exactly giving said asset away for free, but I am willing to take a massive value cut to get an asset I have more faith in, or punt on someone who could come good. I usually judge whether to panic sell when I think either a player is about to lose their spot in the XI, or they have been a poor performer for 2-3 weeks straights, and have looked poor in the eye test as well. A panic sell is never a bad thing in my eyes (I usually avoid doing this for my round 1-3 assets unless I see something seriously wrong).

Usually panic selling assets, especially those with name value, will lead you to be on the RECEIVING end of a 2 for 1 trade. While this obviously is never ideal as you lose a roster spot, on value alone you could end up with a lot more value than the player you gave up, then eventually you can look to make 2:1 or 3:2 trades of your own involving these new guys or some of your other assets. Also a lot of managers are drawn into name value and draft capital. So usually a round 3 asset will hold that perceived notion for quite some time unless there is an issue. At worst case they may drop to a perceived 4th rounder. Panic selling doesn't mean taking the first offer you get for an asset you are worried about, it means doing what you can to sell the asset for a respectable value. Even if it means taking a slight loss, more often than not I find that it pays off in the long run, because as we see every year, name value isn't everything.

Genie Verdict: If I am about to panic sell an asset with name value, my best recommendation is to ask for 2 lesser assets, where 1 will have some upside and one could provide a steady PPS. That may not be exciting but is just above what you get on waivers. For the assets without name value, if you are borderline ready to drop offer, them out for a little bit of FAB. Usually someone will give you at least 5-15 if they rate the player. For the "in-betweeners", if it is an attacker, your best bet is to ask for a defender, especially one that can ghost but may not be set and forget. For example if you wanted to panic sell Summerville, who you may have drafted in round 7, you could aim for someone like Collins or AWB. Yes, that manager may be thinking they got a steal, since a lot are low on defenders, but you got a set and forget asset. Don't worry about what their draft day value was; that is irrelevant to the value they will provide to your squad for the rest of the season!

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