Joao Pedro has been ruled out for a few weeks with a thigh injury, and that is a significant blow for Fantasy Premier League managers as well as Chelsea. At £7.9m and owned by 68 per cent of teams in 2026/27 Fantasy, he was one of the most widely held forwards in the game. Now the immediate question is simple: who replaces him?
Xabi Alonso delivered the update on Tuesday afternoon, and it leaves a large chunk of managers needing to reshape their forward line before the next round of fixtures. The good news is that there are options. The harder part is deciding which of them offers the best balance of form, price and reliability over the short term.
Haaland and Isak remain the obvious elite choices
The source material makes one point very clear: Haaland and Isak have been in a league of their own this season. That is usually where the conversation starts when a premium forward becomes available, even if both sit at the very top of the market.
Erling Haaland has backed up that status over the last four Gameweeks, scoring five goals and collecting 33 points. That level of output is exactly why he remains the safest premium route for managers who can afford him. If you want a striker with proven explosive upside, he is still the benchmark.
Alexander Isak is the other premium name in the frame. While the supplied figures do not place his recent returns in the same detail as Haaland's, his inclusion alongside the Manchester City striker tells its own story. For many managers, the choice will come down to whether they want to spend heavily on one of the two best forwards in the game or spread the money elsewhere.
Nicolas Jackson offers the strongest direct replacement case
For managers looking for a more direct replacement at a lower price point, Nicolas Jackson stands out. In Gameweeks 5-8, he scored four goals and amassed 30 points, which is a strong return by any reasonable measure.
Last weekend he added a brace and 13 points against Manchester City, which only strengthens the case for backing him now that Joao Pedro is unavailable. Form matters in Fantasy, and Jackson is doing enough to look like one of the best immediate replacement options.
He is not the only name worth considering, but he may be the most straightforward move for managers who want recent goals without going all the way to a premium price bracket.
The lower-cost alternatives can still work
There are also cheaper routes into the forward market. Evanilson is listed at £6.7m, Charalampos Kostoulas at £6.2m, Thierno Barry at £5.7m, Gonzalo Garcia at £5.6m and Igor Thiago at £9.0m. Those prices matter because Joao Pedro's injury has created an opening for managers who want to redistribute funds rather than simply replace like for like.
Among that group, Thierno Barry has posted one of the more eye-catching underlying records, recording 10 big chances and scoring two goals over the last four Gameweeks. That suggests the chances are there, even if the finishing has not fully matched the supply yet.
That is often the key in Fantasy. If a forward is getting into the right positions, the goals usually follow. Barry's numbers make him worth a closer look, especially for managers who need value rather than headline status.
What the next move should be
Joao Pedro's absence is not just a Chelsea issue. It is a major Fantasy problem because so many managers owned him in the first place. With 68 per cent ownership, this injury will force a lot of transfers and a lot of decisions.
The safest premium route remains Haaland, with Isak also in that top bracket. For managers looking for a more flexible move, Nicolas Jackson looks like the most convincing short-term replacement on recent output alone. Beyond that, the budget options offer different levels of risk and reward, but the key thing is clear: Joao Pedro's injury has changed the forward market, and managers now have to react quickly.
