The Premier League will welcome a couple of familiar faces and a long-lost friend when the 2022-23 season begins after Fulham, Bournemouth, and Nottingham Forest earned promotion from the Championship.
Free-scoring Fulham are back after a single year away, plundering 106 goals en route to the title, while their former boss Scott Parker ended Bournemouth’s two-year exile from the top-flight by securing the runners-up spot.
Nottingham Forest joined them on the podium courtesy of a 1-0 win over Huddersfield Town in the play-off final. This will be the two-time European Cup winners’ first campaign in England’s top-flight since 1998-99.
As ever, there is plenty of intrigue in Fantasy Premier League circles about the division’s newcomers.
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In recent seasons FPL managers have benefited from high-return, cut-price stars of newly-promoted clubs, such as the out-of-position gift John Lundstram for Sheffield United in 2019-20, Leeds’ surprise star Stuart Dallas in 2020-21, and Brentford’s penalty-taking king Ivan Toney in 2021-22.
While buying an unproven player carries a certain degree of risk it can pay off handsomely if they are able to hit the ground running.
There is still plenty of time for Bournemouth, Fulham, and Forest to add further reinforcements to their squads, but here are their leading assets to consider as it stands:
Bournemouth
Phillip Billing
Probably a touch overpriced at £5.5m but undoubtedly one of Bournemouth’s more attractive FPL assets given his contribution last season. Billing managed 10 goals and 10 assists from midfield, both of which represent his best-ever totals across a single campaign.
If you are tempted to take a punt on Billing, be wary of his disciplinary record, though: he was booked 13 times last season, more than any of his teammates. No wonder Scott Parker is such a big fan…
Position: Midfielder Price: £5.5m
Dominic Solanke
Dominic Solanke had a difficult time of it in the Premier League, scoring only four goals in 63 appearances for Liverpool and Bournemouth, although in his defence, over half of those outings came via the substitutes bench.
The Chelsea academy graduate was a man reborn in the Championship, however, firing 44 goals in two seasons including 29 last time out. The Cherries are yet to spend a penny since returning to the big time, meaning the onus remains very much on Solanke to score their goals.
Position: Forward Price: £6.0m
Jordan Zemura
A Zimbabwe international, Jordan Zemura caught the eye in his first full campaign in Bournemouth’s first-team, scoring three times and providing one assist from left-back in 33 matches.
Parker has an abundance of right-backs to pick from with new signing Ryan Fredericks competing with Adam Smith and Jack Stacey, but competition is far less fierce on the opposite side which should mean Zemura’s starting spot is secure.
Position: Defender Price: £4.5m
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Aleksandr Mitrovic
So, which Aleksandar Mitrovic will we see this season? Mitrovic has scored 24 goals in 104 Premier League games at a rate of one every 4.3 matches; in the second-tier, he has netted 85 times in 129 games at a rate of one every 1.5 matches.
The Serbian obliterated the Championship goalscoring record last season, managing a ludicrous total of 43 in only 44 games. Manage around half that number in the Premier League and Fulham might just break their cycle of top-flight relegations.
Position: Forward Price: £6.5m
Harry Wilson
There is a suspicion that Harry Wilson might belong to that group of in-betweeners who are near unstoppable in the Championship but far more easily tamed in the Premier League. Nevertheless, his spectacular form during Fulham’s title-winning season warrants FPL attention.
The Welshman was magnificent for Marco Silva’s side, supplying 10 goals and a colossal 19 assists in total, 10 of which were converted by the aforementioned Mitrovic. A set-piece specialist with a penchant for scoring long-range screamers, Wilson could prove a smart buy at just £6m.
Position: Midfielder Price: £6.0m
Andreas Pereira
Another with a point to prove after failing to carve out a career for himself at Manchester United. Andreas Pereira spent last season on loan at Flamengo in Brazil, managing a respectable eight goals in 53 games for the club.
With Fabio Carvalho moving to Liverpool, Pereira will be tasked with adding creativity to his new team and he supplied an assist for Mitrovic from a corner during a 5-1 drubbing at the hands of Benfica last weekend. At just £4.5m he looks set to be one of the cheapest starting midfielders in FPL.
Position: Midfielder Price: £4.5m
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Nottingham Forest
Dean Henderson
After being unable to dislodge David De Gea as Manchester United’s No 1 over the past two seasons, Dean Henderson arrives at the City Ground with a point to prove. The 25-year-old also replaces a popular figure at Forest following Brice Samba’s surprising move to Lens.
Although picking a goalkeeper from a newly-promoted club carries risks, Henderson excelled the last time he was in such a position with Sheffield United in 2019-20. Henderson kept 13 clean sheets that season as the Blades exceeded expectations by finishing 9th and was the fourth highest-scoring keeper in FPL to boot.
Position: Goalkeeper Price: £4.5m
Brennan Johnson
If Brennan Johnson had been classified as a midfielder rather than a forward and been priced half a million cheaper it is likely that his current ownership of 3.5 per cent would be significantly higher. The 21-year-old often played as part of a two-man strikeforce in the Championship but is naturally a winger.
He’s still an enticing option, though, given he scored 18 goals and registered 10 assists in 49 Championship games (including three play-off matches) in 2021-22. Taiwo Awoniyi (£6.0m) who will replace Keinan Davis as Johnson’s strike partner could also be worth a look after netting 15 times in the Bundesliga last term.
Position: Forward Price: £6.0m
Jesse Lingard
Statement signing or expensive gamble? The jury is out on Jesse Lingard – when is it ever not? – following his surprise move to the City Ground but there is no doubt that it is a deal that has captured the imagination of Forest supporters.
Lingard’s electric loan spell with West Ham during the second half of 2020-21 is still fresh in the memory and if Cooper can extract the same kind of output from the former Manchester United midfielder, FPL managers should be onto a winner. In 16 games for the Hammers, Lingard scored nine goals, provided four assists and racked up 5.63 points per appearance.
Position: Midfielder Price: £6m
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