We return to the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) price list analysis with a rundown of the best £8.0m+ midfielders.
In our position-by-position guides, we will examine the players competing for a spot in managers’ opening squads.
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Mohamed Salah (£14.5m)/Florian Wirtz (£8.5m)
Mohamed Salah is the most expensive player in FPL 2025/26.
It’s no surprise.
The Egyptian smashed the all-time FPL points record last time out, with his 28 goals and 19 assists helping him to 344 points. It means he has produced 200 points or more in eight consecutive seasons, highlighting his excellent consistency.
Despite a rise in price to £14.5m, Salah is currently the most-owned player in FPL, found in over 55% of squads:
| Player | Club | Position | Ownership (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salah | Liverpool | Midfielder | 55.8 |
| Joao Pedro | Chelsea | Forward | 54.9 |
| Palmer | Chelsea | Midfielder | 51.6 |
| Wirtz | Liverpool | Midfielder | 35.0 |
| Wan-Bissaka | West Ham | Defender | 32.6 |
Above: FPL’s most-owned players at the time of writing
Key to his appeal is his reliability as a captain.
He’s typically quick off the blocks, too, having returned in Gameweek 1 in each of his eight seasons at Anfield.
Going without Salah would require a large sofa to hide behind, but there is another viable route into Liverpool’s midfield, namely Florian Wirtz.
The German international moves to Merseyside on the back of 21 goals and 23 assists in 63 Bundesliga appearances for Bayer Leverkusen over the last two seasons.
Given the hefty outlay, Wirtz will surely command a place in Arne Slot’s starting XI, potentially making a mockery of his £8.5m price tag.
Salah will understandably remain the go-to Liverpool attacker for most, but when it comes to providing value for money, Wirtz is a midfielder to consider.
Cole Palmer (£10.5m)
Despite a barren spell in early 2025, Cole Palmer showed everyone exactly how good he is in the FIFA Club World Cup final.
In an inspired display, the former Manchester City man produced two goals and an assist to help lift his team to victory over Paris Saint-Germain.
FPL managers have clearly taken notice, as Palmer is now included in more than 50% of squads.
Admittedly, he only produced one goal and three assists during his final 16 Premier League appearances in 2024/25, but Palmer has delivered back-to-back 200+ point seasons, finishing among the top-three scoring Fantasy players in each of his two campaigns at Stamford Bridge.
Like Salah, Palmer has penalties in his locker.
Chelsea also avoid all of last season’s top seven clubs over the first six Gameweeks, with London clashes against Crystal Palace, West Ham United, Fulham and Brentford up first.
Bukayo Saka (£10.0m)/Martin Odegaard (£8.0m)
Bukayo Saka managed just 127 points in the 2024/25 season, but only started 20 matches, mainly due to injury.
In terms of points per start, his average of 5.8 ranked sixth among FPL midfielders:
| Player | Club | 24/25 points per start |
|---|---|---|
| Salah | Liverpool | 9.1 |
| Mbeumo | Brentford | 6.2 |
| Diaz | Liverpool | 6.1 |
| Amad | Man Utd | 6.0 |
| Palmer | Chelsea | 5.9 |
| Saka | Arsenal | 5.8 |
Above: Midfielders sorted by points per start in 2024/25 (minimum 1,000 mins)
Additionally, Saka found the net five times and provided 11 assists in his first 13 matches, leading the way in many creativity metrics.
However, the arrival of Viktor Gyokeres (£9.0m) from Sporting CP indicates that he may compete with Saka for penalty duties, a potential blow to his Fantasy prospects. In response to this, Mikel Arteta said:
“I’m sure that he [Gyokeres] will step in if they allow him to do so. Because as you say he’s been very consistent and he’s scored many goals, but we have some other penalty takers, really good ones as well. So, they will resolve it themselves and if not, I will intervene in the right moment!” – Mikel Arteta
Arsenal don’t have easy fixtures, either, so many Fantasy managers will be content starting without Saka. Indeed, his FPL ownership currently sits at just 16.5%.
This approach allows the opportunity to assess the impact of Gyokeres’ arrival, before the schedule picks up in Gameweek 7.
The same applies to team-mate Martin Odegaard. He was another player who underwhelmed in 2024/25, but did produce six attacking returns in his final six matches.
The arrival of Martin Zubimendi (£5.5m) could also mean the Norwegian schemer doesn’t have to drop back quite so often next season, a responsibility he often assumed during 2024/25 to assist Arsenal in their build-up play from the back.
Bruno Fernandes (£9.0m)/Matheus Cunha (£8.0m)/Bryan Mbeumo (£8.0m)
There are three potential candidates at Manchester United.
However, their appeal, or lack of, will largely depend on how you see the Red Devils’ season playing out.
Ruben Amorim’s side had a campaign filled with failure in 2024/25, capped off with a miserable 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Europa League final.
As a result, there’ll be no European football at Old Trafford next season. While that’s a blow to the club, more time on the training pitch, plus no midweek distractions, should boost their FPL assets appeal.
Bruno Fernandes has already scored a couple of times in pre-season.
Due to Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo’s arrival, he’ll probably have to play a bit deeper next season, but his potential for defensive contribution points could be key. He would have claimed 22 of them last season, the most of any midfielder priced above £5.5m.
Should he continue taking penalties, corners and free-kicks, Fernandes, who is a minute’s monster, will carry real appeal.
As for Cunha and Mbeumo, they look set to take up the two No 10 roles in Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 formation.
Both players significantly overperformed their expected goals (xG) to the tune of +6.37 and +7.74 respectively in 2024/25, but they are clearly very good players and could become factors in our Fantasy season.
Above: FPL’s five biggest expected goals (xG) overperformers in 2024/25
Cunha scored 15 goals and provided eight assists at Wolverhampton Wanderers in the last campaign. He’s also been reclassified as a midfielder this time around, so he’ll get extra points for goals and clean sheets.
A bonus magnet at Wolves due to his strong underlying stats, interest in the Brazilian will intensify if he takes a share of Fernandes’ set-piece duties.
Mbeumo, meanwhile, is yet to feature in pre-season as he builds up his fitness, but should have an opportunity to get some minutes under his belt against Everton in the Summer Series on Sunday.
The Cameroon international delivered 236 points at Brentford in 2024/25, thanks to 20 goals and nine assists.
But his Fantasy appeal might be dented by his move to Old Trafford, with Fernandes unlikely to hand over penalty duties. Notably, five of Mbeumo’s 20 goals came from the spot last season.
Cunha was also Wolves’ primary penalty taker, but he proved last season that he doesn’t need spot-kicks to rack up the points. Wolves, indeed, were the only Premier League club not to be awarded a penalty in 2024/25.
As for the opening fixtures, it’s a bit of a mixed bag for United, with Arsenal, Fulham, Burnley and Manchester City up first.
Others
Outside of the above, there are three other midfielders to touch on in this price bracket.
Manchester City’s Omar Marmoush (£8.5m) has been reclassified as a midfielder this season, having racked up seven goals and one assist across 14 starts in 2024/25.
However, he was mostly deployed up top at the FIFA Club World Cup, sharing minutes with Erling Haaland (£14.0m), potentially making him a riskier initial pick. City only play once in pre-season, too, so we might not get a clear idea of how Pep Guardiola wants to set his team up in Gameweek 1.
Team-mate Phil Foden (£8.0m) has dropped by £1.5m this season after an underwhelming 2024/25 campaign.
He was limited to just 20 starts last season, as he battled with injury and off-the-field mental struggles. On a positive note, he netted three goals and provided one assist in four matches at the FIFA Club World Cup, even though he only started once.
Consequently, there are valid concerns regarding Marmoush and Foden’s minutes at the time of writing, although there is obvious haul potential when they do start.
Finally, Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min (£8.5m).
He ended the 2024/25 season on just 129 points, and at 33, may no longer be regarded as a week-in, week-out starter. Indeed, his future is uncertain, with a potential move to the MLS on the table.
