Transfers are one of the most challenging parts of playing the Fantasy Premier League (FPL). You may have to rack your heads to set up the best team for each gameweek. As a result, knowing when to make an FPL transfer is crucial to how you will perform throughout an FPL season.
This guide will show you when best to make transfers and the processes involved in getting the best out of your FPL team!
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When is the deadline for each gameweek?
Usually, FPL sets a deadline of one hour and 30 minutes before each game week for managers to set up their teams or make transfers. So if the first game for the game week will start by 12:30 BST, the deadline for FPL will be 11:00 BST.
Failure to make your transfers or set up your team before the deadline means you would go into the new game week with the same set of players.
However, if you have the Premier League app, you will receive the notification from time to time before the deadline. Usually, this happens one or two hours before the deadline. Also, once you log in to the Premier League app, you will quickly see the time left to set up your team before the game week deadline.
What are the best times to make an FPL transfer?
Transfers play a vital role in achieving success as an FPL manager because it’s nearly impossible to stick with the same team for a whole season.
Some reasons why you would make a transfer include:
- A player getting injured
- A player losing form
- A player struggling to get into their club’s first 11
- A player is currently in-form
So making transfers to tweak your FPL team regularly is inevitable.
As a result, different scenarios warrant making an FPL transfer.
#1 A player about to change in price
FPL is set up in a way that the prices of players change depending on several factors. When a player performs week-in and week-out, his price will begin to increase.
Another factor that allows a player’s price is when the number of FPL managers buying such a player increases. For instance, James Maddison was the most transferred-in player in the gameweek 9 in the 2022/23 Premier League.
Due to this, a player’s price can sometimes increase up to three times within a week, depending on how often FPL managers sign him.
Moreover, when a player dips in form, his price will decrease. This will also mean that FPL managers are transferring such a player from their team.
It is usually recommended to purchase a player that is about to have a price increase.
This usually happens after a player has a huge point haul in the previous gameweek, and most managers may want to transfer him in.
Due to the high demand for this player, it is almost guaranteed for his price to rise!
If you can transfer the player in immediately, it will help you avoid spending extra to get the player.
On the other hand, the best time to transfer out a player is when the player’s price is about to decrease. With this, you will get the best value for the player.
For instance, if a player puts in a bad performance in a gameweek, it is vital to transfer the player out immediately before his price decreases. This is the best rule of thumb, especially when a player collects a red card. Prices of players usually decrease when they are red-carded.
Meanwhile, depending on your strategy, you may make certain transfers, including:
- Transferring in a player whose price decreases
- Transferring out a player whose price increases
This may happen when you are trying to increase your team value, or to hunt for bargains.
You can always follow the official FPL page on Twitter to get the latest updates on any price changes.
#2 Gameweek on a weekend
Whilst it might be good to make your transfers before the prices of players increase or decrease, it gets tricky when such players do not play the next gameweek on the weekend.
As a result, it is sometimes better to wait until these 2 timings:
- Deadline day itself
- After the pre-game press conferences have concluded
With this, you can find out the injured players or those out of the game for other reasons.
If a manager declares a player unfit for a game after you have signed the player, you will lose out in the end. As a result, the transfer will waste since the player cannot play.
Your best bet is to listen to or read press conferences before making your transfers.
To find out more about whether you can reverse an FPL transfer, check out this guide here.
Usually, managers hold pre-match press conferences for matches on the weekend on Thursdays and Fridays, depending on when a team will play.
This is the predicted schedule that you may want to follow:
When The Match Is Played | Press Conference Held On |
---|---|
Saturday | Thursday |
Sunday or Monday | Friday |
To get the latest updates for all scheduled press conferences, you can check out this page by Fantasy Football Hub.
#3 A mid-week Gameweek
Similar to weekend games, pre-game press conferences are also held for mid-week games:
When The Match Is Played | Press Conference Held On |
---|---|
Tuesday | Monday |
Wednesday | Monday or Tuesday |
As such, it’s also recommended to wait until after the club’s press conferences before you make a transfer. This will help you find out whether the player is available to play.
#4 Injuries
Injuries are part of the game of football, and they also affect how you will set up your FPL team. However, there are different scenarios on how injuries can affect your transfers.
First, when a player is confirmed to be injured, it might be best to transfer him out immediately after reports confirm how long he will be out.
For instance, Leeds United star Rodrigo had to miss four weeks of action after a shoulder injury in gameweek 5 against Everton. Most FPL managers had him in their teams before that gameweek, having scored 4 goals in his first 5 games. However, they had to transfer him out after reports of being sidelined for four weeks.
In contrast, when a player’s injury is not critical, you may want to wait for the press conference from his manager to confirm his availability.
This may just help you to save one transfer!
However, there are moments where a player needs to be assessed via a late fitness test before he can play in the gameweek. This usually happens just before the matchday, so it can be quite hard to determine if he will play or not.
If your bench is strong enough, you still can consider fielding him, and take advantage of automatic substitutions to receive the most points if he does not play!
You can also find out about a player’s availability on FPL’s home page. The website usually displays how critical a player’s injury is.
Here are what the different coloured signs mean:
Colour | Chances Of Playing Next Match |
---|---|
Light Yellow | 75% |
Deep Yellow | 50% |
Light Red | 25% |
Deep Red | Unavailable for the next match |
This may be important when you are choosing your captain or vice-captain for your team, as it will affect the number of points you’ll receive!
Conclusion
Depending on these 4 different scenarios, there is usually an optimal time for you to make a transfer. The key thing is to always stay updated on the latest news and deadlines, so that you are able to make the best decisions when it comes to your team!
You can find out more when an FPL player transfers in real life here.
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