The Scout assesses the transfer trends of Fantasy Premier League managers since the game launched this week.
Sanchez proving popular
Brighton & Hove Albion’s kind early schedule has made Robert Sanchez (£4.5m) a hugely popular pick for opening squads.
He is owned by 30 per cent of managers, second only to the 40 per cent of last season’s top-scoring goalkeeper, Emiliano Martinez (£5.5m).
The Seagulls face only two of last season’s top nine sides in the first eight Gameweeks.
That hands Sanchez the chance to continue his form from last term, when he claimed 10 clean sheets in 27 outings.
FPL’s most-owned goalkeepers
| Player | Cost | Ownership |
| Emiliano Martinez (AVL) | £5.5m | 39.8% |
|---|---|---|
| Robert Sanchez (BHA) | £4.5m | 29.8% |
| Ben Foster (WAT) | £4.0m | 26.1% |
| Edouard Mendy (CHE) | £6.0m | 9.0% |
| Kasper Schmeichel (LEI) | £5.0m | 8.5% |
| Ederson (MCI) | £6.0m | 8.1% |
| Nick Pope (BUR) | £5.5m | 7.0% |
| Vicente Guaita (CRY) | £4.5m | 6.8% |
| Illan Meslier (LEE) | £5.0m | 5.9% |
| Hugo Lloris (TOT) | £5.5m | 5.4% |
Aston Villa’s Martinez also has a favourable run of opening opponents.
He faces two promoted sides, Watford and Brentford, alongside Newcastle United in the first three Gameweeks.
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But Martinez's subsequent schedule indicates he may then struggle to justify his new premium price tag.
Villa play six of last season’s top 10 in a run of seven matches between Gameweeks 4 to 10.
Martinez owners may have to rely upon save points, rather than clean sheets, during that testing period.
Watford solution?
Ben Foster (£4.0m) can be found in 26 per cent of squads, despite losing his place to Daniel Bachmann (£4.5m) as Watford’s No 1 midway through last season.
Bachmann played 23 of their 26 matches for new head coach Xisco Munoz in 2020/21, yet is owned by just 2.1 per cent.
Pairing up with both Bachmann and Foster for just £8.5m provides a solution ahead of a kind run that pits Watford against just one of last season's top 10 sides in the first six Gameweeks.
By doing so, they would still have a goalkeeper to come off the bench if the first-choice pick is unavailable.
Similarly, owners of Brighton’s Sanchez could double up with their reserve stopper Jason Steele (£4.0m) for a combined cost of £8.5m.
Meslier being overlooked
Elsewhere, Illan Meslier (£5.0m), last season’s third top-scoring goalkeeper, has been overlooked so far.
The Leeds United star combined 11 clean sheets with 20 bonus and 36 save points, claiming 154 points.
His average of 4.4 points per match was identical to Ederson and just behind Edouard Mendy’s 4.5ppm.
Meslier costs £1.0m less than both the Manchester City and Chelsea goalkeepers, yet he is owned by just 5.9 per cent.
You can monitor the most-popular FPL players yourself in the FPL statistics section. Just sort the players by "Team selected by %" (TSB).
Also in this series
Part 1: Most popular players
Part 3: Robertson deserving of more interest
Part 4: Price rise not putting managers off Fernandes
Part 5: Iheanacho the go-to Leicester striker