Club: Crystal Palace
Position: Midfielder
Price: £7.0m
Last Season Points Tally: 173
Ashleigh Weerden could be one of the smartest midfield picks for the new Barclays WSL and WSL2 Fantasy season. After producing some of the best attacking numbers in the BWSL2 last season, the Crystal Palace midfielder has the creativity, goal threat and attacking responsibility to make an immediate impact in the top flight.
Last season, the 27-year-old broke the BWSL2’s all-time assists record with 10 assists, alongside scoring 7 goals. She also created 61 chances, the second-highest total in the division, underlining her importance to Palace’s promotion-winning attack.
Under Jo Potter, Weerden primarily operates on the left, playing as a midfielder often taking on a wing-back role. Her attacking freedom in Palace’s 3-4-1-2 formation allows her to make dangerous runs, take on defenders and find Palace’s forwards from wide areas. Weerden’s ability to progress the ball into dangerous positions and successfully take on opponents made her one of Palace’s main creative outlets.
Her performances in the second tier earned her a nomination for BWSL2 Player of the Year and a place in the league’s Team of the Season. Weerden’s importance to Palace was further recognised when she was named the club’s Player of the Season.
The Surinamese international joined Palace from Ajax in August 2024 and recently signed a two-year extension with the South London club. After scoring three times and registering one assist in Palace’s debut BWSL season, Weerden established herself as one of their main attacking threats in the second tier and has carried that form into pre-season, scoring the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Oxford United.
Weerden’s attacking quality was also recognised in the fantasy game, where she was the highest point scoring midfielder across both the BWSL and BWSL2 last season (173). Her combination of goals, assists and chance creation gives her multiple routes to Fantasy points and makes her an attractive option for managers looking for a creative and relatively low priced midfielder, at £7.0m.
Palace have also made some major additions to their attacking options in the summer window, which could give Weerden even more opportunities to turn that creativity into Fantasy points. The Eagles have brought in Bethany England, Shannon O’Brien and Lexi Lloyd-Smith adding significant attacking quality and depth to Potter’s squad.
England’s arrival could be particularly beneficial to Weerden, with the experienced striker’s prolific goalscoring record in the BWSL making her a strong target for Weerden’s creativity and delivery from the left. If Weerden can maintain the level of chance creation she demonstrated last season, having a proven goalscorer in front of her could help turn more of those opportunities into assists.
At the same time, Weerden’s goal scoring record demonstrates she is more than just a provider, giving Fantasy managers multiple routes to points. While the step up to the BWSL will undoubtedly provide a tougher test, Weerden’s consistency last season and her attacking role in Palace make her an exciting Fantasy option.
