Erling Haaland plus two others? Judging by the Manchester City striker’s enormous ownership numbers in Fantasy Premier League during pre-season the answer is a resounding yes.
If FPL anticipated that Haaland’s inflated price tag would put some managers off buying him, they have been proven emphatically wrong. He is currently picked by over 86 per cent of managers.
The Norwegian, valued at £14m, is the most expensive FPL asset in over a decade, dating back to Robin van Persie who had the same price after moving from Arsenal to Manchester United ahead of the 2012-13 campaign.
Considering Haaland will be in virtually every team and likely to be captained by the vast majority of bosses on a weekly basis, it will be crucial to supplement him with others who can chip in with points consistently.
Beyond the two premium forwards, Haaland and Harry Kane, there are plenty of budget options to ponder, with a £4.5m difference between the Spurs striker and the next batch of sharpshooters.
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The big dilemma is whether to prioritise a fifth starting midfielder or a third regular forward in your first-choice XI for Gameweek 1. As mentioned in our top midfielders article, that area of the pitch is particularly stacked for choice, but the same argument could be made for the forwards too.
Here are eight to consider:
The premium picks
Erling Haaland (Man City)
Where better to start than with last season’s top points scorer? A record-breaking return of 36 goals along with nine assists ensured Haaland finished top of the FPL pile and the scary thing is he could have performed even better: according to the Premier League’s website, Haaland missed 28 big chances, more than any other player.
Looking at City’s early fixtures, you probably won’t want to remove the armband from him until Gameweek 8 when they face Arsenal at the Emirates. And even then it might be safer to stick rather than twist.
Price: £14m Points in 2022-23: 272
Harry Kane (Spurs)
Now this one obviously comes with a big bold asterisk attached. Should Bayern Munich eventually succeed in their attempts to wear Daniel Levy down and prise Harry Kane away from Tottenham, he is obviously not going to be of much use in FPL if his goals are being scored in the Bundesliga rather than the Premier League.
However, if Kane remains in England, be it with Spurs or Manchester United, he has to be considered given the form he showed last year. Although Spurs finished 8th, Kane matched his best-ever Premier League goal tally of 30 and fell just nine points short of Haaland’s FPL total. Squeezing them both into your side is tricky, but it also offers a guarantee of points.
Price: £12.5m Points in 2022-23: 263
Mid-priced options
Gabriel Jesus (Arsenal)
This time last year, Gabriel Jesus was the favourite child of the FPL community with over 80 per cent of managers snapping him up following his move to Arsenal. Injuries and a barren run of form curtailed that interest in the Brazilian, but he is proving popular again this year with a third of bosses selecting him ahead of the opening gameweek.
Investing in Jesus is a logical move given Arsenal play three of their opening four fixtures at the Emirates where he was particularly productive last season. Jesus scored eight goals and provided six assists in only 12 home matches, averaging seven points per game in the process.
Price: £8m Points in 2022-23: 125
Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)
At £8m, Ollie Watkins is possibly half a million more than FPL managers may have hoped he would be, but the price rise is justified based on his form under Unai Emery. From Emery’s first match in charge of Villa (in Gameweek 15) until the end of the season, Watkins was the third highest-scoring forward in the game, only behind the two behemoths.
Villa have a mixed start to the season with away trips to Newcastle, Liverpool and Chelsea in their opening six, but Watkins has shown in the past that he is practically fixture-proof and capable of scoring against any opponent.
Price: £8m Points in 2022-23: 175
Nicolas Jackson (Chelsea)
It is important to not get too carried away by pre-season performances, but Nicolas Jackson‘s eye-catching start in a Chelsea shirt has not gone unnoticed. The summer signing from Villarreal has led the line and looked the part, scoring two goals and providing three assists in only three games so far.
Nico with the opener!
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) July 27, 2023#BluesInTheUSA pic.twitter.com/oE82ppXrMJ
A composed finish to open the scoring against Newcastle in his most recent outing was notable given how easy he made it a look, a stark contrast to the travails of Chelsea’s attackers last season. The Premier League is a different beast but at just £7m he could be a shrewd investment as a second or third choice forward.
Price: £7m Points in 2022-23: N/A
Budget buys
Yoane Wissa (Brentford)
Brentford have an Ivan Toney-sized hole to fill until January and judging by the lack of incoming strikers this summer, it looks as though Thomas Frank is happy to entrust Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wiss to plug the gap until the England man returns.
Mbeumo is considerably more in demand than Wissa in FPL which is understandable given he is A) a midfielder and B) likely to be on penalties. However, Wissa is slightly cheaper, will have increased minutes next season and is more clinical than his teammate: Wissa converted seven of his 32 efforts on goal (21.8 per cent) in 2022-23, while Mbeumo netted nine of his 71 (12.6 per cent).
Price: £6m Points in 2022-23: 111
Joao Pedro (Brighton)
Brighton assets are proving popular in FPL, partly due to their electrifying end to last season and partly because of their promising opening fixtures against Luton (h), Wolves (a), and West Ham (h). Buying from Brighton seems shrewd, but the tricky part is working out who will play given the abundance of options at Roberto De Zerbi’s disposal.
Evan Ferguson (£6m) is currently the most-owned forward among their ranks, but at half a million cheaper Joao Pedro could also be worth considering. The Brazilian scored 11 times in 35 matches for an inconsistent Watford side in 2022-23 and looks to have integrated nicely into De Zerbi’s system during the Seagulls’ tour of the US.
Price: £5.5m Points in 2022-23: N/A
Carlos Vinicius (Fulham)
Fulham have brought in Raul Jimenez to mitigate against Aleksandar Mitrovic’s proposed move to Saudi Arabia, but given the Mexican has only scored six goals in 49 Premier League games since suffering that horrific head injury in 2020, the No 9 role may be Carlos Vinicius’ to lose.
The Brazilian opened his account for the club in a famous win over Chelsea and as well as filling in impressively for Mitrovic during the Serbian’s suspension, he enjoyed a productive end to the campaign with three goals in his final five appearances.
Price: £5m Points in 2022-23: 72
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