£4.0m Defenders and £4.5m Forward: FPL Insights
The final weekend of pre-season usually strips away the noise. Managers stop experimenting and start rehearsing. For Fantasy Premier League bosses, that’s when the budget picks step out of the shadows.
Ipswich Town and Hull City both wrapped up their preparations on Saturday, and between a £4.0m defensive jigsaw and a £4.5m forward throwing in two assists, there was plenty for FPL managers to chew over.
Ipswich: £4.0m clarity, £4.5m chaos
Union Berlin 2-4 Ipswich Town
Goals: J Clarke, Emersonn, O’Shea, McAteer
Assists: Davis, Walle Egeli x2, Mehmeti
Gary O’Neil blinked first in the £4.0m defender race.
For the second game running, he named the same back four. This close to Gameweek 1, that usually means something. The days of heavy rotation and fitness drills are over; this is about knitting together a first XI.
The headline: the “two from three” centre-back puzzle involving Dara O’Shea, Issa Diop and Jacob Greaves (all £4.0m) has shifted. O’Shea is now playing at right-back. On paper, that’s a positional change. On the pitch, with Leif Davis (£4.0m) tearing up the left flank, it often resembled a back three.
O’Shea even curled in a goal here, hinting at extra open-play upside from full-back. But when it comes to £4.0m defenders, most FPL managers are chasing one thing above all else: DefCons. Clean sheets. Bankable, repeatable points. On that front, Diop looks the safer long-term pick than a repurposed full-back.
Davis is a different conversation entirely. He ended pre-season as Ipswich’s top contributor for attacking returns, with four. His latest came from a trademark cross, this time for Jack Clarke (£5.5m) to finish. Often, Davis was the most advanced player down the left, with Daizen Maeda (£5.5m) tucking in and covering when the full-back surged beyond him.
The question hangs over him: can he finally turn promise into points in 2026/27, two years on from frustrating FPL managers? With some newly promoted centre-halves in 2025/26 delivering DefCons in around half of their starts – Esteve and Ballard being prime examples – Davis will need to make a compelling attacking case to tempt managers away from a cheaper, more defensive £4.0m alternative.
There is still the small matter of the goalkeeper. Ipswich haven’t exactly screamed defensive security in pre-season, and Kjell Scherpen (£4.5m) didn’t silence doubters here. Neither of Union Berlin’s goals was a howler, but both felt saveable. It’s early, and he may yet grow into the role, but he hasn’t nailed down FPL trust just yet.
Higher up the pitch, one number jumped off the page: £4.5m. Sindre Walle Egeli started and produced two assists, setting up Emersonn (£5.5m) and O’Shea. He finishes pre-season with the fifth-highest minutes in the Ipswich squad, which is not nothing for a budget forward.
But there’s a catch. There’s always a catch with £4.5m forwards.
Walle Egeli lined up on the right flank in this one, having operated as a No 10 the previous week. In both roles, competition looms. Abdul Fatawu (£5.5m) is on his way back from a knock, and Julio Enciso is about to walk through the door. Walle Egeli’s minutes look fragile in the medium term. For now, he’s alive as a bench option with a bit of attacking spark. Whether he survives September is another matter.
One more name to note: Jaden Philogene (£5.5m). Last season’s 12-goal winger made his first appearance of the summer off the bench. Transfer rumours continue to swirl, and it would be no surprise if he’s lining up somewhere else by the time the window shuts.
Hull: rotation riddles and a £4.5m keeper audition
Hull City 0-0 Nice
The scoreline told one story. The team sheet told another.
Elliot Stroud (£5.0m) went straight into the side for his debut, starting on the left wing. Three more summer signings were eased in from the bench: Lucas Gourna-Douath (price TBA) in midfield, with centre-backs Lucas Herrington (£4.0m) and Nobel Mendy (£4.0m) also getting their first minutes.
Joe Gelhardt (£5.0m), another new arrival, was nowhere to be seen. Manager Sergej Jakirovic explained why:
“Because he had an injury. He has an injury from Leeds, three weeks already gone. I expect in two weeks he will be on the pitch with the team. Right ankle.”
The injury list at Hull is already long, but there was at least some relief. John Egan (£4.0m), Jens Hjerto-Dahl (£5.0m), Paddy McNair (£4.0m) and Liam Millar (£5.0m) all returned after recent scares, with Egan and Hjerto-Dahl starting.
Even so, this still looked like a Championship side at first glance. Eight of the XI began last season in the second tier. Underneath that, though, the changing of the guard has started.
At centre-half, Egan and Semi Ajayi (£4.0m) were trusted from the off in this final friendly. That gives them a short-term edge, but how long does it last? Herrington and Mendy were introduced gently against Nice, but Mendy in particular – the club-record signing – feels like a looming threat to the incumbents’ minutes.
For early Bench Boosters, that matters. Ipswich and Coventry’s £4.0m defenders already look more attractive from a fixtures standpoint. Add in the rotation risk around Hull’s back line and the case for their budget defenders weakens even further in the opening weeks.
The uncertainty isn’t confined to the defence. Up front, Oli McBurnie (£5.5m) currently enjoys a clear run as the starting striker, but even that may be short-lived.
“I hope also we will bring, in a few days, another option for the striker position,” Jakirovic said.
Behind him, two £4.5m midfielders – Regan Slater and Matt Crooks – are just about hanging on to their places. Injuries to potential rivals have helped, but their grip doesn’t feel especially firm. Gourna-Douath’s introduction suggested he may be more of a challenger to Hjerto-Dahl, who still looks like he’s playing catch-up physically, yet Hull continue to be linked with more midfield reinforcements.
On the pitch, this was not a thriller. Hull’s main threat came from set pieces. Slater and Mohamed Belloumi (£5.0m) delivered corners that caused problems, with Egan, Hjerto-Dahl and Mendy all getting half-chances from dead balls.
Belloumi was the standout attacker. He looked the one player capable of unlocking Nice, crafting Hull’s best open-play opportunity for himself before seeing his shot beaten away. Beyond that, clear chances were scarce.
At the other end, one position looks nailed. Konstantinos Tzolakis (£4.5m) appears a near-certainty to start Gameweek 1. He underlined his credentials with an impressive display here, capped by a sharp double save before half-time. On this evidence, he’ll see plenty of action in the Premier League – the kind of workload that can turn a £4.5m goalkeeper into a save-points machine.
Ipswich’s structure, Hull’s flux, a £4.0m defender market taking shape and a £4.5m forward throwing his hat into the ring: the final weekend of pre-season didn’t just tidy up loose ends. It raised a sharper question for FPL managers staring down Gameweek 1 – where do you really want to take your risks?
