The £4.5m bargain Fulham gem every FPL player should consider along with Sunderland and Brentford stars
The Holy Grail of a £4.5 midfielder could prove key to success on Fantasy Premier League
Ever since this season’s Fantasy Premier League went live, managers in the game have been trying to look for bargain players that can give them a valuable edge on their rivals and help boost their team’s overall chances of finishing as high as possible in their mini-leagues.
I am one of the 32.5% still sticking with Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah, despite his uncharacteristically subdued start to the season. I’ve also managed to raise enough funds to have Manchester City goal-machine Erling Haaland wearing the captain’s armband most weeks while still finding room for a few more in-form talents such as Jean Phillipe-Mateta and Antoine Semenyo.
To do this, I’ve had to be frugal with some areas of my squad including my midfield where I’ve opted to select a player valued at just £4.5m.
Why Josh King is a useful player to have in your FPL team
Priced at just £4.5m, Fulham’s Josh King is among the cheapest players you can select in your team on FPL at this moment in time.
Often players in this price range are solely playing reserve football and have next to no chance of getting on the pitch unless there’s any injury crisis. It typically features players like Newcastle United’s Seung-Soo Park, Wolves’ Tom Edozie and Man Utd’s Sekou Kone - players which may have talent but as of yet haven’t kicked a ball once in the Premier League during their professional careers.
However, King stands out like a sore thumb in this list as he has already accumulated a steady 14 points and has started all eight of Fulham’s Premier League matches since the season started. For context this is more than the likes of Cole Palmer, who has had a nightmare with injuries, Anthony Elanga, Anthony Gordon and Matheus Cunha among others.
King typically plays as a central attacking midfielder behind Raul Jimenez and has impressed since coming into Marco Silva’s side. He’s not currently got a goal or an assist to his name, but is in a position where he should get opportunities and in truth he’s unfortunate not to have got off the mark.
He had a goal controversially ruled out against Chelsea in August where he showed wonderful pace to beat his marker before cutting inside and scoring a well placed goal from inside the penalty area. Professional Game Match Officials Limited chief Howard Webb admitted that was a clear mistake from VAR, and conceded that, in retrospect, the goal should have been awarded.
As it stands, King has kept ex-Arsenal gem Emile Smith-Rowe off the Premier League teamsheet on all eight occasions this season, and that’s been down to form as opposed to injuries, which suggests he’s got a big role to play in Marco Silva’s side.
While his numbers don’t exactly leap off the page at present, he’s clearly a good option to have on the bench due to his high potential to improve and the fact that he allows FPL managers an increased budget to get premium options into their teams.
Other bargain players to consider on FPL
Sunderland’s Robin Roefs is the highest scoring goalkeeper at the moment with 48 points despite being valued at just £4.6m which makes him a real player to consider between the posts.
He’s joined by the even cheaper former Newcastle United goalkeeper Martin Dubravka. Since signing for Burnley he’s picked up 29 points - the sixth highest in the league - while being valued at just £4m. He has the highest saves at 33 and has a strong chance of picking up vital bonus points even in the more trickier fixtures where he may not keep a clean sheet.
Meanwhile, when focusing on strikers one name that’s beginning to increase in popularity whilst doing an excellent job in attack at just £6.1m is Brentford star Igor Thiago. Few knew what to expect from the Brazilian, who missed the majority of last season due to injury, but it’s fair to say he’s very much living up to the hype that surrounded him when he was initially signed to replace Ivan Toney.
The 24-year-old so far has five goals in eight games, regularly leads the line for an attacking-minded team and is currently the designated penalty taker as well. He’s currently outscoring the likes of Alexander Isak, Hugo Ekitike and Victor Gyokeres in terms of points, despite being considerably cheaper.