John Lundstram says he gets more texts about fantasy football than he does for his performances for Sheffield United.
Lundstram has been in excellent form for the Blades this season, helping them to their current position of sixth.
The midfielder scored twice at the weekend in the 3-0 win over Burnley, taking his overall tally for the season to three goals.
Lundstram has already made more league appearances this term than in the entirety of 2018/19 when United were promoted from the Championship.
Yet despite that, all his friends care about is fantasy football. In fairness, Lundstram is excelling in the game and is currently the fifth highest scoring player overall.
His brace against the Clarets helped the 25-year-old to 21 points this week. That is the highest individual score over one gameweek so far this campaign.
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Lundstram’s tally has been greatly helped by him being wrongly listed as a defender. In the game, defenders score more points for scoring a goal and keeping a clean sheet than midfielders do.
“All my mates were saying to me; ‘You’re down as a defender’,” Lundstram told the Mirror.
“I didn’t know because I don’t play it, but I get more texts about how I’m doing in fantasy football than I do for my performances on the pitch.”
Fantasy football and the success of John Lundstram
Another reason Lundstram has been such a good pick for those playing the game is because of his low price. Having played just ten league matches and started five last season, not many expected the Everton academy graduate to feature much in 2019/20.
However, Lundstram has started all 11 of the Blades’ league outings so far, with manager Chris Wilder switching from a 3-4-1-2 formation to 3-5-2.
And the midfield ace has certainly seized his opportunity. Not only that, but Lundstram has helped United to the joint most clean sheets and joint best defensive record in the Premier League.
His mates only care about one thing, though – how many fantasy football points he will score them.