Riyad Mahrez was the standout name of Man City’s summer transfer business.
The Algerian’s hefty £60million price-tag turned the heads of thousands of Dream Team managers, who promptly snapped up the winger in fantasy football.
Having been a points-machine in Dream Team seasons gone-by, his arrival at the Etihad could have been the start of something spectacular.
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Sadly for Mahrez however, it has been a fairly hellish start.
Some of the most-asked questions that the Dream Team Coach has received this week have been about the Man City winger.
Anxious managers are stuck with a dilemia. Do you stick, or do you twist?
We’ll we’ve got the answer for you.
Mahrez needs to be ditched. His inclusion in Dream Teams was a gamble that hasn’t paid off.
The winger has scored just three points so far for this season and is dead-weight in the 8.5% of teams he finds himself in.
At £3.6m, the City man isn’t exactly an expensive option, however, there are still more cost-effective solutions out there.
Here are five alternatives to Riyad Mahrez in Dream Team.
1 Bernardo Silva – £3.5m
Let’s start closest to home, shall we?
Normally, we would advise against picking Man City players, as Pep Guardiola’s rotation policy is impossible to predict.
Silva has continued to impress in his second season at the Etihad and looks like he could be your perfect alternative to Mahrez.
The Portugese maestro has racked up 22 points in Dream Team this season and is seemingly a favourite of Guardiola.
At just £3.5m, Silva is a cheaper option than Mahrez and will likely feature more consistently this season.
2 Ryan Fraser -£3m
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Fraser has almost single-handedly propelled Bournemouth to new heights this season.
The pacey-winger already has 51 points and his form doesn’t look like slowly down anytime soon.
The Scottish international is currently the second highest-point scoring midfielder in Dream Team, behind only Eden Hazard.
Fraser is still only priced up at £3m, making him an absolute steal based on his current form.
We advise you snapped up the Cherries man ASAP before his price increases any further.
3 James Milner – £3.4m
Milner is a player who continues to prove his doubters wrong. Fair play.
The Liverpool utility man has been one of the Reds best players this season and is enjoying the form of his life.
Jurgen Klopp’s man is an ever-present in the side and has picked up 31 points for his efforts this season.
Milner has been assigned to almost all of Liverpool’s set-pieces, most notably corners and penalties.
Although his main source of points will continue to come from dead-ball situations, it seems rude not to rack up those points whilst you can.
4 Lucas Moura – £3.5m
Admittedly, Spurs are currently involved in what can be described as a ‘mini crisis.’
You just know however that they have the quality to get out of their current predicament.
Moura could be one of the sparks who turns Mauricio Pochettino’s current plight into joy.
With 27 points to his name already and with a price-tag of just £3.5m, what are you waiting for?
The Brazilian is becoming an ever-increasingly important player for Spurs and will be involved in all four competitions for Pochettino’s side.
5 Andriy Yarmolenko – £3.3m
Yarmolenko had endured a tricky start to life at West Ham. Who can really blame him.
The Ukrainian winger has however put his early season woes behind him and by stealing the show for the Hammers in Game Week 5.
The former Borussia Dortmund man has picked up 14 points, with 12 of those coming in the win against Everton.
Yarmolenko netted twice at Goodison Park and will look to prolong his purple-patch in Game Week 6 against Chelsea.
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