With Fantasy Premier League prices being revealed soon, Ollie Watkins’ displays in 2023/24 showed why a rise in cost should not deter managers from investing in key players.
The Aston Villa star was the second most-expensive forward in Fantasy last season, priced at £8.0m after recording his career-high haul of 175 points in 2022/23.
Yet Watkins more than justified his rise in cost of £0.5m from the campaign beforehand. He smashed his personal best with a total of 228 points, finishing the season at a price of £8.9m.
Cole Palmer’s exploits in 2023/24 indicate managers should brace themselves for a major price hike this time around.
The midfielder started last season at just £5.0m while at Manchester City, before a summer switch to Chelsea transformed his prospects in his sensational breakthrough campaign.
Palmer went on to finish the season as the top-scoring player in the game on 244 points, scoring 22 goals and supplying 13 assists.
His average of 8.2 points per start, and his 10 double-figure returns, indicate that Palmer is one of the very best captain picks in Fantasy and that he will more than merit a significant price increase in 2024/25.
Newcastle United’s Anthony Gordon is also likely to climb out of the budget bracket after bettering his personal-best score by over 80 points.
The winger cost just £5.5m at the beginning of 2023/24, and delivered 11 goals and 16 assists to finish seventh in the midfield standings on 183 points.
Elsewhere, in attack, Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta and AFC Bournemouth’s Dominic Solanke also seem set to be more expensive this season.
Mateta cost a mere £5.0m last campaign and offered great value after the arrival of Oliver Glasner as head coach in Gameweek 25.
Mateta produced 13 goals and three assists to collect 105 points during that time, more than any other forward in Fantasy. He averaged 7.5 points per match (ppm) under Glasner, more than double his 2.9ppm while Roy Hodgson was in charge.
Solanke also delivered his best-ever Fantasy campaign thanks to the appointment of a new head coach. He was priced at £6.5m at the start of 2023/24 but went on to score 19 goals and supply three assists in his first campaign under Andoni Iraola, claiming 175 points.
Furthermore, Solanke’s 109 shots and 97 shots in the box were both second only to Erling Haaland among forwards last season.
In defence, Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite and Man City’s Josko Gvardiol are expected to climb in cost after their impressive 2023/24 campaigns.
Having been loaned out to PSV Eindhoven in 2022/23, Branthwaite was priced at an ultra-low £4.0m last season.
The centre-back not only established himself as a regular in the first team for the Toffees, he finished as the fifth top-scoring defender in Fantasy, amassing 124 points thanks to three goals, an assist and 12 clean sheets.
Gvardiol was a huge success at both ends of the pitch in Fantasy in the latter stages of his debut campaign. The Croat was the top-scoring defender from Gameweek 30 onwards, combining four goals and two assists with five clean sheets to total 79 points.
After starting his debut campaign at just £5.0m, Gvardiol’s all-round potential is likely to earn him a hike into the premium bracket in 2024/25.
