HINDSIGHT is a wonderful thing.
Prior to Game Week 1, James Maddison (£2.5m) and Harvey Barnes (£3.1m) were relatively popular Dream Team assets, and understandably so.
Before the latter’s injury, the Leicester pair dovetailed beautifully for a golden period of nearly three months last season.
At one point in 2020/21, both men were among the top five midfielders in terms of Dream Team points after a particularly prosperous spell of goal involvements.
However, the Englishmen have not got going at all this term with just one one assist and zero goals between them in the league at this stage.
Barnes has done relatively well in the Europa League, taking Napoli for ten points back in Game Week 4 but that’s as far as his total tally goes.
As for Maddison, he would have been better off had he not kicked a ball yet this season – he’s on -1 at the time of writing!
Only Jadon Sancho (£3.2m) has decreased in value more than the Boohoo ambassador since Game Week 1.
While Maddison and Barnes have underwhelmed, Youri Tielemans (£3.1m) has performed above expectations.
The Belgian was excellent against Manchester United on Saturday alongside Boubakary Soumare (£1.8m) and claimed the Star Man award after his gloriously swept goal for the Foxes’ first-half equaliser.
A 13-point haul catapulted Tielemans up the rankings to sixth among players in his position.
The 24-year-old now has 35 points overall and is now outperforming popular assets like Jack Grealish (£4.6m), Adama Traore (£2.7m), Kevin De Bruyne (£5.7m), Paul Pogba (£4.1m) and others.
Tielemans’ ownership sits at a modest 4.2% currently but it makes sense why some gaffers would be hesitant to back him.
The ex-Monaco midfielder is undoubtedly a class act but his brilliance doesn’t always equate to Dream Team success.
He’s a scorer of great goals but not a great goalscorer – he hasn’t reached double figures in a season (all comps) since his last year with Anderlecht in 2016/17.
And since joining Leicester he averages just under five league assists per campaign.
He’s a great passer but his role is such that he often plays the pass before the assist – a feat that does not produce any Dream Team points.
Saying that, he’s registered two goals and two assists in eight league appearances this season without a Gundogan-esque change in role.
Tielemans may not be the most attack-minded midfield asset available but he’s one of those players who tends to tick over all season long and at £3.1m he should be affordable.
He generally plays every fixture of note when fit and, if he is able to maintain his increased attacking output for a few more weeks, he may well be worthy of a spot in an effective Dream Team XI.
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