FPL GW5 Transfers: Players to Buy, Sell and Avoid
Gameweek 5 is the point where early-season patience starts to wear thin. Some players have shown enough to justify buying now, while others are becoming difficult to hold at their price, and a few popular transfer targets look more like traps than opportunities.
These FPL GW5 transfer tips cover three players to buy, three to sell and three to avoid before the deadline.
For the full player order rather than an exact squad, see our FPL Gameweek 5 Rankings.
| Action | Player | Club | Why? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy | Kevin Schade | Brentford | £6.1m value, strong shot volume, favorable upcoming fixtures |
| Buy | Morgan Rogers | Chelsea | Returns in every game, consistent shots and chance creation |
| Buy | Morgan Gibbs-White | Nottingham Forest | Excellent fixture run, set pieces and elite creative volume |
| Sell | Igor Thiago | Brentford | No league goals, declining shot accuracy |
| Sell | Florian Wirtz | Liverpool | Limited returns and creative output for his price |
| Sell | Phil Foden | Manchester City | Suspended, with increased competition for minutes |
| Avoid | Leif Davis | Ipswich Town | Attacking returns look difficult to sustain, no clean sheets |
| Avoid | Pascal Gross | Brighton | GW4 score may be difficult to repeat, tougher fixtures ahead |
| Avoid | Rayan Cherki | Manchester City | High ceiling but unreliable minutes and rotation risk |
Best FPL Players to Buy for Gameweek 5
Kevin Schade
Schade has scored 30 FPL points through four gameweeks, making him the seventh-highest scorer in the game. At just £6.1m, he continues to offer significant attacking upside without taking up a premium slot in the squad.
The underlying involvement has also been encouraging. Schade has taken at least two shots in three of Brentford's four matches and put multiple efforts on target in two of them, giving him a repeatable route to attacking returns rather than relying purely on finishing efficiency.
Brentford face Chelsea next, followed by Aston Villa, and both fixtures offer opportunities for Schade to stay involved. With his combination of price, goal threat and early-season production, he's one of the better mid-priced FPL transfers to consider heading into GW5.
Morgan Rogers
Rogers has made an immediate impact since joining Chelsea and has already emerged as an early contender among the Premier League's standout performers. He has registered an attacking return in every match while developing an excellent understanding with Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro.
His 27 FPL points have also been spread relatively evenly across the opening four gameweeks, which is particularly useful for managers looking for consistent production rather than one-off hauls.
Rogers has attempted at least two shots in every match this season and has created 10 chances across the opening four games, including five in the opener and four against Brighton. That combination of shooting volume and creativity gives him multiple paths to points and makes his early production look more sustainable.
Morgan Gibbs-White
Gibbs-White and Nottingham Forest are entering one of the best fixture runs on the FPL schedule.
Forest begin with arguably their best matchup of the season at home against Coventry and also face Ipswich within the next four gameweeks. Crystal Palace come in Gameweek 6 after conceding more goals than any other Premier League side, meaning Forest face three of the league's most vulnerable defenses over their next four matches.
Gibbs-White has one goal and two assists through four gameweeks and created seven chances against Aston Villa last time out. If Forest's finishing improves around him, his combination of creativity, set-piece involvement and favorable fixtures gives him significant upside over the next month.
Use our Fixture Difficulty Ranker to compare upcoming Premier League schedules before making your GW5 transfers.
FPL Players to Sell for Gameweek 5
Igor Thiago
Thiago is coming off an outstanding 2025/26 campaign in which he scored 22 Premier League goals and finished second in the Golden Boot race, but the underlying numbers have dipped considerably to start this season.
He's still looking for his first Premier League goal of the campaign, although he did score in Brentford's Carabao Cup win over Birmingham. Thiago managed only one shot against Bournemouth, and that effort missed the target.
Across the opening four gameweeks, only three of his 10 shots have been on target. That's a notable drop from last season, when more than half of his attempts tested the goalkeeper.
There is still plenty of time for Thiago's finishing to recover, but FPL managers don't need to wait for the turnaround when several forwards in similar price ranges are producing stronger underlying numbers right now.
Florian Wirtz
Wirtz became a popular FPL pick after an impressive preseason with Liverpool, but four gameweeks into the campaign, there is a growing case to move on.
He has just one assist, and at his price point there are several midfielders offering stronger short-term production and more convincing routes to returns.
Wirtz has taken at least two shots in every Premier League match this season, but he has yet to put more than one effort on target in a game. The creative output has also been modest for a player expected to be one of Liverpool's primary creators, with two or fewer chances created in every league appearance.
The role remains appealing, but FPL is ultimately about opportunity cost. Managers paying a premium price for Wirtz need more consistent attacking involvement than he has provided through the opening month.
Phil Foden
Foden is the most straightforward sell on the list after being sent off for violent conduct in the Manchester derby.
The suspension immediately removes his short-term FPL value, while the absence could also create an opportunity for another Manchester City attacker to earn more minutes. Foden had started three of the opening four matches, but strong performances from his replacement could increase the competition for places once he becomes available again.
He has recorded two assists this season, both coming in the same match, leaving managers without a return in three of four gameweeks.
Given the suspension, rotation risk and abundance of midfield alternatives, there is little reason to hold him through the ban.
For the broader schedule picture, see our FPL GW5 Teams With the Best Upcoming Fixtures.
FPL Players to Avoid for Gameweek 5
Leif Davis
Davis has produced some of the biggest defensive scores in FPL this season, particularly for a budget option, but managers should be careful about chasing those returns.
He scored against Manchester United before producing another huge haul against Crystal Palace with a goal and two FPL assists. The attacking role is legitimate, but the rate at which the goals are arriving is extremely difficult to sustain.
Even during his best attacking season in League One, Davis scored only three goals, while he managed one during his previous Premier League campaign.
Ipswich have also failed to keep a clean sheet this season, reducing his defensive floor. Davis still makes sense as a fifth defender who can rotate into favorable fixtures, but relying on him as a weekly starter means betting heavily on attacking returns that are unlikely to continue at their current rate.
Pascal Gross
Gross is likely to attract plenty of transfers after scoring and registering two assists against Coventry, but this looks like a spot where managers should avoid chasing last week's points.
The midfielder recorded the same number of goal involvements in that one match as he produced across 19 league appearances after returning from Borussia Dortmund last season.
He also created six chances against Coventry, another number that will be difficult to reproduce consistently and one that required Brighton's attackers to convert opportunities at an extremely efficient rate for the full FPL haul to materialize.
The schedule is also becoming more difficult. Brighton face meetings with Arsenal and Sunderland, while European competition is set to begin and increase the squad's workload.
Gross remains a useful FPL player, particularly because of his set-piece involvement, but this is not the ideal moment to buy immediately after his biggest score of the season.
Rayan Cherki
Cherki has the talent to produce explosive FPL scores, as shown by his 14-point Gameweek 2 score and eight points in the opener.
He started the opening match on the bench and was withdrawn at halftime of the Manchester derby despite City needing a goal. That level of uncertainty makes it difficult to rely on Cherki as a weekly FPL starter.
Manchester City's attacking depth means competition for minutes will remain significant, and inconsistent playing time naturally creates inconsistent fantasy production.
Cherki will have weeks when his ceiling makes him look like an essential asset, but until his starting role becomes more secure, he's a risky transfer despite his popularity among managers.
FPL GW5 Transfer Strategy: Final Thoughts
Four gameweeks of data are enough to start prioritizing role, minutes and upcoming fixtures over preseason expectations.
Schade, Rogers and Gibbs-White combine strong early-season involvement with enough short-term opportunity to justify buying ahead of Gameweek 5. On the other side, Thiago and Wirtz haven't produced enough to justify waiting indefinitely for improvement, while Foden's suspension makes him an obvious route to freeing up funds.
Managers should also resist chasing last week's biggest scores. Davis and Gross have produced massive returns, while Cherki carries obvious upside, but their current profiles come with enough sustainability or playing-time concerns to make patience the better approach.
