Managers in Fantasy Premier League will be looking for the next Marcus Rashford when the game launches in early July.
The Manchester United star cost £6.5m at the start of last season on the back of just four goals, two assists and 63 points in 2021/22 Fantasy.
Rashford’s drop in price from £9.5m meant he offered huge value as he secured his place as a regular under new manager Erik ten Hag.
The England international finished as the fifth top-scoring player in 2022/23 Fantasy and recorded his career-high 205 points, thanks to 17 goals and seven assists.
Fernandes responds
Rashford’s team-mate Bruno Fernandes also enjoyed a return to form following a drop in cost in Fantasy.
The Portuguese star was the top-scoring player in the game in 2020/21 with 244 points.
But a big downturn in output in 2021/22, when Fernandes claimed just 155 points, meant his starting cost dropped from £12.0m to £10.0m for the start of last season.
While he was somewhat overshadowed by Rashford’s exploits, Fernandes still proved a key figure for Ten Hag’s side by earning 176 points.
Furthermore, his 119 key passes and 32 big chances created both ranked among the top two players in Fantasy last season.
Harry Kane mirrored Rashford’s displays by claiming his career-high score following a drop in cost.
The Tottenham Hotspur forward’s starting price of £11.5m was £1.0m less than in the previous campaign.
Indeed, Kane was cheaper than Son Heung-min, who cost £12.0m, as the most expensive Spurs player last season.
But it was the England star who excelled in Antonio Conte’s final season at the helm, claiming 263 points to the 152 points of Son.
That helped Kane into second spot in the overall standings, just nine points behind Erling Haaland at the summit.
Players to watch for 2023/24 price drops
Son Heung-min
The South Korean was handed his highest-ever opening price of £12.0m last season after producing back-to-back 200+ point hauls in the previous two campaigns.
But Son struggled to justify that hefty valuation and scored just 10 goals, less than half his total of 23 in 2021/22.
That drop in output can be explained by his underlying statistics. He was supplied with only 14 big chances last season, less than half his tally of 30 in 2021/22.
However, the appointment of Ange Postecoglou as Spurs' head coach can help revive Son’s appeal in Fantasy.
The Australian favours a 4-3-3 formation and his attacking brand of football is somewhat in contrast to his predecessor Antonio Conte, who preferred a more cautious set-up with a back three and wing-backs.
A drop in price to around £10.5m or even £10.0m for Son would certainly lift his appeal, particularly if Kane rises on the back of his 2022/23 exploits.
Diogo Jota
An injury-hit season for Liverpool means the Portuguese is unlikely to be as expensive as his starting cost of £9.0m from the last campaign.
Jota was limited to just 20 starts and managed a mere 80 points over the season, less than half his tally of 175 points in 2021/22 Fantasy.
When selected, however, he was involved in a team-high 46 per cent of his side’s goals, compared with the 43 per cent of Mohamed Salah.
See: Clubs to target in FPL: Liverpool
Jota also found the net at a quicker rate than the Egyptian, averaging a goal every 165.3 minutes to the 173.2 of Salah.
A cost of around £8.0m for Jota could prove very tempting for many managers, while a possible reclassification as a midfielder would also boost his appeal and have implications for Salah's ownership in Fantasy.
Reece James and Raheem Sterling
The Chelsea stars can revive their Fantasy potential under new head coach Mauricio Pochettino.
James was the most-sold defender in the game in 2022/23 after claiming a mere 44 points.
He was sidelined through injury and managed just one goal, two assists and two clean sheets over 14 starts.
Nonetheless, his displays in the previous campaign show just why he started 2022/23 at a cost of £6.0m.
James averaged 6.3 points per start, combining five goals and nine assists with seven clean sheets and 26 bonus points.
Pochettino’s preference for attacking full-backs in a 4-2-3-1 formation certainly bodes well for his prospects, with a drop of £0.5m the likeliest outcome.
Sterling, meanwhile, endured a disappointing first season at Chelsea, claiming just 101 points on the back of six goals and four assists.
The winger was still at Manchester City when Fantasy was launched last season and was their third most-expensive player at £10.0m.
A cost of around £8.0m for Sterling this time around would mirror the opening price of Mason Mount, Chelsea’s most expensive player at the start of 2022/23 Fantasy.
Sterling produced 150+ points in each of his final five seasons at Man City and could have a part to play in 2023/24 if he gets back to his best under Pochettino.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Two goals and an assist in 15 starts earned the Everton forward a mere 40 points last time out.
That minimal output could result in a price drop to around £7.0m, making Calvert-Lewin a much more attractive option under Sean Dyche.
The Toffees were a huge threat from set-pieces after the former Burnley manager took the helm in 2022/23.
They recorded 80 shots from such situations from Gameweek 22 onwards, the third-most in the league.
As the target man for Dyche’s Everton, Calvert-Lewin can stake a claim as managers' third forward in 2023/24 Fantasy.
Also in this series
Part 2: Which FPL stars could rise in price but remain key picks?
Part 3: FPL experts: Most-anticipated price reveals for 2023/24