THE international break allows us time to review which new signings have hit the ground running in Dream Team.
There’s always extra interest in the shiny new toys but some individuals need time to adjust — Florian Wirtz (£5.7m) is yet to deliver the returns expected of him, for example.
Let’s run through the new arrivals who have already earned their fair share of points.
Starting between the sticks, Robin Roefs (£2.1m) has offered superb value for money across the first three Gameweeks.
Sunderland’s new goalkeeper has banked 17 points via a clean sheet and penalty save — he’s just two points shy of Dean Henderson (£3.5m), Robert Sanchez (£3.8m) and David Raya (£4.8m).
Roefs started as the joint-cheapest player in the game and has proved to be a very useful enabler.
Almost all the top-performing defenders were already at their clubs before the summer transfer window.
But a word for Gabriel Gudmundsson (£2m) and Adrien Truffert (£3.1m), newly-acquired left-backs for Leeds and Bournemouth respectively.
The former has returned 18 points via two clean sheets and four bonus points while the latter (also on 18 points) has slipped into Milos Kerkez’s (£4.8m) boots at the Vitality Stadium without complaint.
Like Roefs, Gudmundsson has been a savvy bargain so far.
To midfield now where Jack Grealish (£3.4m) is the headline act.
Having agreed a loan deal with Everton, the skilful midfielder seems to be enjoying his football again, with tangible results to show for it.
He’s raced to four assists and maximum bonus points against Wolves last time out took him to 30 points overall — Lucas Paqueta (£3.7m) is the only midfielder above him in the rankings right now.
Whether Grealish will be able to maintain his lofty position in the coming weeks is a valid question as the Toffees have just three fixtures across the next three Gameweeks when several other teams will be in action six times.
But the 29-year-old deserves plenty of credit for his efforts throughout August.
Bryan Mbeumo (£5.5m) boasted the highest points-per-game average among all midfielders last season and he’s started well enough at Manchester United this term.
Goals against Grimsby and Burnley in his last two outings have taken the Cameroon international to fifth in the rankings among assets in his position.
Like Grealish, Mbeumo will have to contend with a fixture deficit in the coming weeks but he supplied bountiful points all last season despite Brentford’s comparatively relaxed schedule so his owners may choose to retain him for a while longer yet.
Mentions too for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (£3m) and Mohammed Kudus (£4.7m) – on 20 and 19 points respectively – who both seem refreshed after their moves to Everton and Spurs.
And hopes are still high for Tijani Reijnders (£4.6m), who features in 17.5% of teams, despite a couple of quieter Gameweeks after his impressive display on the opening weekend.
Manchester City’s new No4 is averaging six points-per-game at present.
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Up top, both Joao Pedro (£4.6m) and Hugo Ekitike (£5.5m) have emerged as main characters in the world of Dream Team.
The former was a known entity having had success at Brighton but he’s gone to another level since his transfer to Chelsea.
No player has more goal involvements (two goals, two assists) to his name at this stage.
As for Liverpool’s French forward, he drew a blank against Arsenal just prior to the break but impressive showings against Bournemouth (goal and assist) and Newcastle (goal) have made him the fifth-most selected player in the game.
Ekitike’s backers may be somewhat concerned about his minutes now Alexander Isak (£6.5m) is an Anfield resident but there’s no need for any rash decision just yet.
Elsewhere, the jury is still out on Viktor Gyokeres (£6.1m) as he was rendered ineffective against Manchester United and Liverpool but satisfied his owners with a brace against Leeds in Gameweek 2.
The Swedish striker’s total of 19 points from three starts is more than respectable but it’s still too early to deem him an unquestionable success.
He’s certainly a player to monitor closely with Arsenal set to play six fixtures across the next three Gameweeks.
In fact, there are plenty of new arrivals to keep an eye on with the likes of Isak, Gianluigi Donnarumma (£4m) and Xavi Simons (£4.5m) still to make their debuts, among others.
Exciting times for Dream Team managers!
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