It’s that time of the week! Where we need to see which cheap FPL players will make up the residual areas of our fantasy teams as we approach the first game week of the season.
The Best Cheap FPL Players
Certain players will always capture the immediate attention in fantasy league teams.
The likes of Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, Mohammed Salah and Harry Kane (if he stays) will dominate the majority of lineups throughout the country and indeed, the world.
Because of that, it’s imperative to supplement their inclusion with a number of shrewd acquisitions elsewhere to make the most of whatever is left of your budget.
So, for this article in the Hobby FC FPL collection, I will give you 7 cheap FPL players for your team (in a range of different positions) – and all under or exactly for the princely sum of £7.0m!
Bernd Leno (GK) – £4.5m – Fulham
You can rarely ever go wrong for a starting goalkeeper under £5.0m.
And in this case, with an over-achieving Fulham squad showing little signs of slowing down, it might stand to reason that a resolute season from the West London side will reveal Leno as a solid choice.
As a goalkeeper who is most likely going to play for the majority of the season (if not all), unless Fulham make a signing in that area, points are naturally going to come for the German stopper.
He isn’t the type to gain points for assists or getting involved in the transitional attacking play, but with a sound injury record and experience to benefit his side, it’s a sound option at £4.5m. When all you need for a goalkeeper in FPL is to be cheap and reliable – two things Leno has in abundance.
Sven Botman (Def) – £4.5m – Newcastle
Arguably the signing of the season for last year, Sven Botman has been a real revelation on Tyneside – and duly played his part in Newcastle having the end to the season that they did.
If not for a moment of madness from ‘keeper Nick Pope, not only could we be talking about having the most clean sheets for last season, but a Carabao Cup isn’t out the realms of possibility.
These are all semantics, but paint a good picture for their impending year.
With another year of Eddie Howe signings and tactics, Newcastle promise to offer up another staunch and resolute defensive display for their opponents. Having boasted one of the best home records for last year, one can only imagine that St James’ Park will be even louder and prouder for this one.
Of all of their defenders, Dan Burn is another solid option given how understated he is, but with Botman’s technical quality on the ball, he’s one of the best cheap FPL players around.
Jurrien Timber (Def) – £5.0m – Arsenal
I’m going to say this now: provided that injuries are kind to him this year, Jurrien Timber will end up being the signing of the season in the Premier League.
I don’t think Arsenal understand just quite who they’ve picked up here.
Last year, all eyes were on Lisandro Martinez at Manchester United – particularly for his price tag and his size. But mercifully, his performances in a United shirt soon laid those fears to rest.
It was quickly forgotten how badly Erik Ten Hag had courted Timber and failed, but his loss is now Mikel Arteta’s gain. In a similar fashion to Martinez, Timber is the ultimate ‘modern‘ defender. Bred in the Ajax factory of needing to be good at everything, he is… well… good at everything!
Aerially is where he may need to improve, but on the ball he is fantastic. And is sure to be a fan-favourite in Arteta’s inverted wing-back system at Arsenal.
Last season, Zinchenko and Ben White were FPL favourites in their own right for their involvement in Arsenal’s attacking play and the points that come with it. But with their prices hoiked up slightly, and a slot to fill in defence, Timber represents real value at just £5.0m.
Ebere Eze (Mid) – £6.5m – Crystal Palace
This promises to be a pivotal season for Ebere Eze in a Crystal Palace shirt.
With the shadow of Wilfried Zaha relocating to Turkey this summer, the stage is set for the likes of Eze, Olise and Edouard to lead the Palace line; now totally unencumbered by the pressure of having to accommodate for the star-presence of good ol’ ‘Wilf‘.
I’m quite a fan of Eze and find his natural character quite endearing and somewhat ‘innocent’. Obviously, that has nothing to do with getting points on FPL, but it helps.
Under Roy Hodgson, Crystal Palace looked free of any real pressure despite being right in the relegation battle last season. I suspect that nonchalance and swagger to continue this season, with very few players rivalling Eze for his favourite role as a central-attacking midfielder.
As far as these cheap FPL players go, Eze is a bit of a risk, as you can never know what to expect from Crystal Palace. Speaking of not knowing what to expect…
Mykhailo Mudryk (Mid) – £6.5m – Chelsea
Chelsea will either get a Champions League spot or finish 13th. There is no in-between.
And Mudryk will either be a star, or continue to struggle in West London.
I’m very much on the fence with Mudryk, as there’s clearly a talented player in there – and I suspect that the price tag alone would keep him included in the Chelsea lineup for the time being.
We’ll all have to wait and see to watch how Mauricio Pochettino will ingratiate players like Mudryk into his starting squad, but given his unfancied status in the FPL community and cheap price at under £7.0m, he could be a decent snip if you’ve got some money lying around in the squad.
Granted, the risk alone doesn’t rank him that high among the other cheap FPL players on this list, but if he comes good, he will be right at the top. So, you decide!
It’s also worth mentioning that Mauricio barely ever requires on the single impact of a tricky winger for his side to be successful, and we may see the likes of Mudryk and Sterling getting more involved in the centre of the park than ever before. So it’ll be interesting to see how that materialises.
Julio Enciso (Mid) – £5.5m – Brighton
Quite frankly, this is a no-brainer – even if he sits on the bench for your team.
Julio Enciso has been one of many revelations at Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, and it’s been indicated that he’s a personal favourite of much-beloved manager Roberto De Zerbi.
Last season, the enigmatic Paraguayan really came into his own in the squad and ended up with the Premier League Goal of the Season award with an incredible striker against Manchester City.
That alone is enough to consider him for your team, only it’s likely that he won’t be a starter.
Time will tell, and Mitoma is another solid option (again under £7.0m), but I wanted to be a little bit different as nearly 30% of all players have selected him, while a fraction have opted for Enciso.
He’s also one of three ‘Future Stars‘ in the latest Panini Adrenalyn XL collection for this season, as we looked at here. But as far as cheap FPL players go, it’s a tasty option.
Nicholas Jackson (Fwd) – £7.0m – Chelsea
I’ve gone completely rogue here, I’ll admit.
But with a strong pre-season and a solid year at Villarreal under his belt, the stage is set for Nico Jackson to have ‘one of those seasons’ in a Chelsea shirt.
Much like Mudryk, it will depend on how they get on this year as it’s imperative that Jackson gets the service he needs to be effective, but one thing that’s more certain, is that he’s favoured by the manager already and he might play more immediate game time than expected.
A desperately unfortunate injury to Christopher Nkunku has left a bit of a hole up front, which Jackson can fill – and he’s half a million cheaper than the Frenchman at £7.0m.
So, who knows?
Will he be one of the best cheap FPL players of the season, or will Chelsea finish 14th? It’s anybody’s guess, but one thing’s for certain – they’re going to need goals – and that’s why they signed Jackson.
We’ve also made a dedicated article before about 5 cheap FPL forwards to pick for the 2023/24 season, so it might be worth checking that out if Nico doesn’t float your boat.
Summary
It promises to be one of the best Premier League seasons of all time.
You have Manchester City going for an unprecedented 4th title, Arsenal look in a position to stop that, United look changed under Ten Hag, Liverpool look good and Chelsea can only get better.
But when it comes to getting cheap FPL players, we can look much further afield this year than most – with the likes of Brighton, Aston Villa and even Bournemouth making a few shrewd acquisitions right throughout the summer with the aim of going hard in the forthcoming season.
I’m looking forward to it. So let’s just hope the schedules are kind to us all!
Which cheap FPL players have made it into your team?