Bundesliga Fantasy Bargain XI, including Gio Reyna, Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz
Bundesliga Fantasy Managers have until 2.30pm GMT on 2 January 2021 to make use of the unlimited transfer window. The likes of Robert Lewandowski and Angelino are impossible to ignore, but not every signing has to be a strain on your wallet. Cheap doesn't have to mean poor quality either.
With that in mind, bundesliga.com picks a bargain XI made up exclusively of players under 10M, who are either getting their game or are at least right in the frame for their clubs...
Goalkeeper
Club: Schalke
Points: 39
Value: 1.7M
It's been a woeful start to the season for rock-bottom Schalke. They're winless, have conceded a league-high 36 goals and have already got through a couple of full-time coaches. For Rönnow, the uncertainty has resulted in seven starts. The prospect of a new man in the dugout could mean further minutes and, while he's bound to ship a few, he'll no doubt keep a good number out, too.
Defenders
Club: VfB Stuttgart
Points: 59
Value: 4.3M
Sosa isn't quite up there with the Angelinos and Raphael Guerreiros of the Fantasy world, but the Croatian does come in at almost a quarter of the price. Solid returns for won duels (26 points) and passes to a shot (15 points) make for one very sensible investment. And of course, as a roaming full-back, there's always the potential for goal involvement.
Club: Union Berlin
Points: 98
Value: 7.2M
Union Berlin is not only the home of the joint-fourth meanest defence in this season's Bundesliga. It's also where you'll find the division's highest-scoring defender. The four-goal Friedrich is proving a real nuisance at both ends of the pitch, and can be expected to add to his tally with captain Christopher Trimmel's laser-guided set-pieces to feed on.
Club: Wolfsburg
Points: 86
Value: 4.9M
The top-scoring defenders are usually full-backs by trade, or at least goal-scoring centre-halves, but Lacroix is an exception to the rule. The Frenchman earns his keep doing bread-and-butter defending at the heart of a stubborn Wolfsburg back line, as evinced by his 50 points for won duels.
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Club: Arminia Bielefeld
Points: 41
Value: 1.4M
Just because Bielefeld's defence ranks among the most porous in the league shouldn't put you off Lucoqui. Defenders under the cosh can pay out handsomely for duels won, and you'll be hard pressed to find one this cheap among regular starters.
Midfielders
Club: VfB Stuttgart
Points: 62
Value: 1.1M
If you've got a spare couple of million, bring in Coulibaly. Always in contention for a starting berth, with two goals in 12 appearances as part of an expansive Stuttgart team and at a measly 1.1M, the Frenchman offers the best points-value ratio of any Fantasy player.
Club: Bayer Leverkusen
Points: 112
Value: 8.1M
Averaging nine points a game without a star, Wirtz essentially covers all midfield bases. The best bit? He comes in at less than half the price of the likes of Jadon Sancho and Leroy Sane.
Club: Bayern Munich
Points: 40
Value: 1.9M
It's pretty much unheard of to find a Bayern player in such a bargain-basement price bracket, let alone one who gets to play. Given the champions' heavy workload and the Anglo-German teenager's ability to play out wide or through the middle, further first-team chances to swell his three goals in 10 Bundesliga appearances are a given.
Watch: Jamal Musiala's first three Bundesliga goals
Club: Borussia Dortmund
Points: 111
Value: 8.7M
The game's fourth-best performing midfielder and Dortmund's top Fantasy dog, Reyna's right up there with fellow teen Wirtz in terms of bang for buck. As well as three goals and five assists, the US international weighs in heavy in the goal attempts, passes to a shot and won duels categories. If you were only to pick one BVB player, look no further than "the American Dream".
Forwards
Club: VfB Stuttgart
Points: 105
Value: 8.7M
Big Silas has seven players ahead of him in the strikers' chart, but he's the only one under 10M to break the 100-point barrier. Like Reyna, he's another workhorse who doesn't necessarily have to produce goals to bring home the Fantasy bacon.
Watch: Silas scored his second successive Bundesliga brace in Stuttgart's 5-1 win at Dortmund
Club: VfB Stuttgart
Points: 80
Value: 4.9M
The even bigger Sasa Kalajdzic is a serious weapon for Pellegrino Matarazzo and his virtual counterparts alike. Despite starting half of his 12 Bundesliga appearances to date, the 6'7" Austrian has found the net five times and chipped in with three assists. What's more, the fact he comes in at under 5M enables managers to splash the cash elsewhere.
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