Continuing our trawl through the player list, we survey the best lower-priced Fantasy Premier League (FPL) goalkeepers to begin 2024/25.
With juggernaut Erling Haaland (£15.0m) officially the game’s most expensive player of all time and joined in the premium lounge by Mohamed Salah (£12.5m), Cole Palmer (£10.5m), Bukayo Saka (£10.0m) and Son Heung-min (£10.0m), it feels more important than ever to have budget-friendly options between the sticks.
Luckily, the last two FPL seasons have seen a £4.5m stopper end as the position’s highest scorer.
As managers try to identify the next such bargain, let’s assess the 27 names that start at £4.5m and the 24 at £4.0m.
CLUB-BY-CLUB
Firstly, 10 of the (current) 61 goalkeepers cost at least £5.0m, from nine different clubs. At Manchester City, rumours of a potential Ederson (£5.5m) departure meant that backup Stefan Ortega (£5.5m) was handed the same initial price, blocking managers from a potentially exciting FPL hack.
Jordan Pickford (£5.0m) ended 2023/24 on the most goalkeeper points (153) thanks to 13 clean sheets and 22 bonuses, so it’s no surprise to see him be upgraded from £4.5m. Third-placed Bernd Leno (£5.0m) also rises.
From the remaining 11 teams, here are the probable £4.5m-and-under starters at the time of writing.
| CLUB | LIKELY STARTER | POSSIBLE STARTER | OTHERS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bournemouth | Neto (£4.5m) | Mark Travers (£4.0m) Alex Paulsen (£4.0m) | |
| Brentford | Mark Flekken (£4.5m) | Hakon Valdimarsson (£4.0m) | |
| Brighton and Hove Albion | Bart Verbruggen (£4.5m) Jason Steele (£4.5m) | ||
| Chelsea | Robert Sanchez (£4.5m) Filip Jorgensen (n/a) Djordje Petrovic (£4.5m) | Kepa Arrizabalaga (£4.5m) Lucas Bergstrom (£4.0m) Marcus Bettinelli (£4.0m) | |
| Crystal Palace | Dean Henderson (£4.5m) Sam Johnstone (£4.5m) | Remi Matthews (£4.0m) | |
| Ipswich Town | Arijanet Muric (£4.5m) | Christian Walton (£4.5m) Cieran Slicker (£4.0m) | |
| Leicester City | Mads Hermansen (£4.5m) | Daniel Iversen (£4.0m) Jakub Stolarczyk (£4.0m) Danny Ward (£4.0m) | |
| Nottingham Forest | Carlos Miguel (£4.5m) Matz Sels (£4.5m) | Matt Turner (£4.0m) | |
| Southampton | Alex McCarthy (£4.5m) | Gavin Bazunu (£4.5m) Mateusz Lis (£4.0m) Joe Lumley (£4.0m) | |
| West Ham United | Alphonse Areola (£4.5m) | Wes Foderingham (£4.5m) Lukasz Fabianski (£4.0m) | |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | Jose Sa (£4.5m) | Daniel Bentley (£4.0m) Tom King (£4.0m) |
Yet some of those sides are still unknown. For example, Chelsea’s purchase of Filip Jorgensen will muddy the waters even further in regards to Robert Sanchez and Djordje Petrovic.
Dean Henderson was Crystal Palace’s number one during their late-season form but Sam Johnstone is now back from injury.
Meanwhile, not only do Brighton and Hove Albion have a new head coach but Bart Verbruggen and Jason Steele started 21 and 17 games respectively. A slight knock for the Dutchman may add clarity for the opening couple of matches but, beyond that, rotation could continue.
In each case, the FPL community hopes that these managers will provide the rare gift of some genuinely helpful information. Like at Nottingham Forest, where 25-year-old Carlos Miguel is a summer signing but has only started 10 league games in his career.
Therefore, as of now, Mark Flekken, Neto, Alphonse Areola and Jose Sa join the promoted goalkeepers in being the safest-looking £4.5m starters.
FIXTURES + ROTATIONS
When fiddling with our Season Ticker, teams can be sorted by fixture difficulty. Over the initial eight Gameweeks, Crystal Palace rank fourth and Nottingham Forest sit in eighth place.
So for FPL managers who like owning two £4.5m stoppers – which feels somewhat luxurious, knowing these 2024/25 prices – there are some appealing medium-term rotations.
In 2022/23 and 2021/22, Brentford registered the highest percentage of conceded shots coming from outside of the box. Only Arsenal bettered them last time. It suggests that Thomas Frank asks his team to play in a way that purposely forces opponents into less threatening attempts from distance.
In theory, Flekken gets to rack up some fairly simple save points. Their early fixtures fit well with both Southampton and Crystal Palace.
Elsewhere, the underlying stats of Nottingham Forest contradicted their output. They finished with just four clean sheets – a number only worsened by the relegated trio – whilst conceding the third-fewest big chances (74) and fifth-least shots on target (163).
Their expected goals conceded (xGC) delta was a huge +13.12, as Forest should’ve let in 53.88 goals rather than 67.
If Nuno Espirito Santo speaks out on whether Miguel or Matz Sels will be first-choice, FPL managers could put faith in this underachievement and pair him up with either Brighton or West Ham.
2023/24 STATISTICS
Not that the Hammers should be trusted. Their backline allowed the third-most big chances (109) and fourth-highest number of shots conceded (652). Although it helped Areola collect the greatest amount of save points (39), his FPL popularity was purely about the initial £4.0m price.
Below are some noteworthy 2023/24 stats from the eight non-promoted teams with a £4.5m starter.
| CLEAN SHEETS | GK SAVES | BIG CHANCES CONCEDED | XGC | SHOTS CONCEDED COMING FROM OUTSIDE THE BOX | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bournemouth | 9 | 134 | 88 | 58.84 | 32.40% |
| Brentford | 7 | 122 | 89 | 56.70 | 39.23% |
| Brighton | 6 | 110 | 87 | 56.44 | 31.41% |
| Chelsea | 8 | 129 | 81 | 58.96 | 33.27% |
| Crystal Palace | 10 | 99 | 92 | 52.78 | 28.48% |
| Nottm Forest | 4 | 103 | 74 | 53.88 | 35.76% |
| West Ham | 5 | 173 | 109 | 72.15 | 35.89% |
| Wolves | 5 | 142 | 106 | 68.92 | 34.55% |
It asks the usual question: do you prefer a goalkeeper who keeps clean sheets or one regularly forced into saves by a poor defence?
Palace ended the campaign strongly under Oliver Glasner, successfully shutting out four of their final seven opponents. They all finished in the top eight, by the way.
But their great season-long record of restricting attempts (460, fifth-fewest) and shots on target (154, fourth-fewest) was bad news in goal, where they accumulated a lowly 99 saves.
At Wolves, defensive data consistently ranked amongst the leakiest but at least Sa could lead the way when preventing expected goals (xG). He let in 58 despite a 66.5 projection (+8.50 delta).
ANY £4.0M OPTIONS?
Right now, it looks like none of the cheapest-priced stoppers will follow in Areola’s footsteps. But another Martin Dubravka (£4.5m) situation could emerge, where a mid-season injury thrusts one of these into the line-up for an extended period.
So which clubs have a nailed-on £4.5m starter alongside a £4.0m second choice?
Bournemouth, Brentford, Leicester and Wolves provide Mark Travers, Hakon Valdimarsson, Danny Ward and Daniel Bentley, with the 22-year-old Icelandic international rated highly.
Doubling these up with Neto, Flekken, Mads Hermansen and Sa may prove handy. It could be the same at West Ham but their Wes Foderingham capture adds slight uncertainty to Lukasz Fabianski‘s status.
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