Fantasy Premier League: Who should you get in to replace Mo Salah and Son Heung-min? And what to do with Trent Alexander-Arnold after his injury blow

Mohamed Salah and Son Heung-min are set for a period of time with their national teams amid the start of the Africa Cup of Nations and Asia Cup, and their absences have left Fantasy Premier League managers in a bit of a muddle.

The players are two of the best assets in the game. In fact, they have been THE best this season. Salah has accumulated 156 points so far and Son 136, making them the two highest-scoring this term.

Many fantasy managers will have at least one in their side, likely both. Though both are dipping in ownership, Salah is still owned by well over 30 per cent of managers, and Son just under, though thousands have been transferring them out of their sides for the last two weeks. 

The highly-owned Jarrod Bowen is likely to be out of West Ham’s fixture with Sheffield United through injury, too, providing even more of a headache.

They will need replacing. With gameweek 21 on the horizon, they could miss up to five gameweeks depending on how far Egypt and South Korea go in their respective competitions. To make things more complicated, Trent Alexander-Arnold, the game’s top-scoring defender, is injured.

We’ve had a loot at some of the best replacements for all three players ahead of the gameweek 21 deadline.

The best midfield replacements

While some managers may play their wildcards this week, others will use their free transfers or potentially even take points hits. Salah and Son will be top of the chopping block for most managers this week – they are the two most transferred out players this week by over one million transfers, but who could replace them?

Kevin De Bruyne – De Bruyne returned to action for Manchester City in the FA Cup, but costs £10.3m and has said himself he is unlikely to start just yet.

Bukayo Saka – The Arsenal man is the highest-owned player in the game, and has proven consistent if a little disappointing for his £9.0m value. Has good fixtures, however, and will be a popular captain candidate for many this week.

Phil Foden – Foden has thrived in in a central role for Manchester City lately, picking up 25 points in the last three gameweeks. Could be forced out wide to accommodate De Bruyne, but not quite yet.

Diogo Jota – Someone has to score Liverpool’s goals with Salah away. Jota has looked lively in recent games and provided two assists against Liverpool last time out but his minutes are far from secure.

Richarlison – Richarlison will likely be the talisman and play as a central striker for Tottenham while Son is away, but that will be for side now without both their captain and James Maddison. The arrival of Timo Werner also makes minutes less secure when Son returns.

Pascal Gross – Mr Consistent for Brighton, who have an extremely favorable run of fixtures. Can find himself playing anywhere on the pitch but is a hub of creativity and often gets minutes.

Cole Palmer – Palmer is probably the go-to if he is not already in your side, with the Chelsea man a steal at £5.7million. He’s the Blues’ talisman, but they are struggling for form and he hasn’t looked confident in the cup fixtures, despite returning 18 points in his last Premier League game against Luton.

Alejandro Garnacho – Likely a seventh or eighth attacker, Garnacho could be an enabling option to get Salah and/or Son back easily when they return. Priced at just £4.8m, he is enjoying regular starts and has a favourable run of fixtures ahead of him.

What to do with Trent 

Alexander-Arnold is set to miss ‘a few weeks’ of action according to Liverpool assistant manager Pep Ljinders. Time will tell how long that is – it could be just one gameweek – but he will almost certainly miss the game against Bournemouth next weekend, leaving an £8.5m-shaped hole in many managers’ defences. If managers want to move him on, who could replace him?

Virgil van Dijk – Van Dijk provides Liverpool coverage, though his attacking threat is minimal, particularly compared to his team-mate. Could stick around in teams if Liverpool’s predicted double gameweek in gameweek 25 goes ahead.

Pedro Porro – Now up to a steep £5.8million but continues to provide heavy attacking threat for Tottenham, shown when he scored in the FA Cup win over Burnley. Spurs do tend to struggle for clean sheets, though and will blank in gameweek 26 if Liverpool reach the Carabao Cup final.

Kyle Walker – The most likely Manchester City defender to get consistent minutes having been a mainstay in their defence this season. Not much attacking threat, however, though City could also double in gameweek 26.

Alex Moreno – Looks threatening for Aston Villa every time he plays at left back, already scoring once having returned from injury. Lucas Digne will be back from his own lay-off soon, though, and will provide stern competition.

Pervis Estupinan – Probably the most popular Alexander-Arnold replacement so far. Estupinan is back fit and continues to provide attacking threat for Brighton, scoring against Tottenham in the league and Stoke in the FA Cup in recent weeks. Has recently been playing in a back three, however, and Brighton have kept only one clean sheet in the league this season.

Gabriel – Owners of Arsenal defenders will have been left frustrated of late, with the Gunners keeping just one clean sheet in the last seven gameweeks despite still having the best expected goals conceded data in the league. That said, their imminent run is favourable and Gabriel scored last time out against Fulham.

Alfie Doughty – Doughty is more expensive than the other Luton defenders, but provides much more of an attacking threat. He has high assist potential, picking up five already this season, and only costs £4.5m, though he may play on his unfavoured right side with Issa Kabore at AFCON, and Luton’s defensive numbers are down there with the worst in the league.