FPL Budget Picks: The Best MID Under £9.0
The call — The best points-per-pound in the sub-£9.0m midfield bracket costs £5.8m and plays for Brighton. Pascal Groß projects more points over the next six than anyone on this list — comfortably good for 6-7 a week on a very kind run starting at SUN (A) — and only about 2 in 10 managers have noticed. That's the sort of receipt this…
Our model's top pick overall, though, is Rogers (CHE, £7.7m) — bigger upside on his day, a favourable run opening with BOU (H), and already the template pick at 4 in 10 owned. He's the one who can go massive; Groß is the one who never blanks. There's room in most squads for both.
The rest of the bracket, one line each, in our order of preference:
- Cherki (MCI, £7.8m) — proper talent, favourable fixtures after LIV (A), but nobody's yet shown me his minutes are safe in that squad. Who gets hooked on 60? Usually him.
- Mbeumo (MUN, £7.9m) — reliable, average fixtures, TOT (H) next. Solid, unspectacular, about 2 in 10 own him.
- Szoboszlai (LIV, £7.0m) — 3 in 10 own him and the fixtures are brutal, starting MCI (H). Not now.
- Tavernier (BOU, £6.1m) — quietly projects nearly as well as Rogers at £1.6m less. Fewer than 1 in 10 own him. CHE (A) first, mind.
- Barnes (NEW, £6.1m) — the sneaky one. Very kind run, COV (A) next, good for 5-6 most weeks, and hardly anyone has him (well under 1 in 10).
- Semenyo (MCI, £8.4m) — decent numbers, same Manchester City minutes question as Cherki, and dearer.
- Cunha (MUN, £7.9m) — near-identical projection to Mbeumo, but the model ranks him below his team-mate for a reason. One United midfielder is plenty.
- Schade (BRE, £6.1m) — fine price, tough fixtures, AVL (A) next. Pass for now.
- Gibbs-White (NFO, £8.0m) and Dewsbury-Hall (EVE, £6.6m) — both staring at very tough runs. Leave them.
The call: Rogers is the buy if you're spending — but Groß at £5.8m is the value of the whole bracket, and Barnes at £6.1m is the best cheap punt behind him. Get Groß in, use the change on your front line, and stop paying £7.8m for players who might not see 90 minutes.