Fantasy Premier League, Gameweek 23 tips: Negotiating Harry Kane's exit, picking Mohamed Salah for captaincy and more

Harry Kane's injury has dominated the plans of most Fantasy Premier League managers this week. The Tottenham striker is set to be out till March and thus there's no sense in keeping the prized Spurs asset in your team till he returns to fitness. Costing £12.5 million, the sale of the Spurs forward will release a lot of funds. Thus the exit of Kane from your side is likely to be a big option.

Kane is the most expensive frontman in FPL and the closest ones to him, in terms of price tag, are Sergio Aguero and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. While picking the Arsenal forward is the easiest solution for finding Kane's replacement, and would involve less transfers, Aguero's place in the Manchester City side is not assured given Gabriel Jesus' recent form.

Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane picked up an injury against Manchester United. Reuters

So many FPL owners, who already own Aubameyang, may turn to players like Marcus Rashford, Roberto Firmino or Jamie Vardy to replace Kane in their teams. That would release huge finds which FPL owners can use to strengthen other areas of their squad.

Raheem Sterling's ownership is down to just 10.7 percent and the City forward could be a big beneficiary from Kane's injury. However, Sterling is only the 9th most purchased midfielder this week, with his teammates Leroy Sane and Bernardo Silva sitting ahead of him in the pecking order. FPL owners may be turned off by the City forward's price and his relatively similar returns to the likes of Sane in recent weeks. However, Sterling has been City's most consistent player in the last two seasons and he might be about to hit a purple patch. So don't miss out on getting in Sterling if selling Kane gives you enough money.

As for replacing Kane with a number of moderately priced players, Manchester United's Pogba and Rashford lead the list. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men have a easy run of games and are the form side in the league. So by replacing Kane with Rashford, FPL owners will have enough money to replace one of their perennial substitutes with Pogba and add real strength to your midfield.

The extra money generated from Kane's sale can be best used to get big guns in defence. The likes of Marcus Alonso, Andy Robertson and Kieran Tripper might be within reach for FPL owners without hurting their balance of the squad.

How big a transfer hit can you take will decide your FPL strategy. It is though not too advisable to keep big chunk of money in your bank to save on few transfer points. You can make a team for next few weeks by taking a heavier hit this week as getting it right matters in FPL as you end up getting the right players at a cheaper price. So it may not be the worst idea to take a heavier penalty than usual if you can increase the overall strength of the squad.

As for the fixtures in GW 23, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United have easy games and their players could be set for big points this week. Spurs' away trip to Fulham also looks easy on paper, but their absentees up front could cause them some trouble.

For captaincy picks, Paul Pogba, Rashford, Mo Salah, Sterling and Sane are among the contenders, but few can match the consistency of the Liverpool forward. Salah is the best for captaincy, for GW 23. Perhaps for every week.

Bargain buys 

Samir Nasri (West Ham) — Nasri helped West Ham United edge past former club Arsenal in his first game for the club and provided the assist for Declan Rice's goal. The Frenchman is likely to start in the No 10 position for the Hammers, and at £5.5m could be the steal for the remainder of the season.

Fernando Llorente (Tottenham Hotspur) — Llorente hasn't had the best of times playing deputy to Kane, but with Son Heung-min away at the AFC Asian Cup and Lucas Moura an injury doubt, Llorente could be your buy this week. Playing against Fulham, the worst defence in the Premier League, Llorente could be the ace in your pack at just £5.6m.

Jan Bedranek (Southampton) — Southampton have three home games in their next four fixtures and the Saints would fancy their chances of picking up some points and perhaps even some clean sheets in those matches. Jan Bedranek is a regular starter for Southampton and he could be a real steal at £3.9m especially if the Saints blank out their opponents in what looks like a fairly good run of games.

Jason Puncheon (Huddersfield) — Remember Puncheon? A few years ago, he was a FPL star playing for Sunderland and Crystal Palace. After a quiet few seasons, Puncheon has the chance to resurrect his career with Huddersfield where he is likely to see more action. The bottom-placed side face a daunting run of games, but with a new manager, Huddersfield could upset a few teams in the coming days. Puncheon at £4.2m won't be that bad a bet considering his paltry price.