There’s nothing that a fantasy manager likes more than a bargain player – one of those that performs week on week but that you had the foresight (and a helping of good luck) to pick up for pennies. Those managers who picked up Gareth Bale for about £2m just before he went from defender to midfielder will know what I’m talking about. Similarly, those who picked up Oviedo for £1m last season as a filler before he averaged 9 points a week will also.
The trouble of course is how you find these players ahead of time and how do you determine what constitutes a bargain. Many will say that holding Suarez last year for less than £30m was a great bargain even though it was a 5th of your available budget. This year the hunt for a bargain has been made even harder by the setting of new players from other leagues at circa 12% of your starting budget and a new format which no-one can foresee exactly how it will play out.
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What we do have though are pre-season games and that can always give us some great indicators of success. Who’s playing? Who’s scoring? Who’s assisting? All of the information is there. So, as the helpful writer that I am, I’ve created a list of the players who are performing well currently and that don’t cost a fortune (I’ve set a cap of £10m although the average is a paltry £5.85m). A word of warning though – please check closer to the start of the season to see if these players are actually playing! Pre-season games can be used to get players ready for many things other than the premiership; it is also a testing ground for formations, positions etc. Similarly, this list doesn’t qualify the quality of teams that goals were scored against.
That being said, here it is. The players are in order of pre-season achievement using a total score based on 10 for a goal and 4 for an assist. The list is clearly skewed toward attacking players given that secondary statistics (e.g., tackles, intercepted passes, successful crosses) are not typically tracked at a great or consistent level of detail in the pre-season.
Pre-season Goals and Assists for Bargain Players
Name | Team | Position | Cost | Goals | Assists |
Jutkiewicz | Burnley | FWD | 5m | 5 |
|
Murray | Crystal Palace | FWD | 2.95m | 5 |
|
Jovetic | Manchester City | FWD | 5.87m | 5 |
|
Sanogo | Arsenal | FWD | 2.03m | 4 | 0 |
Nugent | Leicester | FWD | 6m | 4 |
|
Austin | QPR | FWD | 6.5m | 4 |
|
Young | Manchester United | MID | 4.94m | 3 | 1 |
Sordell | Burnley | FWD | 4m | 3 |
|
Terry | Chelsea | DEF | 9.82m | 3 |
|
Riviere | Newcastle United | FWD | 5.5m | 3 |
|
Hoilett | QPR | MID | 5.5m | 3 |
|
lamela | Tottenham | MID | 2.77m | 3 |
|
Navas | Manchester City | MID | 8.05m | 1 | 4 |
Bent | Aston Villa | FWD | 3.85m | 2 | 1 |
N’Zogbia | Aston Villa | MID | 4.94m | 2 | 1 |
Sterling | Liverpool | MID | 9.15m | 2 | 1 |
Weimann | Aston Villa | FWD | 7.22m | 1 | 3 |
Jarvis | West Ham | MID | 5.56m | 1 | 3 |
Naismith | Everton | FWD | 5.66m | 2 |
|
De Jong | Newcastle United | FWD | 6m | 2 |
|
Cabella | Newcastle United | MID | 7m | 2 |
|
Pelle | Southampton | FWD | 6.5m | 2 |
|
S Davis | Southampton | MID | 6.5m | 2 |
|
Bojan | Stoke | FWD | 6m | 2 |
|
Fletcher | Sunderland | FWD | 5.28m | 2 |
|
Sigurdsson | Swansea | MID | 7.28m | 2 |
|
Routledge | Swansea | MID | 6.02m | 2 |
|
Holtby | Tottenham | MID | 6.10m | 2 |
|
Kane | Tottenham | FWD | 5.64m | 2 |
|
Soldado | Tottenham | FWD | 6.14m | 2 |
|
Anichebe | West Brom | FWD | 5.6m | 2 |
|
Mulumbu | West Brom | MID | 8m | 2 |
|
Berahino | West Brom | FWD | 5.57m | 2 |
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