Into July we go and for Fantasy Premier League players that means only one thing.
Yes, for a few short weeks, millions of players around the world can now begin tinkering with their virtual line-ups for the new season of fantasy football. In true Claudio Ranieri fashion, players have unlimited transfers until the opening gameweek to chop and change their ultimate fantasy formulas and create their stellar super-squads.
Let’s take a dive into the market to see which players are likely to be mainstays in line-ups across all four corners of the FPL globe.
Big-Money Newcomers
Erling Haaland – The Norwegian goal machine will almost certainly be filling his boots to the brim as he leads a Man City forward line that creates chances by the bucketload.
FPL players may be a touch surprised to see the 21-year-old priced up at £11.5m, which makes him only the second-most expensive City player, behind Kevin de Bruyne.
That said, it’s still a chunky price, but don’t be surprised to see him skippering a raft of teams looking to set the early pace.
Darwin Nunez – Priced at £9m, Liverpool’s summer signing from Benfica represents the value pick for FPL players who are looking for a balanced squad of quality players.
Sacrifices will have to made for the inclusion of Haaland, but the Uruguayan is a much more frugal option.
Can he hit the ground running, though? Nunez will also have to fight Bobby Firmino for a starting berth in the Reds’ line-up, so he may not be a nailed-on piece of the Anfield furniture in the first few weeks or so.
Richarlison – Not a newcomer by definition, but Richarlison’s switch from Everton to Spurs creates a curious conundrum for Fantasy Premier League fans.
The Brazilian’s potential isn’t doubted, but players may be reluctant to splash £8.5m on a forward who will likely play second fiddle to the likes of Harry Kane and Heung-min Son.
Diego Carlos – Aston Villa had a particularly robust defence in the 2020/21 season, and although they weren’t quite at their solid best in 21/22, the signing of Carlos from Sevilla will go a long way to bolstering their backline.
The centre half is available at £5m, which could look very cheap if the likes of Tyrone Mings and Emi Martinez rediscover their fine form of a couple of years ago.
Mr Reliables
Harry Kane – He’ll be the first name on the team sheet for a number of FPL players and despite a hefty £11.5m price tag, his inclusion is an easy decision for plenty of punters.
The England man regularly puts away 20 goals a season and doesn’t tend to be rotated all that often, although that could change with the arrival of Richarlison, who could take on some of the Premier League load after gruelling midweek Champions League trips.
Mo Salah – The mercurial Egyptian is the undisputed main man at Liverpool following Sadio Mane’s departure to Bayern Munich, and that has seen his price rocket to £13m, making him the most expensive player in the game.
But is that a good investment? His form did tail off somewhat at the backend of last season and a freshly signed contract could mean that his motivation to perform isn’t quite where it should be.
With all that in mind, maybe he’s one to swerve in the early weeks of the campaign.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – Sticking with Liverpool and TAA is the full fantasy football package. The right-back bags a hatful of clean sheets and at the other end, Trent is usually a banker for assists via his deadly crossing and set pieces.
He’s never far away from a goal of his own either and despite a lofty £7.5m price, he looks a good buy again this year.
Joao Cancelo - The Man City man was one of the gems of the FPL season last time out as he bagged a stunning 201 points, leaving him just seven behind Trent and making the Portuguese the highest-scoring Man City player of the campaign.
But can he keep those numbers going? Concerns will be that he flatlines a touch, but with City defensively strong, he should at least be banking plenty of clean sheets.
Cancelo is available for £7m at the time of writing.
Promotion Boys
Brennan Johnson – Johnson was the shining light of a Forest side that worked a minor miracle to get promoted from the Championship last season.
The Wales international chipped in with 18 goals and 10 assists to put the Reds within touching distance of automatic promotion, and boss Steve Cooper will be looking to the youngster to provide that creative inspiration that will go a long way to keeping the play-off winners in the top flight.
And at £6m, Brennan could be a bargain.
Aleksandar Mitrovic – The Serbian had a simply staggering campaign in front of goal last season, with 43 goals in 46 games for Fulham.
That said, just three goals in his last Premier League campaign with the Cottagers will be lingering in the minds of FPL managers, but being a nailed-on starter and almost certainly on penalty duties, he looks a steady supplementary investment at £6.5m.
Dominic Solanke – The Bournemouth frontman didn’t quite hit the dizzying scoring heights of Fulham counterpart Mitrovic, but the 24-year-old had his best scoring season to date last year, with an impressive 29 goals.
But can he bridge the gap and be a consistent scorer in the Premier League? The jury is very much out, and with the Cherries facing the likes of Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool in the opening few weeks of the season, Solanke is probably best avoided at £6m.
Our Value Picks
Luis Diaz – The Colombian certainly hit the ground running after his January arrival from Porto and he’s likely to get even more game time now than Mane has departed for pastures new.
And at £8m he still represents great value, especially if he can add more goals to his game.
Ivan Perisic – He’s been a popular pre-season pick so far, and with Perisic likely to be deployed as an attacking wing-back by Spurs boss Antonio Conte, he should be a good bet for points at both ends of the pitch.
Despite being in the autumn of his career, Croatian Perisic is full of running and has performed at the highest level for a number of years. He should take to the Premier League like a duck to water and looks a snip at £5.5m
Jonny – The Wolves man has had some bad luck with injuries but appears to be fully fit and will return to a side that was one of the best defensive units in the division last season.
The West Midlanders have a relatively modest opening couple of months as far as fixtures go, so there’s ample opportunity for the Spaniard to get off to a flyer. The left-back is currently available for £4.5m
Leon Bailey – He’s become a bit of a forgotten man since his move to Aston Villa from Bayer Leverkusen last summer, but Bailey is a man with a point to prove and has bags of talent.
He didn’t have a great time of it with injuries last year, but don’t be surprised to see him shine if he gets a solid pre-season under his belt.
The Jamaica international could be one of the bargains of the season at £5m if he catches fire.
