BRYAN MBEUMO (£4.5m) is the latest player to reach the 300-point mark in Dream Team this season.
Following in the footsteps of Mohamed Salah (£7.2m), Bruno Fernandes (£7m), Erling Haaland (£7.8m) and Alexander Isak (£5.9m), Brentford's talisman achieved his triple century with a spotlight-hogging performance against Brighton on Saturday.
Mbeumo was involved in three goals as Thomas Frank's side beat the Seagulls 4-2 at the Gtech, supplementing his significant contribution with a maximum haul of five bonus points.
When all was said and done, the Cameroon international banked 28 points for his best single-game return of the season.
MBEUMO'S 28-POINT MASTERCLASS AGAINST BRIGHTON
- 2 goals (+12 pts)
- 1 assist (+3 pts)
- 5 bonus points (+5 pts)
- 2 shots on target (+2 pts)
- 2 big chances created (+2 pts)
- 4 tackles (+2 pts)
- 90 minutes played (+2 pts)
The 25-year-old deserves heaps of praise for his efforts this campaign.
Tasked with spearheading the Bees' attack following the departure of Ivan Toney to Saudi Arabia, Mbeumo has scored 18 league goals from 33 outings.
At the time of writing, only Salah, Haaland, Isak and Chris Wood (£3.6m) have scored more goals in the top flight.
Mbeumo successfully dovetailed with Toney for years but it could be argued he's found an even better collaborator in Yoane Wissa (£3.5m) – the latter has scored 16 league goals of his own this term.
The great thing about Mbeumo is that his success has defied Dream Team logic in many ways.
Most gaffers recognise the value of the European competitions in providing extra point-scoring opportunities.
A quick look at the Stats Centre reveals that 12 of the top 15 performers have played in either the Champions League, Europa League or Conference League this season.
Among the exceptions, Isak played eight times across the two domestic cups, scooping 57 points from those extracurricular outings.
Whereas Mbeumo was only on the pitch for a total of 160 minutes in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup before Brentford were eliminated from both competitions – he managed 18 points in that time.
Matheus Cunha (£5.3m) is the other player in the top 15 not to have benefited from European commitments and the Wolves forward is currently 42 points behind Mbeumo.
Mbeumo is proof that it's possible to rub shoulders with the very best assets in the game through exceptional league performances; he has laughed in the face of fixture deficits time and time again.
And the fact he's produced such an impressive campaign while representing a bottom-half team is even more impressive.
An ownership of 18.3% makes him the sixth-most selected midfielder in Dream Team right now but his 28-point haul is bound to result in a popularity increase.
Mbeumo is currently the top performer of Gameweek 32 by a wide margin.
Looking ahead, Brentford are due to visit the City Ground in Gameweek 33 where Nottingham Forest will provide stiff competition in their quest to secure Champions League qualification.
But Mbeumo will be licking his lips at the prospect of facing Manchester United and Ipswich in Gameweeks 34 and 35.
The Red Devils will be distracted by their Europa League semi-final while the Tractor Boys are likely to have been condemned to relegation by the time they host the Bees in May.
Mbeumo has Morgan Rogers (£4.5m) and Cole Palmer (£5m) breathing down his neck in terms of total points but he will finish among Dream Team's best midfielders whatever happens from this point onwards.
