With the first FPL gameweek of the season completed, managers have already been tweaking their squads – but who have they spotted?
Popular among them have been bargain-priced players, with the key to any fantasy football season being the balancing of that initial £100m budget. Unfortunately, it's impossible to include Aubameyang, Salah, Mané, De Bruyne, Aguero and Rashford all in the same team. No matter how much you comply with FFP regulations.
With some unlikely heroes in the first week of the season though, perhaps the FPL bods have missed out on some players who might generate big points later in the season...
Illan Meslier
Despite a hectic 4-3 defeat at Anfield, Leeds United goalkeeper Illan Meslier clearly caught the eye in goal as a potential bargain.
Meslier made three saves in the seven-goal thriller, and while he conceded four goals, a net total of 18,054 saw enough in him to bring the £4.5m stopper into their squads.
With Fulham (h) up next, those who have invested as such will hope for a calmer outing in gameweek two for Marcelo Bielsa’s team.
Everton’s Jordan Pickford meanwhile is the hot goalkeeping property of the moment, with a net total of almost 100,000 bringing him into their squads after an eight-point haul against Tottenham Hotspur.
Tyrick Mitchell
There has been plenty of movement in defence too, where another potential bargain emerged in GW1 in the form of Crystal Palace’s Tyrick Mitchell.
At just £4m Mitchell is that rarest of things: a super-cheap player who has demonstrated an ability to accrue points.
Any regular member of a Roy Hodgson defence is worth consideration, and with Patrick Van Aanholt and Nathan Ferguson both out with no fixed return date on the FPL website, Mitchell has been backed by a net total of more than 150,000 managers ahead of GW2.
Elsewhere it was Arsenal signing Gabriel who caught the eye, with almost quarter of a million net managers bringing him in after he scored a goal and registered a clean sheet against Fulham on the opening day.
Jeff Hendrick
In midfield, while hundreds of thousands pivot to Bruno Fernandes after Manchester United’s blank gameweek, it was in the northeast that a more affordable option thrived in GW1.
Newcastle United’s Jeff Hendrick never scored more than three Premier League goals in a season during four years at Burnley but looks well placed to beat his personal best after scoring one and assisting another in the Magpies’ 2-0 win against West Ham United.
His 14-point return rewarded only a select few, but a net total of more than 100,000 are hoping they aren’t arriving late to the party after parting with £5m of their budget.
Patrick Bamford
Last but certainly not least, in the forwards category one striker is running away with it in the popularity stakes: Leeds United’s Patrick Bamford.
Bargain goal-getters are almost impossible to ignore, and after the £5.6m man got off the mark against the league champions on Saturday, hundreds of thousands of bosses will hope Bamford continues in the same vein.
The 27-year-old scored 16 goals in 45 Championship games last season and could face competition from new signing Rodrigo – the outcome of that battle will decide which player is considered a better bargain bet in the long run.
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