Don’t panic! Get your fantasy football team back on track with our guide to transfer strategy

Don’t touch that transfer button! There’s more to consider than you think when making that all-important first move in fantasy football, says Ken Rooney.

The dust has settled on the opening week of the Premier League, and by now you’re either sitting pretty at the top of your fantasy football mini-league, contemplating a wildcard or wondering whether to pack it all in.

Don’t worry, there’s no need to panic - even if your friends and workmates are lording it over you right now, if you play your cards right and follow these strategies, you could be top dog come the end of the season.

So where best to use that crucial first transfer? Well, obviously any injured players must be first against the wall, and with over 6% ownership, the biggest long-term casualty of GW1 was undoubtedly West Ham’s Andre Ayew.

Not to worry - there’s a wealth of fitting replacements to choose from, with the mid-price midfielder bracket in particular simply teeming with possibility.

Out-of-position Nathan Redmond (SOU 6.0) is by far the best option, and Tottenham’s Erik Lamela (7.0m) could be set for the kind of season he’s been threatening to have for a while now. But if it’s a sneaky under-the-radar option you’re looking for, we have plenty of those too.

With five attempts on goal against Middlesbrough, Marko ‘Arnie’ Arnautovic (STO 7.5m) is looking dangerous and Gaston Ramirez (MID 5.5) is cheap, lively and has the most obliging fixtures you could hope for.

Don’t worry about the lack of points returns from the likes of Townsend (CRY 6.5m), Deulofeu (EVE 6.5m) and Tadic (SOU 7.5m) - they all did enough in terms of goal threat to catch the eye of the more canny fantasy manager.

No injuries? Well, next for the chop are those players who unfortunately weren’t shown the same faith by their club managers that you obviously had in them last week.

Again, it’s important not to knee-jerk here. With so many footballing millionaires still seemingly too tired to grace us with their presence, many team line-ups have yet to settle. Just because a player didn’t make it on GW1 doesn’t mean he won’t benefit from a reshuffle down the road.

Dimitri Payet will be back in action for West Ham this weekend.

But for those duds who will be glaring at the back of their manager’s head for the foreseeable, it’s time to move them on - starting with your lowest-priced players. I know this seems counter-intuitive (selling the more valuable player would free up more cash) but here’s why it must be done - if you neglect to sell a 4.0m defender or 4.5m midfielder and he drops in value, you’ll likely need to take a painful points hit to replace him.

Many Ireland fans may have plumped for Glenn Whelan as their £4.5m midfielder, but his days may be numbered as a Stoke regular.

If you don’t need to worry about either of these - well done. You’re now in “luxury transfer” territory, you lucky thing! You now have a solid base to build on, which is where a bit of long-term strategy kicks in.

An important aspect of early-season planning (overlooked by many) is building team value. Of course you need to keep in touch with your mini-league rivals and score as many points as possible, but right now, it’s crucial to keep a keen eye on the value of your team, making sure that number keeps rising and rising.

There’s one sure-fire way to do this - transfer early. See which players are about to rise in price on Saturday and Sunday nights, and buy the one you trust the most. The ‘Price Change Predictor’ section of FantasyFootballFix.com is a great resource for this.

As a strategy, it’s far from risk-free to be sure, and it’s often best to hold off if your chosen player has a midweek game to contend with (in which case, transfer as late as possible).

But believe me - when end-of-season squeaky-bum time comes around and you’ve got £2m more to spend than your rivals, you’ll be very glad you did.

Top of the League: Hats off to Gerard Hogan for topping the Official Irish Examiner League (code: 251768-521616) this week with a whopping 89 points. An all-star midfield of Hazard, Redmond, Mahrez and Lamela did the business for him - as well as a nine-point return from Alvaro Negredo. Nice.

BUY: Nathan Redmond (SOU 6.0). A midfielder playing as a striker in a decent team - and he only costs £6.0m!?! What are you waiting for?

TRY: Raheem Sterling (MCI, 8.0) came close, but this week’s punt is Salomon Rondon (WBA, 6.5m). The Venezuelan hitman looks set to be focal point of Tony Pulis’ plan of attack, and some kind fixtures await.

GOODBYE: Defensive midfielders that cost £5.0m like Eric Dier and N'Golo Kante. You won’t play them, and they won’t outscore many of the £4.5m alternatives anyway.