Bukayo Saka(£10.5m)’s hamstring injury will throw a wrench into the Christmas plans of millions of Fantasy Premier League managers.

Before suffering the injury against Crystal Palace on Saturday evening, the Arsenal winger featured in over 44 percent of their squads, making him the third most capped midfielder in the game.

His ownership has already fallen to 37 per cent and with Gunners boss Mikel Arteta confirming Saka will miss the busy Christmas period, further strong sales are expected Deadline on Thursday at 11:00 GMT.

This is where The Scout helps managers choose the best replacement Mohamed Salah (£13.5m) and Cole Palmer (£11.2m) were not included in the analysis as they are already the two most capped players in the game and a must-have in midfield.

Who gets the most points per game?

Brentfords Bryan Mbeumo (£7.6m) has matched Saka’s points total this season with 107 points, an average of 6.3 points per game (ppm), placing him fourth in the standings.

Tottenham Hotspur duo James Madison (£7.6m) and Son Heung-min (£9.8m) averaged 5.7 and 5.6 ppm respectively. Maddison has scored eight goals and assisted five more, giving him a total of 13 goal involvements this season – more than any other player in this analysis.

Liverpool Luis Diaz (£7.4m) and Manchester United Bruno Fernandes (£8.4m) have also reached double-figure goal contributions, with the former leading the way with 5.4 to 4.9 percentage points.

Selected midfielders for points per game

player	G+A	pt	Points/Game
Mbeumo	12	107	6.3
Madison	13	97	5.7
Son	11	79	5.6
Diaz	10	86	5.4
Fernandes	10	83	4.9
Iota	6	44	4.9
Bowen	10	81	4.8
Iwobi	8	81	4.8
Amad	9	67	4.5
Rogers	8	75	4.4
Kluivert	8	73	4.3

Elsewhere, Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers has proven to be the most valuable midfielder in the 2024/25 season in terms of points scored per million. His five goals and three assists, which cost him £5.3 million, earned him 75 points, meaning he gave managers 14.2 points per million spent.

Fulham’s Alex Iwobi (£5.8m), AFC Bournemouth Justin Kluivert (£5.5m) and Man Utd’s Amad (£5.3m) have offered excellent value for money even in the sub-£6.0m price bracket.

Who poses the greatest goal threat?

Liverpool Diaz advances when it comes to creating big chances or situations where the player is expected to score.

The Colombian has had 12 such opportunities this season and converted 22.6 percent of his shots.

Arsenal Gabriel Martinelli (£6.7m) and Newcastle United Anthony Gordon (£7.2m) come into the conversation at this point, with their 10 big chances being identical to the totals Mbeumo, Madison And Fernandes.

Martinelli’s goal threat makes him the best Saka replacement among Arsenal midfielders. His 10 big chances are more than the COMBINED nine of them Martin Odegaard (£8.3m) and Leandro Trossard (£6.8m), while his goal conversion rate of 22.2 per cent is more than TWICE the 10.9 per cent of Saka himself.

Crystal Palace Ismaila Sarr (£5.7m) and Brighton & Hove Albion’s Kaoru Mitoma (£6.5m) also comes into play here. Both had nine big chances and are also among the top three players when it comes to shots into the penalty area.

Goal threat from selected midfielders

player	Shots in the penalty area	Target conversion	Great opportunities
Diaz	23	22.6%	12
Mbeumo	19	35.7%	10
Madison	20	28.6%	10
Martinelli	16	22.2%	10
Fernandes	23	8.0%	10
Gordon	24	9.7%	10
Sarr	25	14.3%	9
Mitome	27	9.4%	9
Iota	16	17.6%	9
Son	20	16.1%	8
Rogers	20	15.6%	8
Bowen	29	9.3%	6

Who has the most big chances?

Son’His ability to create big opportunities increases his potential significantly. In addition to eight big chances, he created another twelve for his teammates. This means he was involved in 20 big chances, more than any other player in the table below.

Fernandes And Mbeumo With 19 and 17 respectively, they are also in the top three for stakes with great chances.

However, the high ranking of Sarr And Rogers As the table shows, it’s not necessarily about finding a cheap replacement for Saka.

If you’re looking to free up more cash to invest in your attacking line, midfield is a great value right now.

Big Chance (BC) stats for selected midfielders

player	BC	BC created	BC involvement
Son	8	12	20
Fernandes	10	9	19
Mbeumo	10	7	17
Sarr	9	7	16
Diaz	12	3	15
Rogers	8	7	15
Gordon	10	4	14
Madison	10	4	14
Mitome	9	5	14
Martinelli	10	3	13
Bowen	6	6	12
Iota	9	2	11

Who has the best equipment?

Considering upcoming schedules can also help refine your goals.

According to Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR), just two points will be scored in four of Crystal Palace’s next six games, which is another box to tick Sarr as a big difference with only one percent ownership.

Club fixtures in FDR – the next six game weeks

Association	Number of games with 2 points	FDR overall
Crystal Palace	4	15
Man City	4	16
Fulham	3	16
Liverpool	3	16
Southampton	2	16
Brighton	3	17
Chelsea	2	17
Newcastle	2	17

In four of Manchester City’s next six games, only two points will also be scored in the FDR Kevin De Bruyne (£9.5m) and Phil Foden (£9.1m) are also overlooked, each selected by less than five per cent of managers. There is no doubt that both have significant potential, but their lack of form still has to be a concern, especially when there are so many in-form picks currently available.

Liverpool and Fulham’s games saw a total of 16 points scored in FDR during this period, meaning Diaz And Iwobi the opportunity to expand on their good form.

Newcastle’s Gordon and Chelsea Enzo Fernandez (£5.1m) also have the form and features to offer excellent value for money in the period ahead.

So who is the best Saka replacement?

As always with these decisions, it ultimately comes down to your squad and your tactical approach. If you’re looking for an Arsenal attacker to be a direct replacement for Saka, then Martinelli has the goal threat to make an immediate impact at home to Ipswich Town this weekend.

As his performance against Spurs proves, Diaz is increasingly getting used to his new role as Liverpool FC striker. That versatility could work against him at home against Leicester, with the Colombian potentially being moved to the left wing in midweek to accommodate Jota. However, as a long-term choice, now could be the time to buy Diaz, with an eye on a possible double gameweek for the Reds, with their derby clash against Everton yet to be postponed.

At a point in the season when rotation is widespread, Mbeumo is one of the very few players who offer you starting security, which cannot be said about Son and Maddison in the short term. Although the Brentford star has a tough series of opponents ahead of him, he plays more as a striker against the bigger teams and also has penalties.

Elsewhere, Sarr And Rogers offer the strongest all-round potential in the budget class and Iwobi And Fernandez also have the schedules to provide healthy competition at £6.0m and under.

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