The Best Budget, Mid, and Premium FPL Midfielders for 2023-24

This season FPL offers us a wealth of midfield choices across the spectrum of price ranges. In this piece, we’ll examine the top budget, midrange, and premium FPL midfielders for the 2023-24 campaign.

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Budget

Anderson, Newcastle, £4.5M

He’s not a nailed-on starter for Eddie Howe, but if you’re looking for a midfield sub you could do worse than Newcastle’s Anderson. who has tallied an impressive record of four goals and three assists in preseason play. Coming in at the midfield minimum £4.5M, he makes decent fodder for your bench.

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Enciso, Brighton, £5.5M

The 19 year-old played less than 800 minutes last season, but Enciso’s pitch time looks poised to soar now that Alexis Mac Allister has departed for Anfield.

A comparison to Mac Allister underscores Enciso’s promise. The Argentinian produced 10 goals and two assists from 31 starts, averaging a goal contribution every 0.39 starts. In contrast, Enciso put up four goals and three assists from just seven starts, for a goal contribution rate of 1.0 per start. Even looking at pitch time rather than starts, Enciso’s goal involvement of 0.79 per 90 minutes crushes Mac Allister’s 0.37.

Priced at just £5.5M, the Paraguayan seems like a compelling value.

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Midrange

Eberechi Eze, Crystal Palace, £6.5M

Eberchi Eze showed great potential last season, with an average expected goal involvement (xGI) rate of 0.37 per 90 minutes. Eze’s preseason performances have offered more of the same, with the Englishman racking up two goals and five assists.

The departure of Zaha only adds to Eze’s appeal, as he’ll now add PKs to his list of set-piece duties.

As one of the primary weapons in Roy Hodgson’s arsenal, and with a solid series of opening fixtures, Eze deserves strong consideration for a slot in your midfield five.

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Bryan Mbeumo, Brentford, (£6.5m)

Mbeumo’s goal threat is undeniable, with an expected goal involvement (xGI) rate of 0.51 per 90 minutes last season. With talisman Ivan Toney suspended until 2024, Mbuemo will now be expected to assume the role of star man for the Bees, so we could see his xGI increase even higher in the coming campaign.

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Kaoru Mitoma, Brighton, (£6.5m)

Kaoru Mitoma suffered a drop-off in form towards the end of last season, as defenders learned to adjust to his threat by pushing him wide and onto his weaker foot. Having tallied seven goals and eight assists earlier in the season, he managed zero goals and just one assist over his final twelve matches.

Brighton’s opening fixtures are juicy though, and even despite going cold for the run-in he still finished the last campaign with an xGI of 0.56 per 90. The Japanese international is probably worthy of early investment to see how he performs against favorable opposition.

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Premium

Mohamed Salah, Liverpool, (£12.5m).

While Salah is renowned for his goal-scoring talents and ability to single-handedly turn matches, many forget that the two-time Golden Boot winner was also joint-second for assists last season. And indeed, in Liverpool’s 2023 preseason Salah posted more helpers than goals.

In his six seasons with Liverpool he’s fallen short of 30 goal contributions only once, and averages 15.5 clean sheets and nearly 24 bonus points per campaign. Delivering FPL returns via so many avenues, Salah is always a strong contender for your fantasy squad, his steep price tag notwithstanding. Indeed fantasyfootballscout.co.uk predicts that he will be the #1 FPL midfielder over the season’s first eight weeks, with a projected return of 44.86 points.

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Kevin De Bruyne, Man City, (£10.5m)

Like Mo Salah, Kevin De Bruyne’s FPL credentials are well-established. In addition to scoring seven goals last season, KDB also notched a league-leading 18 assists, kept 10 clean sheets, and won 26 bonus points.

But although he is still world-class and remains the primary architect of the Sky Blues’ attack, the Belgian is growing long in the tooth and is coming off a hamstring injury that saw him miss a substantial portion of City’s preseason and limited him to a substitute role in the Community Shield loss to Arsenal on Sunday (in which he missed his PK in the shootout!).

So even though he is one of the best players in EPL history and comes in at a full £2.0M less than Salah, there are caveats. While Salah is nailed-on to start every EPL match, KDB is still fresh from injury, and is therefore likely to see his minutes managed during the season’s early stages. Even after he recovers match fitness, Pep is likely to continue to handle him with caution: The Belgian recently celebrated his 32nd birthday, and City will be prosecuting trophies on four fronts.

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Marcus Rashford, Manchester United, (£9.0m)

Rashford’s expected goal involvement (xGI) rate of 0.59 per 90 minutes, along with his record of 17 goals and 5 assists from the previous season, highlight his ability to produce returns for his owners. An upcoming fixture list that features home ties with Wolves and Forest in the Red Devils’ first three further bolsters Rashford’s appeal.

But although Rashford’s 2022-23 points total was higher than that of Bruno Fernandes,(Manchester United, £8.5), the Portuguese is likely to retain PK duties and play more minutes. Plus he’s £0.5 cheaper than Rashford. If you can’t quite stretch to the Englishman, then Bruno is a fine alternative. Indeed, we suspect many will go for both.

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Bukayo Saka, Arsenal, (£8.5m)

Saka’s attacking talents, xGI of 0.56 per 90 minutes, penalty duties, and consistent presence in the starting lineup make him a valuable asset for FPL managers in search of a marquee midfield option that is still relatively easy on the budget.

Indeed, many are already on board, with Saka sporting a TSB of over 56% — #1 among midfielders and second only to Erling Haaland among all players.

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We recognize that a plethora of standout FPL midfielders weren’t named in this article, including persuasive options such as Son, Maddison, Foden, Martinelli, Odegaard, and Kulusevski. Do you prefer any of these over our picks at the same price point? Are you eyeing any cheeky under-the-radar differentials? Log in, take our poll, and share your thoughts in the comments!

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