Fantrax Finds: Waiver Wire Pickups For Gameweek 23

Fantrax Finds: Waiver Wire Pickups For Gameweek 23

This article is part of our Fantrax Waiver Wire series.

Ahead of each Premier League gameweek, I'll take a look at sub-50 percent rostered players on Fantrax whose situations may have changed or improved, and assess whether or not they are worth a pickup in season-long leagues.

GOALKEEPERS

Keylor Navas (14-percent rostered): Navas essentially takes over in this spot from Wayne Hennessey a week ago after signing for Forest and posting an 18.25-point clean sheet against Leeds. Though his best days are behind him, Navas is a much better option than Hennessey to fill in for Dean Henderson as a three-time Champions League winner.

Lukasz Fabianski (42 percent): Fabianski has made the streamer list often this season and finds himself here again with an upcoming matchup against Chelsea. Chelsea spent a ton of money in January, but they didn't sign a forward and the club simply cannot score goals with any consistency. Fabianski is not going to excite anyone, especially in this spot, but there's multiple-save, clean-sheet upside here if things bounce the right way.

DEFENDER

Harry Souttar (nine percent): Souttar struggled in his Premier League debut, putting in an own goal, but he looks likely to take up a starting role at the back for Leicester. HE made 49 clearances in just seven appearances for Stoke CITY in the Championship (battled injury) and played well at the World Cup with Australia. He's also got the height to be a penalty-box threat on corner kicks, though offensive ability is not expected. 

Pedro Porro (65 percent): Porro is already above the cutoff point, but if available he is worth picking up, as he figures to compete for time opposite of Ivan Perisic. Porro needs to find playing time, but if he can wrestle away a starting role from Emerson, he could be a fantasy monster with plenty of upside coming from crossing and chance creation.

MIDFIELDERS

Kamaldeen Sulemana (13 percent): Sulemana scored four points after subbing into Saturday's match against Brentford at halftime. I would expect Sulemana to start the majority of matches for struggling Southampton moving forward with a game that could suit Fantrax scoring. He struggled for playing time with Rennes, but he scored one goal, took 13 shots, crossed 10 times and created six chances in just 316 minutes. There's upside here, but it may be hard for Sulemana to show it right away in the Premier League.

Weston McKennie (44 percent): McKennie's high-profile role with the U.S. national team will have plenty of fantasy managers racing to scoop him up, but is he worth it? McKennie doesn't have a ton of attacking upside from midfield, scoring once and providing an assist in 15 appearances with Juventus while taking just eight shots. His game is more of a defensive one and while there are points to be gained from defensive actions, his lack of attacking prowess doesn't have McKennie as a priority for me. I said the same about Casemiro when he joined United in the summer and his five goal involvements have somewhat proven me wrong.

Enzo Fernandez (67 percent): I'd rather take a shot on Fernandez than McKennie if still available in your leagues. He impressed with 11 points in a scoreless draw against Fulham during his debut, dictating the pace in midfield. I honestly don't think there's a ton of attacking upside here either, so I wouldn't overpay for Fernandez's services in fantasy, but he's a better overall player to McKennie and could be a tackling machine a la prime N'Golo Kante

FORWARDS

Tete (27 percent): Tete finds his way to being a priority pick up after scoring and posting 17.5 points in his debut against Aston Villa. Forward is a weak position in to find waiver players, so a starting winger with attacking upside, albeit on a struggling Leicester team, makes Tete a valuable add for those looking for forward depth.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ethan Sexton
Ethan Sexton covers soccer and is RotoWire's original League of Legends content provider (starting in late 2015). He is a fan of the Philadelphia Phillies, Chelsea FC, Bayer Leverkusen, AS Roma and the Boston Bruins.
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