In this article, we will try to identify the potential £4.5m-£5.5m forward gems for 2026/27.
On first look, there really doesn’t seem to be too many stand-out options. There are a lot of backups, for example.
However, here’s an overview of all forwards priced at £4.5m, £5.0m and £5.5m in Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
GEORGINIO RUTTER/CHARALAMPOS KOSTOULAS
After Danny Welbeck’s (£6.0m) transfer to Chelsea, could Georginio Rutter (£5.5m) or Charalampos Kostoulas (£5.5m) perhaps become surprise budget enablers up front?
Rutter was frequently relief for Welbeck in 2025/26, and played a big chunk of minutes at centre-forward, which led to his reclassification by FPL. He scored three goals and supplied five assists from 20 starts.
Kostoulas, 19, had limited minutes after his £30m move from Olympiakos, with just two of his 21 league appearances from the start. He did score twice off the bench, so after a season of adjustment, he is a contender to lead the line, especially with Stefanos Tzimas (£5.5m) and Evan Ferguson (£5.0m) still recovering from long-term injuries. Notably, he’s already netted a brace in pre-season.
Probably the biggest indicator will be the final pre-season friendly line-up against Bologna on 15 August.
European football could lead to more week-to-week rotation, of course.
Fabian Hurzeler hasn’t ruled out signing a new striker either, so for now, it’s very much a situation to monitor.
“We have two really good strikers with Georginio Rutter and with Kostoulas, who didn’t play that many minutes last season but who has big potential. We just spoke about young players stepping up now and let’s also create opportunity for these two. We need to focus on our players, to develop them in the right way, to challenge them, to also put demands.
“It’s now your time, you have to deliver now. I think we have to be really clear and strong about that. On the other side, there are also dynamics in the transfer window that we have to follow. If there is an opportunity where we see a striker that might help us, then we might do something.” – Fabian Hurzeler, via The Argus
HAJI WRIGHT
Haji Wright (£5.5m) scored 17 goals and provided one assist in 31 starts and nine substitute appearances for Coventry City in the Championship last season.
This placed him joint-second in the Golden Boot race.
Image from Fotmob
The USA international generated the highest expected goals (xG) in the Championship, with 18.3.
While it’s fair to say he ran hot and cold, Wright was a key part of the Sky Blues’ promotion push.
On penalties, he is expected to lead the line ahead of Ellis Simms (£5.0m) at the start of the season, so could potentially work as a cheap forward option for a Gameweek 2 Bench Boost, when Coventry host Hull City.
However, Wright is unproven at this level, and faces competition from Simms and Brandon Thomas-Asante (£5.0m), both of whom scored 13 times in the Championship last season.
Frank Lampard may also acquire a new number nine, with Coventry likely to complete more transfer business before the end of the month.
BETO/THIERNO BARRY
Beto (£5.5m) and Thierno Barry (£5.5m) both shared the number nine role for Everton last season.
Beto netted nine goals and supplied one assist from 17 starts and 20 substitute appearances, while Barry scored eight times across 21 starts and 17 appearances off the bench.
In terms of the underlying numbers, Beto came out on top (see image below), but neither player did enough to establish themselves as first choice.
The issue is that neither player is guaranteed to start, and one usually gets subbed off early for the other.
We can’t rule out further investment for Everton up top, either.
Throw in their cautious approach under David Moyes, and both players represent a risk.
RODRIGO MUNIZ
The arrival of Gonzalo Garcia (£6.0m) from Real Madrid has blunted Rodrigo Muniz’s (£5.5m) Fantasy prospects.
Before Garcia arrived at Fulham, Muniz faced little competition for the centre-forward role. Now, he very much does.
Garcia played under Alvaro Arbeloa at Real Madrid, of course, both in the reserve and first teams.
As for Muniz, injuries restricted him to 10 starts and only one goal in 2025/26, but he has at least been getting plenty of pre-season playing time.
Fulham play their final pre-season friendly against Stuttgart on 15 August, which should provide insights into Arbeloa’s early line-up plans.
However, Fulham’s opening fixtures are poor, so even with penalties up for grabs after Raul Jimenez’s departure, it’s surely best to observe this situation from afar.
Gameweek 6 could present an opportunity to act, should a clear hierarchy emerge.
OLI MCBURNIE
Oli McBurnie (£5.5m) was one of Hull City’s clear standout performers in 2025/26.
Despite a two-month injury layoff, he scored 17 goals and supplied seven assists in the regular Championship season.
He also chipped in with the crucial late winner against Middlesbrough in the play-off final.
A penalty box poacher, all of McBurnie’s goals were from inside the area.
He did overachieve on the xG front, with 18 goals from 12.05 xG, but McBurnie is a clear talisman for his club and currently stands out as one of the most attractive options in this price bracket.
On penalties, he’s already scored twice in pre-season.
The concern, of course, is that Hull could lack sufficient creativity for McBurnie to deliver on a consistent basis.
EMERSONN
Emersonn (£5.5m) is a new arrival at Ipswich Town.
He arrives from Toulouse for a club record fee of £24m, where he netted six goals and supplied two assists in 2025/26.
An aerial threat in the box, he’ll compete for the number nine role with George Hirst (£5.0m) and Chuba Akpom (£5.0m), who has impressed in pre-season.
Although it’s early days for the young Brazilian striker, he’s already got plenty of pre-season minutes under his belt.
Hirst also struggled to make an impact last season, with most of Ipswich’s goals in the Championship coming from wide areas, so Emersonn has the potential to become a regular starter once settled.
“He is a young striker with real ability and potential who has had plenty of interest this summer, so for him to choose Ipswich Town is something we are very proud of. I know he is excited to be playing in the Premier League and we’re looking forward to having him with us as we prepare for the new season.” – Gary O’Neil
Ipswich have some tricky early matches, facing Manchester United and Liverpool in Gameweeks 2 and 3, giving us plenty of time to assess the situation.
OTHER £5.0m-£5.5m FORWARDS
| Player | Price | Club | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abraham | £5.5m | AVL | Backup to Ollie Watkins (£8.0m) and linked with a move away from Villa Park this summer. Brian Madjo, who is yet to be priced up by FPL, has scored four goals in pre-season and could be second in line should Abraham depart and a replacement isn’t brought in. |
| Unal | £5.5m | BOU | Another backup option who was limited to only 214 minutes of playing time at Bournemouth last season. Also linked with a move away. |
| Wilson | £5.5m | BRE | With Igor Thiago (£8.0m) the clear first-choice centre-forward at Brentford, Wilson will be asked to come off the bench most weeks. |
| Delap, Guiu, Emegha | £5.5m/£5.0m/£5.0m | CHE | Behind Joao Pedro (£7.5m) and Welbeck in the pecking order, Delap is set to move on this summer. Guiu is reportedly disposable too. Emegha – a summer arrival from sister club Strasbourg – recently picked up a hamstring injury. |
| Markelo | £5.0m | COV | Only arrived at Coventry from FC Zurich in January, but barely featured in the Championship and looks set to move on. |
| Nketiah | £5.5m | CRY | Has already scored three times in pre-season but there are doubts about his long-term role under Pierre Sage, with Jean-Philippe Mateta (£6.5m) and Jorgen Strand Larsen (£6.0m) forcing him down the pecking order. |
| Al-Hamadi | £5.0m | IPS | Spent last season on loan at Luton Town and is now searching for a new club. |
| Nmecha, Piroe | £5.5m/£5.0m | LEE | Backup strikers to Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£6.0m). Nmecha netted six league goals last season, but Leeds may bring in another centre-forward this summer. |
| Zirkzee | £5.5m | MUN | Has only scored five league goals across the last two seasons, with a return to Italy expected. |
| Awoniyi, Kalimuendo | £5.5m/£5.5m | NFO | Both forwards have scored in pre-season, but Igor Jesus (£6.0m) has been in fine form too. Chris Wood (£6.0m), who joined pre-season slightly later after the World Cup, is another option for Oliver Glasner up top. |
| Isidor | £5.5m | SUN | Probably won’t be sold as Sunderland are in Europe. He could subsequently see more game time, although it’ll most likely come in the UEFA Europa League, with Brian Brobbey (£6.0m) first choice. |
£4.5m FORWARDS
In an ideal world, a cheap enabler would emerge from this pack. Most years, however, it doesn’t happen.
Here’s our glance through the 10 forwards priced up at £4.5m, with most of them expected to be loaned out this month.
| Player | Club | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Furo | BRE | A new arrival from Club Brugge, Furo is a clear signing for the future. While he may get the odd run-out off the bench, he’ll likely have little impact in FPL. |
| Mheuka | CHE | Available for loan and likely to get a move to the Championship in the next few weeks. |
| Kusi-Asare | FUL | The 18-year-old completed a permanent transfer from Bayern Munich to Fulham this summer, following his loan last season. He’s didn’t make much of an impact in 2025/26, with only 49 minutes of playing time in the top-flight, but could perhaps play a larger role if Garcia or Muniz get injured. |
| Destan | HUL | Ended last season on loan at Westerlo, where he was limited to just three appearances due to injury. He’s likely to be backup to McBurnie, but could make an impact off the bench, having recently said he is aiming to score at least five goals. |
| Walle Egeli | IPS | Signed for £17.5m last season, the Norwegian youngster can play out wide or as a No 10. He scored four goals and supplied two assists in 18 league starts for Ipswich in 2025/26, and has already got some minutes under his belt under Gary O’Neil this summer. He’s certainly one to monitor, with playing time off the bench a possibility. |
| Joseph | LEE | The Spanish forward is reportedly a target for Elche this summer, and is expected to be allowed to leave Leeds if the right deal arises. |
| Danns | LIV | Left out of the United States tour due to injury, and a loan move looks likely. |
| Obi | MUN | Has caught the eye since arriving at Man Utd but will struggle for first-team opportunities, and could reportedly join FC Koln on loan. |
| Neave | NEW | Was a regular on the Newcastle United bench last season but featured for only 13 minutes in the Premier League, with the club reportedly looking at a loan move for the young striker. |
| Scarlett | TOT | Joined Hibernian on loan for the second half of the 2025/26 season, playing 13 times and scoring once. Another loan move probably beckons. |
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 £5.0m midfielders for FPL 2026/27: All 89 assessed
- Best £6.0m midfielders for FPL 2026/27
- Best £6.5m-£7.0m midfielders for FPL 2026/27
- Best £7.5m+ midfielders for FPL 2026/27
- Best £6.0m-£6.5m forwards for FPL 2026/27
