The best FPL midfielders and forwards – seven-time top 10k finisher Zophar

Fantasy Premier League is back for the new season and I’ve been sharing my initial impressions on the price list.

Having already looked at the pick of the goalkeepers and defenders, I now turn my attention to the stand-out midfielders and forwards.

Midfielders

Premium midfielders I like

• Mohamed Salah (£12.5m)
• Bruno Fernandes (£12.0m)

The pair of Salah and Fernandes don’t really need much justification so I will instead talk about the players that didn’t make the list, the likes of Kevin De Bruyne (£12.0m), Sadio Mane (£12.0m), Raheem Sterling (£11.0m) and Son Heung-min (£10.0m)

De Bruyne actually had a disappointing season by his high standards and I don’t think the more advanced role that Pep Guardiola opted for at the start suited him. He would still be my go-to Manchester City selection if I had to pick any of their attackers but he is probably £1.0m too much for my liking. Sterling’s starting role is unclear and I don’t like the noises he’s making during EURO 2020 about his game time with the champions.

FPL have made the decision of going with Salah over Mane a no-brainer with the Senegalese’s pricing. Something like £11.0m would have made the dilemma far more interesting but with penalties in his locker, the Egyptian is an easy pick. Son doesn’t really interest me until I know who Tottenham Hotspur’s manager is going to be and more importantly, where Harry Kane (£12.5m) will be playing.

Mid-priced midfielders I like

• Riyad Mahrez (£9.0m)
• Kai Havertz (£8.5m)
• Jack Grealish (£8.0m)
• Phil Foden (£8.0m)
• Mason Mount (£7.5m)
• Diogo Jota (£7.5m)
• Harvey Barnes (£7.0m)

Mahrez and Foden both established themselves as first choices and were instrumental in Manchester City reaching the Champions League final. Pep roulette isn’t usually that bad in the first few weeks of the season and I’m expecting City to play more free-flowing attacking football this campaign with a normal schedule and the return of fans in stadiums. 

The Champions League-winning duo of Havertz and Mount combined to score their winner in the final and will be a key part of Thomas Tuchel’s attack this season. Mount is one of the most nailed players in the Chelsea team and at £7.5m he is a set-and-forget option that will keep ticking along with points. I was a bit surprised that Havertz was classified as a midfielder with the time he spent up top once Tuchel took over. Chelsea have been linked with a lot of strikers such as Erling Haaland and Romelu Lukaku over the transfer window and if the Blues fail to sign anyone, I expect the German to be spearheading the attack more often than not. However, if they do sign a striker, then I worry about Havertz getting consistent game time as the Blues still need the likes of Timo Werner (£9.0m) to stretch the pitch and provide pace out wide in a front three. 

Grealish is a man in demand in the summer transfer window, and if he stays at Aston Villa he offers great value at £8.0m with both goal and assist potential. The addition of Emiliano Buendia (£6.5m) to their ranks means teams now have an additional threat to worry about and Grealish should enjoy linking up with the Argentinian. Jota has been priced £4.5m cheaper than Mane, which I found quite surprising. Any injuries to their traditional front three would see the Portuguese get regular game time and he should get minutes off the bench even when he’s not starting. With Liverpool’s kind run of fixtures, he’s a very tempting option but one I will likely go without due to the uncertainty of starts. Barnes interests me more than James Maddison (£7.0m) if he can recover from his knee injury in time for the season start. 

Budget midfielders I like

• Bukayo Saka (£6.5m)
• Emiliano Buendia (£6.5m)
• Raphinha (£6.5m)
• Dele Alli (£6.5m)
• Joe Willock (£6.0m)
• Ismaila Sarr (£6.0m)
• Emile Smith-Rowe (£5.5m)
• Bryan Mbeumo (£5.5m)
• Mathias Jensen (£5.0m)

As mentioned earlier, I have a bit more faith in Arsenal this season with the lack of European fixtures which should see a more settled, rested line-up every week. The pair of Saka and Smith-Rowe should see consistent game time and offer great value for when the Gunners have a kind run of fixtures. Both are underpriced in my opinion.

Speaking of underpriced, I don’t think anyone in midfield is as undervalued as Raphinha. The Leeds winger would have probably finished on something like 180 points if he played more in the first 10 games of the season. He offers set pieces and goal threat and is a recognized, proven commodity in the top flight – as are Marcelo Bielsa’s side now. The Whites may not have the best fixtures on paper to start the season but they are likely to come out of the blocks firing and you wouldn’t back against them scoring against anyone. 

Buendia’s numbers from the English second tier are absolutely staggering. The Argentine racked up 15 goals and 16 assists in 39 appearances and featured in the Championship team of the week a whopping 15 times. It’s unlikely he will be given as much freedom in the top flight but if he can offer even half that output, that’s a bargain. I’d still like to wait and see how he settles into this Villa side, though. 

Alli showed glimpses of his old self under Mason and it remains to be seen if he can find some consistency under new management. He’s one I’m definitely keeping an eye on. 

Willock is still an Arsenal player at the time of writing and I am hoping he can seal his move to Newcastle. Allan Saint-Maximin (£6.5m) is classified as a forward this season and with Callum Wilson also priced at £7.5m, Willock could be the Magpies’ value attacker at £6.0m. 

Sarr had a strong finish to 2020/21 in a 4-3-3 under new manager Xisco. The Senegalese racked up eight goals in the last 12 games of the season and was the Hornets’ talisman when they were last in the top flight. I have a bit more faith in picking him because I know he can do it at Premier League level.

Brentford scored the most goals (79) in the Championship in 2020/21, which is why I think their budget midfielders are worth a look. Mbeumo (eight goals, 10 assists) often played as a striker at times and saw more consistent starts than Sergi Canos (£5.5m). Jensen (two goals, seven assists) is a great option as an eighth attacker at just £5.0m: his average of 1.5 key passes per game was the highest amongst their midfielders. 

Forwards

Premium Forwards I like

• Harry Kane (£12.5m)
• Edinson Cavani (£8.5m)

The likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£10.0m) and Jamie Vardy (£10.5m) have been priced too highly in my opinion and don’t really interest me right now. There are better options than Roberto Firmino (£9.0m) and Timo Werner (£9.0m) at their respective clubs, as well. 

Kane is the only premium forward I really fancy but if he stays in north London I don’t think he is worth the £12.5m asking price. I do fully expect him to make a move, though, and if he does go to Man City as rumoured, it would be brave or even foolish not to pick him. A lot depends on who the new Spurs manager is, of course.

Cavani should see consistent game time in the league up till the Champions League campaign starts. The Red Devils have a kind run of fixtures for the first few weeks and I will be monitoring the amount of game time he and Anthony Martial (£8.0m) get pre-season.

Budget and mid-price forwards I like

• Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£8.0m)
• Michail Antonio (£7.5m)
• Callum Wilson (£7.5m)
• Kelechi Iheanacho (£7.5m)
• Ollie Watkins (£7.5m)
• Ivan Toney (£6.5m)

This is going to be the hardest bracket to pick players from this season in my opinion, with so many fantastic options. 

Like Spurs, Everton’s search for a new manager has been a bit more prolonged than expected but whoever is at the helm, Calvert-Lewin is likely to be the main goal threat for the Toffees. Their brilliant fixture run at the start means he is almost a certainty to be in my Gameweek 1 squad. 

Antonio and Wilson also enjoy strong opening schedules and though injury issues are always a concern for the pair, they should be fit and raring to go at the start of the season. Iheanacho outshone Vardy for the second half of 2020/21 and although there are rumours of the Foxes buying another striker, the Nigerian should be first choice to start with. At £3.0m cheaper than Vardy, it really is an easy decision. 

Watkins has seen a significant price hike by £1.5m but the addition of Buendia to their ranks means the striker should have even more supply to work with. The lack of Grealish definitely hurt his potential in the second half of the campaign and with Villa’s great first three fixtures he’s likely to be a popular, proven pick. 

Toney racked up more goal contributions (31 goals, 10 assists) than any other player in the Championship last season and is without a doubt Brentford’s talisman. He was also top for big chances created (10) for the London side. It is worth mentioning that nine of the goals were penalties, though. He’s £1.0m cheaper than most of the options mentioned above and if I do need to find a million pound from somewhere, he is the one I’ll be turning to. 

Thanks for reading – make sure to check out the latest edition of the FPL Wire podcast below with more initial impressions on the game’s launch.

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