BGW31 Thought Process: I'm hoping for an action-packed Friday

There are transfers to be made...

Stranger-than-ever international break is almost here, reader.

Not only will it last three exhausting weeks, but it will also include the FA Cup quarter-final weekend on 4-5 April, which will finally decide our entire chip strategy and set the tone for the rest of the season.

Before we complete the last piece of the planning puzzle, it’s time to handle the Blank Gameweek 31, the first blank of the season.

Change of plans: I’m using them all…

Alright.

Here’s my bus team:

3 free transfers and £0.1 million in the bank to spend.

Initially, I was planning to deal only with those 4 blanking players, along with Marc Guiu, and possibly save one of the transfers for GW32+ developments, but that definitely won’t happen now.

On Tuesday night, Trevoh Chalobah (£5.5m) was stretchered off the pitch — call me a pessimist, but I don’t think his ankle will magically heal until Saturday (edit: he’s ruled out for six weeks).

That means I am using all my transfers.

I’m writing this section on Wednesday, so both Virgil van Dijk and Lewis Hall have not yet played their Champions League games. Fortunately, I don’t have anyone playing on Thursday. Let’s hope I come through those games unscathed.

The original plan was to simply do:

• Jurriën Timber → Joachim Andersen

• Declan Rice → Harry Wilson

… for their game against Burnley at Craven Cottage. By the way, I discussed this double-up in the latest deep dive. If you still haven’t had a chance to check it out, I recommend that you do so:

8 GWs left: How to handle the first blank of the season

Then I’d pour myself a cup of coffee and ponder whether to save the last FT or spend it on something fun and greedy, like Marcus Tavernier to Anthony Gordon (£7.3m).

None of the above will happen, although there’s a solution you probably already see coming: