As the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) deadline looms closer, it is time to decide what to do with our precious free transfer(s). Aside from playing chips or selecting a captain, our transfers are the single most important aspect of our FPL campaign.

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In this article we crunch the numbers, analyse the fixtures, take advice from the Algorithm, and decide which player to buy, which player to sell, and which player to keep for Gameweek 3.

BUY: Phil Foden

• Cost: £7.6m
  
• Selected by: 13.0%
  
• Projected Points (next 6 GWs): 32.2
  

As the FPL landscape begins to unfurl, Gameweek 3 poses managers the first real head-scratcher of the season. There are a number of excellent options to go for, but after Gameweek 2, Phil Foden (£7.6m) has emerged as (arguably) the best.

According to Transfer Analytics, the most transferred in player this Gameweek is Bryan Mbeumo (£6.7m) with almost one million managers making the switch. Mbeumo has racked up 23 FPL points in just two Gameweeks courtesy of 3 goals. But, it is important to remember that you don't get the points which have already gone!

Brentford look blistering in attack and Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa (£6.1m) have clearly stepped up to fill the Ivan Toney (£8.0m) shaped-hole in the squad. Mbeumo is a solid pick and Brentford’s fixtures continue to be generous, but Crystal Palace will be no pushovers defensively and two-thirds of Mbeumo’s goals have come from penalties, which he won’t get every Gameweek.

For a few seasons now, Pep Guardiola has frustrated FPL managers and football fans alike. Foden is one of the game’s most talented young footballers but has struggled to nail down regular game time for, most likely, a variety of reasons we are not privy to. That being said, it feels like this season could be significant for Foden’s prospects.

With Kevin De Bruyne (£10.3m) sidelined for months with a hamstring issue, Man City have lost a significant proportion of the team’s creativity, with versatile players such as İlkay Gündoğan and Riyad Mahrez having sought pastures new. City now crave a creative midfield hub and Foden filled that roll amazingly against Newcastle in Gameweek 2.

While he is credited for the assist for the excellent strike by Julián Álvarez (£6.6m), Foden could have finished the game with three more, had the usually prolific Erling Haaland (£14.0m) not suffered with an uncharacteristic blip in finishing against the Magpies.

According to Opta Stats Sandbox, Foden is joint top for Attempted Assists (9) and, while the data range is currently unreliably small, we can expect to see newly promoted Sheffield United struggle against the pressure City will unleash on them.

SELL: Luke Shaw

• Cost: £5.5m
  
• Selected by: 22.6%
  
• Projected Points (next 6 GWs): 16.6
  

It seems to have been a particularly brutal season for early injuries and unexpected rotation, but now we can add Luke Shaw (£5.5m) to the ever-growing list of players who are set to be sidelined for a period.

The England and Manchester United full back has suffered from a muscular injury. While the extent of the issue is still being assessed, it is deemed Shaw will be out for “an extended period”.

At £5.5m, Shaw is too expensive a defender to hold on to and so - assuming you don’t have other, longer-term issues to deal with – you may need to find a replacement and quickly.

KEEP: João Pedro

• Cost: £5.6m
  
• Selected by: 22.6%
  
• Projected Points (next 6 GWs): 10.2
  

He scored a penalty in Gameweek 1 and was benched in Gameweek 2. In Gameweek 1 he played for 87 minutes and looked lively. In Gameweek 2 he played for just 33 minutes and was shown a yellow card. What then are managers to make of João Pedro (£5.6m) as an FPL asset?

With his zero-pointer still ringing in the ears of his owners, De Zerbi compounded the bad news by publicly stating that Pedro still had a lot to learn: