Today’s long-awaited Fantasy Premier League (FPL) 2025/26 launch was a bit of an anomaly in that we didn’t have many player prices revealed before the game went live.

There were just six players priced up, indeed: four on Sunday, two on Monday morning.

Last summer, for instance, we had a full week of price reveals before the game went live, so we were able to digest the prices in advance.

Not so this year – so we’re having to assess the prices of the 650+ other players all in one go!

Here are our first impressions, with position-by-position, price-by-price analysis articles to follow.

New to FPL? Check out our beginners’ guides here!

EXPECTED RISES FOR LAST SEASON’S TOP PERFORMERS

No surprises that the vast majority of last season’s top performers are now more expensive.

Of the top 21 points scorers (a tie preventing us from making it a nice round 20), 17 have risen:

*now at different clubs

The biggest climbs in the above table are Morgan Rogers (£7.0m), Mohamed Salah (£14.5m) and Alexander Isak (£10.5m), who each rise £2.0m.

Josko Gvardiol (£6.0m), Ollie Watkins (£9.0m) and Cole Palmer (£10.5m) remain firm at their prices.

Erling Haaland (£14.0m) is the only faller: 181 points by his standards was a poor campaign.

NEWLY PROMOTED DEFENDERS STILL AVAILABLE AT £4.0M

With the addition of defensive contribution (DC) points this season, there was a question mark over whether we’d still get centre-halves from the newly promoted sides at £4.0m.

We needn’t have worried, however.

There are only two defenders from each promoted club who are £4.5m – and four of them are full-backs. Penalty-taking Pascal Struijk is one of the other two.

So the likes of Maxime Esteve, Jaka Bijol (who is banned for Gameweek 1) and Reinildo are all £4.0m.

CENTRE-HALF ‘DC’ MAGNETS RISE…

Speaking of defensive contributions, many of the leading defenders for clearances, tackles etc in 2024/25 have been handed a hike:

Some would have risen anyway. Murillo (£5.5m) and Nikola Milenkovic (£5.5m), for instance, would have gone up anyway after Nottingham Forest’s defensive successes of 2024/25. Milenkovic also racked up five goals.

But would Murillo have risen to £5.5m without the DCs? Very likely not, as Ola Aina (£5.0m) is now cheaper.

Max Kilman and Joachim Andersen remain steady at £4.5m – a relative paucity of clean sheets perhaps sparing them from a rise.

… AS DO SOME DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDERS

There’s also a rise for some defensive midfielders, who will be better off in FPL 2025/26 thanks to their defensive work:

*now at Arsenal

Most are still available for less than £6.0m, although the fit-again Rodri (£6.5m) remains over that figure.

NEW ARRIVALS PRICED UP

Florian Wirtz (£8.5m) was the only new arrival to the Premier League priced up ahead of FPL going live for 2025/26.

Here are some of the other players who have joined a top-flight club from abroad this summer:

Maxim De Cuyper (£4.5m) is certainly one to watch at that price, given his predilection for attacking returns.

Charalampos Kostoulas (£5.0m) is a watchlist candidate, too, considering that Brighton and Hove Albion spent big money on the young Greek striker.

And after 15 goals for AC Milan in 2024/25, Tijjani Reijnders is an interesting proposition at £5.5m. While he may not be quite as free to get forward at Manchester City, he could supplement any attacking returns with defensive contribution points in a deeper role.

ANY OTHER BARGAINS?

There’s always a rush to find some budget gems when FPL goes live, especially to fund the heavy hitters elsewhere.

Destiny Udogie (£4.5m) leapt out straight away, especially after watching his advanced role against Reading on Saturday.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka (£4.5m), supplier of six assists last year, is available at the same price.

Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez (£6.0m) replacement, Adrien Truffert (£4.5m), is another name to monitor, having scored a pre-season brace at the weekend.

Aside from the newly promoted defenders, the highly rated Ayden Heaven stands out from the £4.0m crowd.

In midfield, Mohammed Kudus (£6.5m) could look relatively cheap if he repeats his performance from his Spurs debut.

Carlos Alcaraz (£5.5m) delivered five returns in seven starts for the Toffees last season, which was an eye-catching rate. If he can improve on his game-time (David Moyes benched the loanee on a further eight occasions), which is possible now that Abdoulaye Doucoure has left, he’ll be one to keep an eye on.

Up top, Thierno Barry (£6.0m) and Everton seem like a good match – providing he can see off Beto (£5.5m).

Lukas Nmecha (£5.0m) is generously priced at Leeds United, too. The Whites may yet swoop for another forward, of course, and it could be another from the budget FPL crop: Fulham’s Rodrigo Muniz (£5.5m).

Back from a season-decimating injury, Igor Thiago (£6.0m) will be a striker to keep an eye on – especially if Yoane Wissa (£7.5m) departs Brentford.

Let us know if you’ve spotted any cut-price gems below.

NO DEFENDERS ABOVE £6.0M

Gone are the days of the £8.0m Trent Alexander-Arnolds and John Terrys.

Not one FPL defender is priced higher than £6.0m this season.

There are nine in all at that price, with FPL showing no hesitation about elevating Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong and Rayan Ait-Nouri to the top rung at their new clubs:

ONLY SEVEN FIRST-CHOICE GOALKEEPERS BELOW £5.0M… AS THINGS STAND

FPL aren’t taking any chances with James Trafford (£5.0m) in case he gets a move to Newcastle United or Manchester City.

Usually, you’d expect a newly promoted ‘keeper to come in at £4.5m, even one with a record as good as his in 2024/25.

So, that leaves only seven (current) first-choice goalkeepers below £5.0m:

Don’t get too excited by Karl Darlow (£4.0m), as Leeds are expected to recruit a new ‘keeper. Whoever that is should still be under £5.0m, at least.

Of the five non-promoted clubs, Bournemouth had the best defensive record in 2024/25, both in terms of clean sheets and fewest goals conceded.

Let us know of any observations you’ve made following today’s launch!