FPL pre-season watch: Eze pick of mid-priced midfielders?

Eberechi Eze’s (£6.5m) solo effort for Crystal Palace against Spanish side Sevilla has shown why he could be the best mid-price midfielder in 2023/24 Fantasy Premier League.

The Eagles winger has been involved in six goals over the summer period, scoring two and assisting four.

Eze's super strike v Sevilla

Notably, Eze was a huge success towards the end of 2022/23 after Roy Hodgson returned as manager in Gameweek 29.

He amassed 67 points across that period, second only to the 85 of Liverpool's Mohamed Salah (£12.5m) among midfielders in Fantasy. 

Eze's prospects have been boosted further as he is expected to be their first-choice penalty-taker this season following the departure of Wilfried Zaha.

Goal threat

Bryan Mbeumo and Moussa Diaby (both £6.5m) underlined the strength of the mid-price bracket with a goal each in Brentford’s 3-3 Premier League Summer Series draw with Aston Villa.

Mbeumo’s converted penalty was his first goal of the summer and the Cameroonian will be their first-choice taker for the first few months of 2023/24 while Ivan Toney (£8.0m) is suspended.

Diaby has scored in both his appearances since joining Villa from Bayer Leverkusen and offers an in-form, budget-friendly alternative to their forward Ollie Watkins (£8.0m).

Jota and Salah on song

Elsewhere, Diogo Jota (£8.0m) continued his impressive pre-season form in Liverpool’s 4-0 win over Leicester City.

Jota produced a goal and an assist as Jurgen Klopp’s side scored four goals for the third successive fixture.

The Portuguese has been involved in five of those strikes, scoring three and assisting two.
 
His team-mate Salah, meanwhile, supplied two assists against the Foxes. That takes his tally to one goal and five assists over the summer.

Salah's assist for Jota v Leicester

In the budget bracket, managers should monitor Everton’s Arnaut Danjuma (£5.5m) and Newcastle United's Elliot Anderson (£4.5m). 

Danjuma, who is on a season-long loan from Villarreal, made his debut as a centre-forward in Everton's 1-0 win at Stoke City at the weekend.

Anderson has been involved in seven goals over the summer and scored twice in Newcastle's 2-1 Summer Series' win over Brighton & Hove Albion.

Anderson's double v Brighton

Nonetheless, question marks remain over his place in Eddie Howe’s starting XI this season, with Anderson earning pitch time due to injuries to Newcastle's midfield regulars. 

Also in this series

Part 1: Set-pieces lifting Chilwell prospects
Part 3: Managers moving to Nunez