After becoming the No 1 transfer target in Fantasy Premier League for the first-time ever, Virgil van Dijk (£6.1m) immediately rewarded his owners with a goal in Liverpool's 5-2 win over West Ham United.
The Dutchman has now delivered attacking returns in each of his last three appearances, having scored against Sunderland in Gameweek 26 and provided an assist at Nottingham Forest last weekend.
Van Dijk was snapped up by more than 715,000 managers after registering back-to-back double-figure hauls, with returns of 11 points and 17 points his two best scores of the season.
It was also the first time across his 329 Premier League appearances that the Liverpool defender had hit double digits in successive matches.
He finished on seven points this time after conceding two goals but a trip to bottom side Wolverhampton Wanderers next Gameweek will encourage his new owners.
GW28 most-bought players
| Player | Transfers in | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| Virgil | 715,486 | 7 |
| O'Reilly | 629,441 | 6 |
| Thiago | 385,798 | 6 |
| Szoboszlai | 343,593 | 4 |
| Wilson | 335,323 | 12 |
The second-most bought player was also a defender, with Manchester City's Nico O'Reilly (£5.1m) being recruited by nearly 630,000 managers.
And he didn't disappoint either, registering his second clean sheet in three matches as Man City beat Leeds United 1-0. A six-point return takes him up to 36 points over that period, one better than Van Dijk.
Listed as a defender in Fantasy but playing in midfield, he's had nine shots across those three appearances, the joint-most of any Man City player. He's also been presented with a team-leading four big chances in that time, two of which came in the win over Leeds, suggesting he was unfortunate not to add to his Gameweek score.
It's not all good news, however, as he was withdrawn in the 69th minute with what appeared to be a minor injury. His owners will be hoping for a positive update from Pep Guardiola before Tuesday's 18:00 GMT deadline.
Brentford forward Thiago (£7.1m) repaid the faith of 385,000+ Fantasy managers who recruited him for Brentford's trip to Burnley.
He scored his 18th goal of the campaign and claimed a bonus point as the Bees won 4-3.
Two midfielders, Liverpool's Dominik Szoboszlai (£6.8m) and Fulham's Harry Wilson (£6.0m), were also in demand.
Szoboszlai supplied the assist for Van Dijk's goal to earn four points. Playing in a midfield role after covering at right-back in his three previous outings, he created three chances and took four corners.
Wilson continued his career-best Fantasy season with a fifth double-digit haul in Fulham's 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur. The Welshman scored an early opener before turning provider for Alex Iwobi's (£6.3m) stunning long-range strike. Two attacking returns also secured Wilson a share of the bonus points.
Like O'Reilly, FPL managers will be hoping for a positive pre-deadline injury update from his manager after Wilson limped off with what looked like an ankle knock.
Crucially, in Blank Gameweek 31 (BGW31), when four teams are currently without a fixture because of the EFL Cup final, he faces Burnley.
EFL Cup finalists Man City and Arsenal, together with their scheduled Premier League opponents that weekend, Crystal Palace and Wolves, all blank in BGW31.
GW28 most-sold players
| Player | Transfers out | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| Enzo | 614,032 | 1 |
| Chalobah | 480,591 | 1 |
| Joao Pedro | 388,734 | 2 |
| Wirtz | 327,779 | 0 |
| Mukiele | 323,278 | 0 |
Of the five most-sold players of the round, the top three are from Chelsea - Enzo Fernandez (£6.7m), Trevoh Chalobah (£5.7m) and Joao Pedro (£7.6m).
None of the Blues trio punished Fantasy managers, with all three players blanking in Chelsea's 2-1 defeat against Arsenal. Reece James (£5.6m) and Moises Caicedo (£5.7m) were the only Chelsea assets to pick up a Fantasy return of any kind at the Emirates.
Joao Pedro was perhaps the unluckiest of the three, racking up four shots and missing a big chance in the second half when his header was saved by David Raya (£6.0m). In Fernandez's case, it's now four consecutive blanks.
Next on the list are Florian Wirtz (£8.3m) and another injured player, Sunderland's Nordi Mukiele (£4.6m).
The latter has already been ruled out of Gameweek 29, while Wirtz faces an uphill battle to return for Liverpool's midweek encounter with Wolves, according to Arne Slot.