We continue our trawl of the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) price list with a look at the best £5.0m midfielders.
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£5.0M MIDFIELDERS: ALL 89 ASSESSED
| £5.0m midfielders | Club | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Norgaard | ARS | A move to Everton seems to be imminent for the former Brentford man. He would have been an FPL no-go had he remained at Arsenal but now is very much one to watch, given that he had the second-best DefCon success rate (50%) of any FPL midfielder while at Brentford in 2024/25. |
| Bogarde, Barkley, Kamara, Onana, Iling Jr, Alysson | AVL | Iling Jr has never kicked a ball competitively for Villa, spending four loan spells away. Fellow winger Alysson is yet to get his first Premier League start. Onana is out injured for months, while Bogarde and Barkley mustered just 18 league starts between them in 2025/26. Kamara is the best bet for regular minutes here, having recovered from injury in pre-season, but 9.43 DefCons per 90 minutes in the last campaign means he lacks much appeal. |
| Cook, Gannon-Doak, Adams, Brooks, Christie, Toth, Adli | BOU | Even if Alex Scott (£6.0m) leaves, Cook, Adams, Christie and Toth are locked in a hell of a battle for two midfield slots; Toth could also operate further forward. Cook’s rate of DefCon returns (14.03 per 90 mins) last season was the best of anyone in this article, but starts are far from guaranteed – especially with the Cherries in Europe and rotation likely. Christie is suspended in Gameweek 1, incidentally. The same minutes risks apply on the flanks, where Gannon-Doak, Brooks and Adli were very much behind Marcus Tavernier (£6.0m) and Rayan (£6.5m) last season. Gannon-Doak has impressed in pre-season, so his first Premier League start for Bournemouth may not be too far away after an injury-plagued 2025/26. |
| Janelt, Carvalho, Milambo, Yarmoliuk, Dasilva | BRE | Yarmoliuk and Janelt both averaged over 11.0 DefCons per 90 mins last season but the arrival of club-record signing Mamadou Sangare (£5.5m) puts their minutes in question, especially with Mathias Jensen (£5.5m) also lurking. The 2025/26 campaigns of Carvalho, Milambo and Dasilva were all but wiped out by serious injury; none look like likely starters even if/when fit. |
| Gomez, Baleba, Yohanna, Buonanotte | BHA | Fabian Hurzeler doesn’t seem to fancy Buonanotte, who has spent three loan spells away from the south coast in recent seasons; he failed to impress at Chelsea and Leeds in the last two of those. Teenage winger Yohanna has signed this summer but has only made 13 league appearances in his fledgling career, and you’d imagine he’ll be slowly integrated. As for Baleba, his form dipped in 2025/26, perhaps distracted by a touted move to Manchester United. His rate of DefCon returns (11.22 per 90) was his lowest in his three seasons at Albion but still decent, and there’s hope he can get back to his levels from 2023-2025. Gomez is probably the stand-out name from an attacking perspective, standing a very good chance of starting the season on the right wing. He has started 22 of the last 24 Premier League matches he’s been available for, with his only two benchings coming off the back of injuries. |
| Lavia | CHE | Injury-prone central midfielder – 15 league starts in three seasons! – who lined up against Spurs on Saturday, but whose future is uncertain. You’d imagine the Blues reinforce in the engine room, too, especially if Enzo Fernandez (£7.0m) is on his way. |
| Onyeka, Grimes, Rudoni, Sakamoto, Eccles | COV | Four of these five could feasibly start in Gameweek 1, with Eccles – back-up in midfield – the exception. Sakamoto does now face competition from Loum Tchoauna (£5.5m) on the right wing, however. It’s also worth mentioning that No. 10 Rudoni, who delivered 13 attacking returns in 30 appearances in an injury-affected 2025/26, hasn’t been seen yet in pre-season since undergoing shoulder surgery in the spring. Onyeka and Grimes are expected to helm the midfield, with the set-piece-taking Grimes racking up a team-best 86 key passes in the Championship-winning campaign. He also averaged 9.6 DefCons per 90 minutes, a figure you’d expect to rise in a tougher league. Onyeka posted a similar figure (9.8) in the second tier. |
| Lerma, Kamada, Devenny, Esse, Franca, Doucoure, Rak-Sakyi | CRY | Franca, Esse and Rak-Sakyi were loaned out by Palace last season, and it remains to be seen if they’ll depart again this summer. Fellow youngster Devenny did stay in south London in 2025/26 but only featured sporadically. Lerma, Kamada and Doucoure are tussling with Will Hughes (£4.5m) and Adam Wharton (£5.5m) for two midfield spots, and we’ll have to wait and see who new boss Pierre Sage favours. Doucoure didn’t feature at all in 2025/26 due to injury but, now back fit, it’s worth pointing out that he averaged over 12.0 DefCons per 90 minutes in his three preceding years. |
| Iroegbunam, Armstrong, Alcaraz, Rohl | EVE | None of these could hold down a place last season, and the arrival of Hayden Hackney (£5.5m) and the aforementioned Norgaard doesn’t bode well for Iroegbunam especially. Rohl did start on the right flank in the final four matches of 2025/26, doing so again (and scoring) on Saturday, so he’s one to monitor. |
| Berge, Cairney, Lukic | FUL | Three central midfielders competing for a maximum of two spots, potentially fewer with Alex Iwobi (£5.5m) used centrally in pre-season and Shea Charles seemingly close to joining. Lukic might be on his way out, too. None impressed on the DefCon front last season anyway. |
| Belloumi, Millar, Omur, Kamara, Akintola, Morita | HUL | Hull are in the midst of a big squad overhaul, so many of their players are best left avoided until the transfer window shuts. Central midfielder Morita has recently arrived and could deliver DefCon points if starting. Belloumi and Millar may start the season on the flanks but are going to face competition from new positional rivals very soon. The other three may struggle to make the squad. |
| Nunez, Matusiwa, Burns, Ogbene, Szmodics, Mehmeti | IPS | Szmodics has already departed on loan, with Ogbene set to join him through the exit door and Burns also on his way. Mehmeti signed in January but has struggled for consistency in the ’10’ role, and was in and out of the side towards the end of 2025/26. Ipswich will likely upgrade on him and Nunez, who he was competing with at the back-end of last season. Matusiwa was, however, nailed in 2025/26, making 45 starts. He averaged 11.75 DefCons per 90 minutes, so he’s one for the defensive contributions watchlist. The main issue is currently fitness, and he remains a doubt for Gameweek 1. The arrival of Florentino Luis is also worth mentioning; does he compete with Matusiwa or line up alongside him? |
| Longstaff, Gelhardt, Gnonto, James, Gruev, Tanaka | LEE | Gruev is still recovering from a long-term injury, while fellow central midfielders Longstaff and Tanaka couldn’t nail down their places last season, making 10 and 14 starts respectively. Tanaka did make the starting XI in the last seven games of the campaign but has struggled in pre-season, and Harry Wilson‘s (£6.5m) arrival could send him back to square one, with Anton Stach (£6.0m) playing deeper. Further forward, Gnonto and James made a paltry four and six starts in 2025/26, while Gelhardt was loaned out to Hull and may return there or drop back down to the Championship. |
| Nyoni, Bajcetic, Koumas | LIV | Little-to-no chance of this lot being anywhere near the starting XI come Gameweek 1. |
| Echeverri, Phillips, Monga | MCI | See above! |
| Andrey Santos, Ugarte, J Fletcher, Lacey, Collyer | MUN | Ugarte is out long term for the Red Devils, while young prospects Fletcher, Lacey and Collyer have seen plenty of pre-season game-time but will slide back down the pecking order now that the seniors are slowly filtering back from World Cup duty. Andrey Santos is obviously the stand-out name here. While his DefCon returns per 90 minutes in 2025/26 weren’t great (8.84), it’s worth pointing out that he sometimes featured further forward in midfield for Chelsea. He’ll be at the base of the United midfield this year, where he delivered 12.85 DefCons per 90 at Strasbourg. There is plenty of competition in the engine room at United, with Messrs Mainoo, Tielemans and Mount tussling for spots, but pairing two of the others would leave the midfield pretty open. |
| Ramsey, Willock, Steur, Bamba | NEW | Beleagured Newcastle are managerless at the time of writing and haemorrhaging key players, so the Magpies are best left alone until we see how the incoming boss shapes them up in what remains of pre-season. Young central midfielders Steur and Bamba have joined this summer, and may be integrated slowly given their inexperience. Midfield shield Bamba does have DefCon potential, having averaged 11.7 contributions per 90 minutes – in admittedly limited game-time – last season. Willock may depart this summer but the versatile Ramsey could get a game-time boost, with Messrs Gordon, Guimaraes and Tonali departing. Marrying promising displays with attacking returns has been a problem for a while, of course, although he did deliver 14 of them in 31 starts in 2022/23. |
| Dominguez, Sangare, Schlager | NFO | Three central midfielders, all competing for two spots at best – and the competition could intensify with Forest having £116m in their pockets and linked with several Anderson replacements. Schlager doesn’t particularly stand out on the underlying stats front, although Sangare did average a healthy 11.58 DefCons per 90 minutes last season. A case of waiting to see who the Tricky Trees bring in, and who new boss Oliver Glasner favours in the engine room. |
| Sadiki, Adingra, Mundle, Rigg, Jocelin, Angulo | SUN | Adingra, Mundle, Jocelin and Angulo are all wingers, and none of them made it to 10 league starts in 2025/26 – although the last two only joined in the winter window and Mundle was injured for long stretches. Adingra was loaned out. Rigg and Sadiki are part of the central midfield mix, with the latter the more secure starter. However, two attacking returns and a poor 12.1% DefCon success rate means he carries negligible FPL appeal. |
| Sarr, Gray, Moore | TOT | Not a great deal to see here, with the arrivals of Messrs Tonali and Fernandes likely denting the xMins of Sarr and Gray. Moore was loaned out to Rangers in 2025/26. |
2025/26 FPL NUMBERS
CURRENT £5.0M MIDFIELDERS SORTED BY MINS PER EXPECTED GOAL INVOLVEMENT XGI (PL ONLY)
CURRENT £5.0M MIDFIELDERS SORTED BY DEFCONS PER 90 MINUTES (PL ONLY)
FINAL THOUGHTS
ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS
It’s slim pickings for attacking midfielders at this price point, with Diego Gomez (£5.0m) about the best of them. Of the players in this piece who were in the Premier League in 2025/26, he was second, behind the not-nailed David Brooks (£5.0m), for minutes per xGI.
Fabian Hurzeler seems to love him, starting him whenever he could for much of last season. The absence of the injured Kaoru Mitoma (£6.0m), who will miss the start of 2026/27, very likely secures a start on the wing, at least in the early stages of the campaign.
European involvement could lead to more rotation longer term, of course, and don’t expect goal after goal.
Merlin Rohl (£5.0m), Ben Gannon-Doak (£5.0m) and Jacob Ramsey (£5.0m) are names we’ll be monitoring in the final weeks of pre-season.
CENTRAL MIDFIELDERS/DEFCON MERCHANTS
Many FPL managers prefer the reliability of more predictable DefCon returns at the £5.0m tier, rather than the occasional goal or assist.
Christian Norgaard, Lewis Cook, Ibrahim Sangare, Azor Matusiwa and Aladji Bamba (all £5.0m) all have the potential to be DefCon machines. They’re on ice for now, with Matusiwa’s fitness, Bamba’s inexperience, Nottingham Forest’s transfer activity and Cook’s rotation risk all question marks against their names. Norgaard is perhaps the big hope, should his move to Everton materialise, given his DefCon success rate at Brentford in 2024/25:
In the meantime, it’s worth monitoring Andrey Santos‘ (£5.0m) DefCon returns in the remaining pre-season friendlies. If he can get back to his Strasbourg levels, he’ll be one to seriously consider. He’ll also likely start the season, should anyone be after a Gameweek 1 Bench Boost option.
We like Matt Grimes (£5.0m) for a Gameweek 2 Bench Boost, meanwhile. While he has to up his DefCon game from the Championship, you’d expect those numbers to rise in a fight against relegation rather than a procession to the second-tier title. Set-piece duties are something that few others in this piece can boast, but he was Coventry’s main taker of corners in 2025/26.
MORE POSITION/PRICE ANALYSIS
- Best £4.0m-£4.5m goalkeepers for FPL 2026/27
- Best £5.0m+ goalkeepers for FPL 2026/27
- Best £4.0m defenders for FPL 2026/27: All 46 assessed
- Best £4.5m defenders for FPL 2026/27
- Best £5.0m defenders for FPL 2026/27
- Best £5.5m+ defenders for FPL 2026/27
- Best £4.5m midfielders for FPL 2026/27: All 25 assessed
- Best £7.5m+ midfielders for FPL 2026/27
- Best £6.0m-£6.5m forwards for FPL 2026/27
