It’s been just over a fortnight since our last scan of the highest-owned players in Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
Here we take another look at how ownership levels are changing across the four Fantasy positions to see who is in vogue and who is falling out of favour.
We’ll again stress the caveat that the ownership figures of some players at certain price points (eg £5.5m defenders, £7.0m midfielders, £8.0m forwards etc) may be inflated due to being ‘auto-pick’ selections.
We’d expect these percentages to continue to drop between now and Gameweek 1 and we’ll see how those figures are doing again ahead of the start of 2021/22.
GOALKEEPERS
| Player | Cost | July 28 rank | July 12 rank | July 28 ownership % | +/-% ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martínez | 5.5 | 1 | 1 | 39.7% | +0.5% |
| Sánchez | 4.5 | 2 | 2 | 25.3% | -1.8% |
| Foster | 4.0 | 3 | 3 | 25.0% | +0.4% |
| Schmeichel | 5.0 | 4 | 4 | 12.9% | +2.5% |
| Ederson | 6.0 | 5 | 6 | 9.3% | +0.1% |
| Mendy | 6.0 | 6 | 5 | 8.7% | -0.6% |
| Pickford | 5.0 | 7 | 10 | 7.9% | +2.3% |
| Guaita | 4.5 | 8 | 8 | 6.0% | -0.3% |
| Pope | 5.5 | 9 | 7 | 5.7% | -0.7% |
| Meslier | 5.0 | 10 | 9 | 5.7% | -0.2% |
Jordan Pickford (£5.0m) and Kasper Schmeichel (£5.0m) are the big movers from last time, each rising over 2.0% in the ownership stakes.
It’d be interesting to see just when their ascent in popularity began: the achievements of England and Denmark at EURO 2020 could well have something to do with it, given that the pair enjoyed a summer in the spotlight.
Everton and Leicester ranking fairly high in our Season Ticker in Gameweeks 1-6 are also upsides to the mid-priced duo.
Robert Sanchez (£4.5m) remains the second most-owned shot-stopper and still sits in more than one in four FPL squads, although his numbers have dropped slightly.
Brighton’s injury concerns at the back and the potential loss of Ben White (£4.5m) to Arsenal are possible factors, there.
DEFENDERS
| Player | Cost | July 28 rank | July 12 rank | July 28 ownership % | +/-% ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shaw | 5.5 | 1 | 1 | 46.3% | +6.0% |
| Alexander-Arnold | 7.5 | 2 | 2 | 27.6% | +0.3% |
| Dias | 6.0 | 3 | 4 | 25.9% | -0.3% |
| Fofana | 4.5 | 4 | 3 | 24.7% | -2.4% |
| Digne | 5.5 | 5 | 5 | 21.9% | -1.3% |
| Cresswell | 5.5 | 6 | 6 | 19.3% | -0.8% |
| Coufal | 5.0 | 7 | 8 | 15.7% | -2.1% |
| White | 4.5 | 8 | 15 | 13.9% | +3.2% |
| Robertson | 7.0 | 9 | 10 | 13.5% | +0.9% |
| Chilwell | 6.0 | 10 | 9 | 13.3% | -0.7% |
| Lamptey | 4.5 | 11 | 7 | 13.2% | -5.8% |
| Manquillo | 4.0 | 12 | 16 | 12.7% | +2.4% |
Luke Shaw (£5.5m) continues to climb in popularity and now trails only Mohamed Salah (£12.5m) in the ownership stakes across all positions.
The rise in demand has no doubt been influenced by his performances at EURO 2020, where he racked up four clean sheets and as many attacking returns.
But it’s that involvement at the European Championship which also causes concern: he won’t return to training at Manchester United until the beginning of August and is also recovering from broken ribs, although is confident of being available for Gameweek 1.
Liverpool’s two full-backs have experienced modest increases in popularity amid the falls elsewhere, with even Virgil van Dijk (£6.5m) on the up outside of the top ten (8.8% to 9.8%).
The orange flag appearing next to Tariq Lamptey‘s (£4.5m) name hasn’t done the Brighton wing-back any favours but there was a shift underway anyway in the budget defender bracket.
Lamptey and Wesley Fofana (£4.5m) have suffered drops in popularity, with Ben White (£4.5m) and Javier Manquillo (£4.0m) on the rise: the former’s protracted move to Arsenal has brought him to public attention, while Manquillo’s improving ownership figure – despite zero pre-season involvement – suggests an increasing number of us are happy to plump for a non-playing fifth defender.
MIDFIELDERS
| Player | Cost | July 28 rank | July 12 rank | July 28 ownership % | +/-% ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salah | 12.5 | 1 | 1 | 48.9% | -0.9% |
| Fernandes | 12.0 | 2 | 2 | 40.4% | -0.1% |
| Grealish | 8.0 | 3 | 3 | 34.9% | -2.1% |
| Raphinha | 6.5 | 4 | 4 | 22.4% | -2.6% |
| Mount | 7.5 | 5 | 5 | 20.4% | -1.3% |
| Dallas | 5.5 | 6 | 6 | 17.7% | -0.6% |
| Son | 10.0 | 7 | 11 | 15.5% | +2.8% |
| Bissouma | 4.5 | 8 | 7 | 15.2% | -2.1% |
| Saka | 6.5 | 9 | 9 | 15.1% | -0.3% |
| De Bruyne | 12.0 | 10 | 8 | 14.5% | -1.5% |
| Foden | 8.0 | 11 | 10 | 12.0% | -1.8% |
| Buendía | 6.5 | 12 | 16 | 11.9% | +1.1% |
Son Heung-min (£10.0m) is the only midfielder in the top ten who has increased his ownership percentage figure, with his starring, ‘out of position’ role in Spurs’ pre-season win over Colchester United no doubt a contributing factor.
Emiliano Buendia (£6.5m) lurks just outside the top ten after experiencing a climb in popularity, with his own brace of assists in Aston Villa’s victory at Walsall increasing the momentum behind a move for the Argentine.
The fall in the bulk of the most-owned midfielders’ ownerships may well owe a lot to the arrival of Jadon Sancho (£9.5m).
The former Borussia Dortmund winger already sits in 10.6% of Fantasy squads despite only being priced up five days before this article went out.
He is now the 16th most-owned midfielder in the game.
Elsewhere, Billy Gilmour’s (£4.5m) ownership is up from 5.8% to 8.8% and Emile Smith Rowe (£5.5m) has climbed a couple of percentage points to 7.4% to reach the fringes of the top 20 most-popular midfield options.
FORWARDS
| Player | Cost | July 28 rank | July 12 rank | July 28 ownership % | +/-% ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watkins | 7.5 | 1 | 2 | 35.1% | +1.7% |
| Toney | 6.5 | 2 | 1 | 32.7% | -2.5% |
| Kane | 12.5 | 3 | 3 | 29.4% | +1.2% |
| Calvert-Lewin | 8.0 | 4 | 4 | 27.5% | -0.4% |
| Bamford | 8.0 | 5 | 6 | 17.6% | +0.4% |
| Cavani | 8.5 | 6 | 7 | 14.8% | -0.3% |
| Iheanacho | 7.5 | 7 | 5 | 14.2% | -3.6% |
| Antonio | 7.5 | 8 | 8 | 12.6% | +1.3% |
| Pukki | 6.0 | 9 | 9 | 9.4% | -1.0% |
| Vardy | 10.5 | 10 | 10 | 8.7% | +0.7% |
Perhaps the most headline-grabbing market move in this piece is the deposing of Ivan Toney (£6.5m) as the top dog in the forwards’ ownership race.
Toney still sits in just under one in three FPL squads but Ollie Watkins (£7.5m) has crept past him, with his brace against Walsall and Villa’s capture of another chance-creating playmaker in the form of Buendia perhaps influencing that.
Harry Kane (£12.5m) has consolidated third spot after some previous neck-and-neck competition with Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£8.0m), with those persistent rumours surrounding a move to Manchester City capturing some of our imaginations.
Again, like Shaw, Kane is another one whose rise in popularity comes in spite of some uncertainty over his Gameweek 1 availability.
It’s a fairly quiet picture elsewhere with little movement among the most popular forwards but Kelechi Iheanacho (£7.5m) has become less in demand, with unease over a potential deeper role and indeed the rotation risk that comes with Leicester having a fatter, fitter squad; Patson Daka (£7.5m) has arrived at the King Power this summer and the previously injured Harvey Barnes (£7.0m) is nearing a return.
2 years, 10 months agoI think Vardy might have one last stand in him at the start of this year. Back in front of fans, Daka being eased in, still has penalties and will be starting games. I think he's most likely to be the early bandwagon that FFS dismisses as 'for casuals' while clinging to underlying stats.