If you play the Fanteam fantasy football games and went to make your team after the official FPL game launched, you might have had a bit of a shock. The prices are definitely nowhere near as generous as the ones that FPL Towers blessed us with! You can forget big at the back with two premiums…we’re going to have to get a little bit more creative with our drafts.

You may also have noticed that those cheap FPL enablers we all have in our teams aren’t an option in Fanteam. Neco Williams and Andreas Pereira for £5m each just isn’t a vibe. Fear not though, for I have scoured the Fanteam price lists in search of value. I’ll give you my best £4m defender, £4.5m midfield and £5m forward picks with some alternatives at each position to mull over too. Let’s get bargain hunting!

Defenders

Jordan Zemura - Bournemouth

We kick things off with the Zimbabwean left back for Bournemouth. While defenders from newly promoted teams are hardly a hot commodity, it’s worth noting that Bournemouth had the lowest number of goals conceded in the Championship last season at 39. Zemura started in 32 of their 46 games and doesn’t have much in the way of competition at left-back. He also found his way to some attacking returns, with 3 goals and an assist to his name!

If you’re after someone with even more assurance of minutes, you could pick up his teammate and club captain Lloyd Kelly. He bagged himself a goal and an assist last season but, being a CB, you would expect a bit less involvement in the attacking side of things.

Another cheap, nailed centre-back comes in the form of Southampton’s Mohammed Salisu. The Saints aren’t known for their defensive prowess though, languishing near the bottom of the rankings for clean sheets and goals conceded. With 99 big chances conceded, they were only one away from Norwich’s triple figure total! Don’t get your hopes up for attacking returns either. He’s as nailed as they come though, so you should at least get the points for turning up should he find his way off your bench.

Last but not least, we have Pascal Struijk of Leeds fame. While he isn’t assured a starting spot, a recent injury to Junior Firpo has left a hole at left-back. Hjelde or Harrison could play there, but there’s a reasonable chance that Struijk would get the nod ahead of them. There has also been no sign of club captain Cooper in pre-season, so it wouldn’t be unreasonable for Struijk to slot in at LCB in his absence if he doesn’t start the season. Even if he does get the minutes though, it’s fair to say that Leeds defensive record is hardly something to shout about. While the fixtures of WOL / sou / CHE / bha / EVE / bre don’t sound too bad on paper, Jesse Marsch won’t be called up to front a defensive masterclass lecture any time soon.

Midfielders

Ryan Christie - Bournemouth

Kicking off the budget midfielders, we’ve got yet another one of the Bournemouth lads. I was tempted to keep this one a secret though, as I can’t help but feel that Fanteam have given us a real gift here. For £4.5m, you are getting a right winger with 3 goals and 8 assists last season! You definitely wouldn’t feel too bad about him coming off the bench! For reference, FPL have priced him at £5.5m, making him pretty great value here on Fanteam. It remains to be seen how Bournemouth get on in the Premiership but, at that price, I’m willing to make a special spot on my bench for the Scot.

Next up, we’ve got Leicester lad Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. He secured a first team spot part way through last season and I see why no reason why he won’t keep it. With 1 goal and 2 assists, his attacking output was fairly modest. He comes in at a £0.5m discount from FPL though and you can at least depend on his minutes if you need someone off the bench in a pinch.

Here’s one that you might have seen in a few FPL drafts. It’s Ginger Of The Year 2021 semi-finalist Jack Colback. Having spent a few seasons with them on loan from Newcastle over the years, Colback now finds himself in the full-time employ of Nottingham Forest for a second season. While his defensive-mid duties might stifle his attacking returns, he did pop up with 3 goals last season! He could end up being this season’s Brownhill: cheap, nailed and annoying to have sitting second on your bench when he randomly scores every few weeks.

Forwards

Deniz Undav - Brighton

Pretty slim pickings down at the lowest price forwards unfortunately. The only one who stands out featured in many an early FPL draft. Undav spent last season plying his trade in Belgium, where he scored 25 goals and assisted 10 more! Obviously the jump in quality in the Premier League will be rather large, so he’s not expected to put up those kind of numbers this season. He will almost certainly be behind Maupay and Welbeck in the pecking order, so it remains to be seen how many minutes he’ll get. However, we all know that Welbeck is no spring chicken and is never too far away from an injury. Such an occurrence may well open the door for Undav to get some regular first team football.

So there we have it! Plenty of bench fodder bargins to be had! Get them in your team and see if you can squeeze in that extra premium you’ve had your eye on.

Stats taken from Fantasy Football Hub and Transfermarkt