Toney, Buendia and the 2020/21 Championship stars to consider for FanTeam

The 2021/22 Premier League season is right around the corner, and with it, the return of Fantasy Football! Some of you may have already been tinkering with their team for weeks, while others are waiting until the last minute to submit a side capable of securing glory. 

With that in mind, FanTeam is the ideal platform to test your Fantasy Football managerial qualities AND gives you the chance to win big. The game itself is very similar to Fantasy Premier League, so there is not much to explain in terms of the rules and scoring, but the one major difference is the opportunity to win big as part of their £1m Fantasy Premier League game. 

That's right, there is a guaranteed prize pool of £1,000,000, with the winner taking home a cool £200,000. It's £20 to enter, but you can submit multiple teams, which enables you to tinker with different strategies in the hopes of winning big this season. 

WhoScored have been running the FanTeam Daily series on our Official YouTube channel, so be sure to subscribe and watch those before entering your team to get the lowdown from our experts Az, Linn and Ben. 

Here, we run through those who plied their trade in the Championship last season who could help your side and free up funds to bring in the Premium additions. We all want to crowbar the likes of Mohamed Salah and Bruno Fernandes into our team and at a cost of at least £12m per player, it's important to find a bargain buy to help your side. 

Without further adieu, we take a look at five to boost your side this season... 

Emiliano Buendia (Aston Villa) - FanTeam price: £6.5m 

A fairly obvious one, Aston Villa won the race for Emiliano Buendia, beating Arsenal to his services in what was a huge coup. While the Argentine's arrival ultimately spelt the beginning of the end for Jack Grealish's time at Villa Park, Buendia is a solid replacement for the Manchester City man. 

Buendia ranked first for key passes (122), big chances created (18) and assists (16) in the Championship last season, and netted an additional 15 goals for the Canaries. It helped the 24-year-old to a WhoScored rating of 7.78, that the highest in the Championship, and at a price of £6.5m, he is a worthy addition to your side. 

Michael Olise (Crystal Palace) - FanTeam price: £5.5m 

After raiding QPR for star man Eberechi Eze in 2020, Crystal Palace dipped back into the Championship for Michael Olise this summer, luring the creator from Reading to Selhurst Park. The 19-year-old finished 2020/21 with 12 assists to his name, a return bettered only by Buendia. 

Considering Eze's injury, Olise may be handed a more prominent role in the Palace side sooner than expected and it could prove a blessing for this exciting Eagles outfit. Olise finished third for key passes (84) in the regular Championship season and may prove a steal at £5.5m. 

Ivan Toney (Brentford) - FanTeam price: £6.0m 

Along with Buendia, Ivan Toney was one of two players to register double figures for both goals (31) and assists (10) in the regular Championship season and as the focal point in Brentford's attack, the 25-year-old should be in your XI from the get go. For £6.0m, Toney's inclusion in your squad would allow you spend big elsewhere. 

While there are doubts over whether a striker can transfer his goalscoring form from the Championship to the Premier League, Ollie Watkins, the frontman Toney replaced at Brentford, took to the rigours of top-flight football with ease. There is pressue on Toney's shoulders to keep the Bees in the Premier League, but as Brentford's main man, he's guaranteed minutes and with a WhoScored strength of 'finishing', goals too. 

Ismaila Sarr (Watford) - FanTeam price: £6.0m 

Many tipped Ismaila Sarr to leave Watford upon their relegation in 2020, but the Hornets did well to rebuff offers for the 23-year-old and he played a key role in their return to the Premier League. Indeed, Sarr chipped in with 13 goals and a further four assists to aid Watford in their successful promotion push. 

After a so-so debut campaign in England's top tier, Sarr will hope the experience in both divisions will have served him well as he seeks to realise his immense potential. At £6.0m, he is one of the cheaper midfield options, but is likely to start regularly for Xisco's side in 2021/22. 

Harvey Elliott (Liverpool) - FanTeam price: £5.5m 

At the same price as Michael Olise, it is a risk to consider Harvey Elliott given his age and inexperience at this level, coupled with competition on Merseyside, but he has featured regularly for Liverpool in pre-season. The 18-year-old made the most of his loan spell with Blackburn, ending his time at Ewood Park with seven goals and 11 assists. 

Only Buendia (18) created more clear-cut goalscoring opportunities than Elliott (14) in England's second tier last term and with the likes of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane in front of him, Liverpool have the personnel in the final third to capitalise on these chances to boost their hopes of reclaiming the title!