Five days after Fantasy Premier League was launched for the 2019/20 campaign, we are taking our first look at the ownership figures to see which assets are popular among the Fantasy community.
We’ll be doing this on a semi-frequent basis throughout the summer to see which trends are developing as injuries, new signings, pre-season form and international tournament minutes shape our thinking.
As is always the case at this time of year, the ‘auto-pick’ selections are skewing the figures towards mid-price assets (£5.5m goalkeepers, £6.0m defenders, £7.0m midfielders and £7.5m-£8.5m forwards).
Nevertheless, some early patterns are forming.
Goalkeepers
Alisson (£6.0m), the top-scoring FPL goalkeeper of 2018/19 and the Golden Glove winner to boot, is the most popular asset between the sticks, perhaps as Fantasy managers seek out a cheaper route to a Liverpool defensive double-up following price rises elsewhere.
David Button (£4.0m) is the go-to bench fodder option currently but teammate Mathew Ryan (£4.5m) is the most popular budget shot-stopper, with the Seagulls faring well on our Season Ticker in the first six Gameweeks.
A price rise for Lukasz Fabianski (£5.0m) hasn’t deterred 11.9% of FPL managers from drafting in the West Ham custodian, while Jordan Pickford (£5.5m) – who kept ten clean sheets in 18 league starts this calendar year – narrowly trails behind the Poland international.
Of the goalkeepers we know are first choices at their respective clubs, Vicente Guaita and Martin Dubravka (£5.0m) are proving the least popular, sitting in just over 1.0% of FPL squads.
Defenders
Price rises for Andrew Robertson (£7.0m), Virgil van Dijk (£6.5m) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.0m) haven’t translated into a fall in demand, with these three Liverpool defenders among the four most-popular assets in their position and each boasting an ownership of at least 30%.
Perhaps surprisingly, Aaron Wan-Bissaka (£5.5m) is still proving en vogue despite a £1.5m price hike.
There are many factors that will be shaping this – a nostalgia for his displays last season, a move to Manchester United and a higher rate of ‘casuals’ playing the game at this stage of the year – but a 34.1% ownership is still eyebrow-raising, given his dearth of attacking returns last season.
As we have discussed, £6.0m-rated options such as Matt Doherty, Kyle Walker and Benjamin Mendy will be benefiting from auto-pick selections with still over five weeks to go until Gameweek 1.
Lucas Digne‘s (£6.0m) popularity can’t just be attributed to his price tag, however, given that his ownership is head and shoulders above any other defender available at £6.0m.
Martin Kelly (£4.0m) is the bargain-basement defender that over one in five FPL managers has opted for, either just as bench fodder or perhaps with a hope that he will fill the void left by Wan-Bissaka at Selhurst Park – although Kelly was deputising more at centre-half in the season run-in.
Jamaal Lascelles (£4.5m) is the most popular “nailed” defender available for less than £5.0m, sitting in 10.3% of squads, with Issa Diop (£4.5m) – linked with a move to Manchester United this summer – not far behind on 9.0%.
Seamus Coleman and Oleksandr Zinchenko (both £5.5m), two cheaper routes into the Everton and City defences, sit in just 3.3% and 2.5% of FPL squads respectively.
Midfielders
A small price drop for Mohamed Salah (£12.5m) has perhaps aided the Egyptian’s appeal in the Fantasy community, with the Liverpool winger the most-selected midfield asset at the time of writing.
Price rises for Raheem Sterling (£12.0m) and Sadio Mane (£11.5m) haven’t aided their cause but they are still among the top five most popular players in their position.
Kevin De Bruyne (£9.5m) sits in only 11.8% of FPL squads despite a price cut and, interestingly, Fantasy managers are moving increasingly for Bernardo Silva (£8.0m).
Wilfried Zaha‘s (£7.0m) ownership figure will, as we have emphasised, be inflated due to auto-pick selections.
As with Digne, though, his popularity can’t just be attributed to his cost – a positional reclassification, coupled with speculation over a possible move to a ‘big six’ club, will no doubt be boosting interest.
Decent early fixtures for Bournemouth and Everton have seen many keep faith with Ryan Fraser (£7.5m) and Gylfi Sigurdsson (£8.0m) despite price hikes, while Jack Grealish (£6.0m) is proving relatively popular at this early stage – the Villa midfielder currently sits in 10.4% of FPL squads.
Spurs, Arsenal and Manchester United midfield assets are largely being overlooked, with not one owned by more than 7% of Fantasy bosses.
Forwards
Raul Jimenez (£7.5m) is currently the most-owned FPL asset in any position.
While auto-pick selections have to be taken into account, the fact that he is way ahead of Callum Wilson (£8.0m), Marcus Rashford (£8.5m) and Romelu Lukaku (£8.5m) – all players who feature in heavily in auto-pick squads – speaks volumes as to his popularity.
Sergio Aguero (£12.0m) and Harry Kane (£11.5m) are owned by more than one in five Fantasy managers but the big hitters in attack are generally not as popular as their midfield counterparts, as we expected.
A decent number of Fantasy managers are turning to Josh King and Diogo Jota (both £6.5m) as a cheaper way of covering Wilson and Jimenez, while Gerard Deulofeu (£6.5m) is still fairly sought-after despite his positional change.
Alexandre Lacazette and Roberto Firmino (£9.5m) both feature in 7.6% of FPL squads, as does Teemu Pukki (£6.5m).
Shane Long (£5.0m) is the most-owned budget forward option but the recent signings of Danny Ings (£6.0m) and Che Adams will no doubt dent his appeal regarding game-time.
4 years, 10 months ago
With James Justin signed by Leicester, Pereira OOP should be on the cards.
At 6.0, I'd definitely interested if that were the case. So much better than most of the mids/fwds at that price.