In bygone Fantasy Premier League years, defenders tended to be an afterthought, the unglamorous assistants to attention-grabbing midfielders and forwards: not any more.
Mo Salah and Son Heung-min may have occupied the gold and silver medal positions but 2021-22 was defined by the boys at the back.
For the first time since 2018-19, two defenders finished up with over 200 points: Trent Alexander-Arnold (with 208) and Joao Cancelo (201). And of the top 10 highest-scoring players, four were defenders, with Andy Robertson and Virgil van Dijk joining the aforementioned duo at the top of the charts.
But despite Alexander-Arnold and Cancelo outscoring the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Harry Kane, and Aymeric Laporte earning one point more than Cristiano Ronaldo, defenders are still far cheaper than their contemporaries higher up the pitch. Which is good news for FPL managers.
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With so many excellent options to choose from, we could see a spike in the “big at the back” strategy this season whereby managers select a back five most weeks. With defenders generally providing more value than midfielders and forwards, that certainly appears a viable route to go down.
Here are 10 to consider with your transfers ahead of Gameweek 1:
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
In two of the past three seasons, Trent Alexander-Arnold has finished as the top-scoring defender in the game, smashing the 200-point mark each time. Only Mo Salah and Son Heung-min earned more points than the Liverpool right-back in 2021-22.
Although he is the most expensive defender in the game for the third season running, FPL have done managers a huge favour by not increasing his £7.5m price tag. Considering his level of consistency down the years, he is well worthy of the investment.
Price: £7.5m Points in 2021-22: 208
Joao Cancelo (Man City)
Joao Cancelo has the No 7 shirt at Manchester City to go alongside his £7m FPL price tag next season after inheriting Raheem Sterling’s old shirt, much to the chagrin of squad number purists… (It’s got nothing though on Asamoah Gyan wearing No 3, William Gallas wearing No 10, or this monstrosity from Derek Riordan.)
The 28-year-old was as close to rotation-proof as an outfield City player can be under Pep Guardiola, starting in all but two of their league matches last season. And like Alexander-Arnold he hurdled the 200-point barrier, being one of only five players to do so.
Price: £7.0m Points in 2021-22: 201
Andy Robertson (Liverpool)
Andy Robertson had a slow start to 2021-22, providing only 26 points in the opening 12 gameweeks, but from Gameweek 13 onwards he was the top-scoring defender in the game, accumulating 25 more than any other player.
As it stands almost two-thirds of managers have Mo Salah (57 per cent) and Alexander-Arnold (54 per cent) in their squads, but Robertson is a great differential option to consider considering his ownership is just over 10 per cent.
Price: £7.0m Points in 2021-22: 186
Reece James (Chelsea)
If there is likely to be a newcomer to the 200-point club you suspect Reece James might be the man to do it. Despite only playing in 68 per cent of Chelsea’s league matches James was the joint-top scoring defender in FPL (with five goals) and ranked third for assists with nine.
James tended to provide the bulk of his 141 points in bursts, delivering six double-digit hauls across the campaign. If he can avoid injuries there is no reason why he can’t be one of the top-scoring players in the game, making his £6m fee very tempting indeed.
Price: £6.0m Points in 2021-22: 141
Ivan Perisic (Tottenham)
Antonio Conte has upgraded his wing-back options this summer by landing Ivan Perisic from Inter and Djed Spence from Middlesbrough. Both could be excellent picks in FPL but Perisic looks the more likely of the two to be a nailed-on starter.
Over the past two Serie A campaigns, Perisic scored 12 goals and registered 11 assists, nominally from a left wing-back position. At 33, he may not start every league game but he could be an explosive asset when called upon.
Price: £5.5m Points in 2021-22: N/A
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Marc Cucurella (Brighton)
Marc Cucurella will be a very strong asset if he remains at Brighton, particularly given their relatively gentle start to the season, but he could be an exceptional one if a move to Manchester City goes through.
Pep Guardiola has identified his compatriot as an ideal replacement for Zinchenko and Cucurella would provide City with the sort of attacking impetus from left back that they have occasionally lacked. A £5m City defender would prove tricky to ignore.
Price: £5.0m Points in 2021-22: 126
Kieran Trippier (Newcastle)
As an established England international and a La Liga winner with Atletico Madrid, Kieran Trippier was the first statement signing of the PIF-era at Newcastle United and he lived up to his billing with a string of eye-catching displays upon his arrival in January.
Trippier scored twice from six appearances, with both efforts coming from free-kicks and his set-piece prowess makes him an appealing FPL asset. The Magpies have a mixed start with both Liverpool and Man City to play in their opening five games, but at his price tag, Trippier could be used as a rotation option.
Price: £5.0m Points in 2021-22: 28
Oleksandr Zinchenko (Arsenal)
Oleksandr Zinchenko played exclusively as a left-back during his time at Manchester City but has been tipped to occupy a more advanced role for his new club Arsenal as he does at international level.
The Ukrainian has scored eight goals in 52 matches for his country and could provide a useful “out of position” option in FPL. Even if Mikel Arteta uses Zinchenko as a central midfielder he will still accrue clean sheet points if Arsenal keep one and will receive an additional point for every goal he scores.
Price: £5.0m Points in 2021-22: 59
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James Justin (Leicester)
During his breakthrough season in 2020-21, James Justin averaged the seventh-highest number of points per game among defenders which allied to his low price tag made him one of the most popular players in the game.
His campaign was cruelly cut short by a serious knee injury but after working his way back towards the tail end of last season, he looks set to regain his place in the Foxes’ back four. Also keep an eye out for team-mate Ricardo Pereira, who like Justin has battled back from an ACL injury and is appealingly priced at £4.5m.
Price: £4.5m Points in 2021-22: 29
Neco Williams (Nottingham Forest)
Defenders who regularly start and cost just £4m are worth their weight in gold in FPL. In recent years Aaron Wan-Bissaka, John ‘The Lord’ Lundstram, and briefly last season Shane Duffy have all provided exceptional value at that price tag.
It could be Neco Williams’ turn this year after his £16m move from Liverpool to newly-promoted Nottingham Forest. Williams scored twice and provided two assists while on loan at Fulham last term and will replace Djed Spence as Forest’s right wing-back.
Price: £4.0m Points in 2021-22: 4
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