Have last year's FPL bargains been overpriced? Which Fantasy Premier League players have fallen in value ahead of the start of the new season?
Chelsea midfielder Cole Palmer(Image credit: Getty Images)
With just a few days until the new Fantasy Premier League season gets underway, FPL managers will be hard at work getting their final revisions to their squads in.
The big hitters need to be selected accordingly, the bargains must be unearthed and the squad depth appropriately planned for, as we all look to win bragging rights in our various mini-leagues.
As always, previous form will come into play as we all scour the squad lists, but have some of last season's value buys seen their prices rise? Are there any players who had down years and could now be a bargain? FourFourTwo takes a look at ten interesting price rises from last year's game...
VIDEO: Why Signing Archie Gray Was A Masterstroke By Spurs
Fantasy Premier League price changes: 1. Cole Palmer: £10.5m (+£5.5m)
It's no surprise that the Chelsea midfielder has seen his value shoot up after he ended the season as the game's leading scorer last year on 244 points.
That included 10 double-digit hauls as he netted 22 times and served up 13 assists, which was all the more remarkable considering he only made his full Chelsea debut in Gameweek 7 last season following his transfer from Manchester City.
2. Erling Haaland: £15m (+£1m)
Erling Haaland of Manchester City (Image credit: Alamy)
Erling Haaland broke new ground earlier this summer, when he became the most expensive player in FPL history. Despite not quite hitting the heights he did in his first season at Manchester City, the Norwegian's price has been bumped up by £1million, meaning he costs more than the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry, Frank Lampard or Robin van Persie ever did.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
Even at £15million, leaving out the 24-year-old looks to be a huge gamble, as the majority of players will not only be selecting him, but also giving him the armband as well.
3. Phil Foden: £9.5m (+£2m)
Phil Foden of Manchester City (Image credit: Getty Images)
The best player in last season's Premier League, Phil Foden was another one whose price was always going to go up from the £7.5million he was last summer.
A total of 19 goals and eight assists helped the England man to a total of 230 points last season and means that the premium midfielder mix is a fascinating one this season, with the likes of Foden, Palmer, Bukayo Saka, Son Heung-min and Mohamed Salah all giving managers different routes to go down.
4. Jean-Philippe Mateta: £7.5m (+£2.5m)
Jean-Philippe Mateta in action for France at the Olympics (Image credit: Claudio Villa/Getty Images)
The Frenchman's end-of-season form under new Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner meant he became the best bargain forward for the run-in, but the inevitable price increase has now followed.
Mateta ended the season as a no-brainer selection, but having just played in the Olympics and with Palace having seen Michael Olise depart, the 27-year-old isn't perhaps as clearcut a selection as he was back in May now that his price has been hiked up.
5. Ivan Toney: £7.5m (-£0.5m)
Ivan Toney scoring in England's penalty shootout win over Slovenia at Euro 2024 (Image credit: Getty Images)
If anyone watched Ivan Toney's Euro 2024 cameos and thought that the 28-year-old still has the confidence that made him such a difference-maker in the 2022/23 season, then his price drop to £7.5million could be tempting.
Last saw the forward suspended until January and despite a fast start when he came back, his returns soon dripped, as he went 12 games without a goal. Still the subject of transfer rumours, so could a change of scenery help him get back to his best?
6. Anthony Gordon: £7.5m (+£2.0m)
Anthony Gordon of Newcastle United (Image credit: Getty Images)
One of last season's bargains has seen a £2million price rise. Only six midfielders scored more points than the Newcastle United man last term, so at £7.5million remains a very tempting player as he is again likely to be a key part of the Magpies attack, with the club set to benefit from no European distractions this time out.
7. Trent Alexander-Arnold: £7m (-£1m)
Trent Alexander-Arnold lining up for England at Euro 2024 (Image credit: Getty Images)
A return of 122 points was a disappointing one for one of FPL's most reliable defenders of recent seasons, so could a price drop tempt managers into drinking the TAA Kool-Aid again?
We know the Liverpool man will get plenty of time on the ball and conjure up a host of big chances, while other factors such as a desire to impress the new boss and the fact that he is now in the final year of his contract could mean he delivers on the FPL stage this year.
8. Kai Havertz: £8m (+£0.5m)
Kai Havertz in action for Arsenal (Image credit: Getty Images)
While the Arsenal man's price rise of £0.5million isn't a great surprise given his strong end to the 2023/24 campaign, the fact that the German has now been reclassified as a forward could well change a lot of FPL managers' thinking.
Points may now be harder to come by for Havertz, given he won't benefit from clean sheets and if Arsenal do manage to get a deal for a big-name forward over the line before the end of the month, he could find goals harder to come by.
9. Alejandro Garnacho: £6.5m (+£1.5m)
Manchester United's Alejandro Garnacho (Image credit: Getty Images)
Manchester United winger Garnacho established himself in the Red Devils XI towards the end of last season, so it's perhaps surprising that he can still be picked up for just £6.5million.
With the premium midfielder market swelling in numbers this season, bargains will need to be had and if Garnacho benefits from Manchester United's signings in the transfer market this summer and finds more of a killer instinct in front of goal, he could be a good-value signing.
10. Dominic Solanke: £7.5m (+£1m)
Dominic Solanke has joined Spurs (Image credit: Alamy)
Solanke enjoyed the best season of his career last year, netting 19 times on his way to an FPL haul of 175 points. A price rise was always going to happen and at £7.5million, the new Spurs man will tempt a lot of FPL managers.
Spurs will not have paid £65million for the England forward to sit on the bench and after failing to make the Three Lions squad for Euro 2024, should primed and ready to go for his new team from the get-go.
For more than a decade Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor, with stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others. He is the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team.
