Buy, keep or sell in Gameweek 27?

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Gameweek 27 presents various transfer dilemmas for Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers.

Based on schedule, performance and injuries, these players are transferred in/out the most.

Player	Transfer in (round)	Player	Transfer out (round)
Joao Pedro	143,999	Bruno Guimaraes	100,606
Cole Palmer	142,643	Enzo Fernandez	78,506
Antoine Semenyo	133.210	Declan Rice	76,802
James Hill	97,814	Harry Wilson	69,695
Virgil van Dijk	66,680	Marc Cucurella	58,748
Igor Thiago	59,256	James Tarkowski	56.109
Morgan Rogers	57.113	Dominic Calvert-Lewin	55,683
RYAN	56,216	Reece James	55,627
Bruno Fernandes	53,752	Igor Thiago	53,829
Bryan Mbeumo	52,958	Matty Cash	50,899

But whether it’s a good idea is still up for debate.

Here, we share our thoughts on who to buy, keep and sell in Gameweek 27.

COLE PALMER

For those who are not owners, Cole Palmer (£10.6m) is a very tempting option.

Until recently, her fitness and figure issues made it easy to ignore, but that is no longer the case.

The midfielder, who is owned by only 15.0% of managers, scored a hat-trick against Wolverhampton Wanderers in Gameweek 25 and followed it up with a goal and an assist against Leeds United earlier this week. That helped him score 32 points in just two games.

Developing under Liam Rosenior, this run has included three penalties, but even without factoring in penalty kicks, the underlying stats are still good, with seven shots from open play and four chances created over the last three Matchweeks.

Additionally, Chelsea will face Burnley next home, which makes it a better choice.

Fitness concerns haven’t completely disappeared, but Palmer was rested against Hull City in the FA Cup on Friday, so there’s a decent break ahead of Gameweek 27.

However, the potential problem is what happens after Burnley, where Chelsea will face a very difficult opponent.

The final match, of course, can be ignored if you plan to use the Wildcard in Gameweek 32.

However, while Palmer is clearly a good option – and a very strong captaincy option against Burnley – if you don’t have the transfer funds, you could consider looking elsewhere, perhaps to someone like Florian Wirtz (£8.4m), considering the prospect ticker for Liverpool (nfo/WHU/wol/TOT/bha/FUL).

VERDICT: KEEP IT, BUT DON’T RUSH TO BUY UNLESS YOU HAVE A BANK TRANSFER

RYAN

It’s rare for a £5.5m midfielder to be a priority buy in FPL, but with some lucrative fixtures on the horizon, RYAN (£5.5m) is undoubtedly worth a look.

In a very short time, the Brazilian has made a real impact on the south coast.

Arriving from Vasco da Gama in January, he has returned in all three games since joining Bournemouth, combining two goals with one assist and 19 points.

Playing mostly on the right side, Rayan has taken six shots in his two starts. He also created several chances for his teammates.

Notably, Rayan is not a typical Brazilian winger, as he often uses his physicality to beat defenders rather than perform skilled tricks.

“That’s one of the things we were looking for in the winter window because this season we lost Antoine Semenyo and Dango Ouattara, two of the most physical wingers in the league. We needed someone with a strong physical and set-piece game considering we were quite lacking, so I think he adds these things to the team.” – Andoni Iraola about Rayan

So, with a lot of freedom of attack, as shown by Antoine SemenyoRyan’s (£7.9m) form under Andoni Iraola at Bournemouth has the potential to be a real bargain.

He probably won’t start every game, but with three home meetings in the next five Matchweeks, as well as trips to West Ham United and Burnley, that should give him enough opportunities to be at his best.

A quick word about teammates Amen Adli (£5.4 million), too. Deployed on the left, he produced four comebacks (two goals and two assists) over the last five matchdays. A small cautionary example, but here’s a comparison since Rayan’s first appearance in Gameweek 24.

PURPOSE THREAT

POTENTIAL FOR HELP

As you can see, it is very difficult to draw definitive conclusions from the underlying statistics, especially after just three games played together.

However, with positional rivals David Brooks (£5.0m) back in shape and Marcus Tavernier (£5.3m) is also not too far away, we should probably expect early substitutions and potential rotation for both players. Remember, that’s not always a problem if you take the price into account.

“I think Amine is in a situation where maybe now he is receiving rewards for the hard work he has done for the team. He came in as a new player, but this is a situation where basically Antoine [Semenyo] playing everything on one side, then there’s Tavernier, Brooksy [Brooks]even Ben Gannon-Doak, Amine Adli, so there’s not that many minutes available. But he kept fighting, pushing, and now in a situation where we don’t have those players, we really need him and he is there for us because of his goals. But also defensively, I think he helps Adrien [Truffert] in this case a lot and the more minutes he gets, the more time he plays, I think it will be more valuable for us, I think.” – Andoni Iraola and Amine Adli

It’s also worth mentioning Bournemouth’s recent progress: after 11 league games without a win in November and December, they have picked up 14 points from the 21 available, while ranking third for actual goals scored and seventh for expected goals (xG) over that period.

VERDICT: BUY

VIRGIL VAN DIJK

Virgil van Dijk (£5.9m) has looked very shaky at the start of the season, which has coincided with Liverpool’s overall decline in form.

However, with 38 points over the last six Matchweeks, which is the most of any FPL defender, he is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

The Dutchman has shown his attacking ability with headers from corners against Sunderland and Bournemouth recently, and ranks well when compared to other FPL defenders in such situations.

Above: FPL defenders ranked by headed goal attempts from set pieces (Head) in 2025/26

This may be important because van Dijk’s next two opponents, Nottingham Forest and West Ham United, shoot a lot from set pieces.

“That’s very important [van Dijk] has scored a few goals for us this season and of course last season also from set pieces. He is a big threat in the air in attack and defence, he is important for us not to concede. So yeah, [he’s] vital and I hope he will score more goals for us from set pieces this season.” – Arne slots on Virgil van Dijk

Additionally, van Dijk has collected defensive contribution points (DefCon) in two of his last three games, with 9.62 DefCons per 90 minutes in 2025/26.

He not only stands out for his goal threat, DefCons and favorable fixture list, but also because Liverpool have the third-best goals against goals conceded (xGC) in the Premier League since the start of December, and have arguably been unlucky not to keep more clean sheets.

And with van Dijk increasingly successful at Anfield, we think he is a worthy purchase.

VERDICT: BUY

DEKLAN RICE

As Double Gameweek 26 nears its end, sales Declan Rice (£7.6m) is starting to rise.

In Thursday’s draw at Brentford, the box-to-box midfielder failed to score or assist for the sixth game in a row.

He registered just two shots in the box in that period, and while he was definitely unlucky not to provide an assist (18 chances created/-2.17 expected assists delta), it’s easy to see why so many FPL managers are starting to look for other options, especially considering Arsenal’s upcoming and empty game.

But because of his recent offensive drought, it’s easy to forget that Rice is still the third-highest scoring quarterback in Fantasy, trailing only him. Antoine Semenyo (£7.9 million) and Bruno Fernandes (£9.8 million).

And he’s constantly looking for ways to earn points, whether through DefCons, clean sheets and/or bonuses.

It’s true, in his last two games, Rice has still put up a decent 10 points (or at least he will when FPL adds its midweek bonus points, which you can read more about here).

However, given that there are alternatives in/around his price tier, with much better equipment, we’d think about moving Rice to someone like Wirtz or Semenyo, or perhaps something cheaper. Dango Ouattara (£5.8m), could pay off over the next few Match Weeks.

VERDICT: SELL

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