Best £4.5 Million FPL Defenders for the 2023/24 FPL Season

As the first gameweek of the new Premier League season approaches closer, many are looking for those affordable gems to add to their FPL team. These players will not only give you the edge to beat your rivals in the mini-league and achieve a higher rank, but these players will also allow you to add more premium players to your team. This article will look at the best 4.5 million FPL defenders you can add to your FPL teams.

Link to all our 2023/24 Pre-Season articles including all team pre-season friendly updates, team previews, fixture analysis, position-wise analysis, differentials, players to target, budget enablers and more. Completely free to access as well!

£4.5 Million FPL Defenders Analysis

Sven Botman

We will start the list by looking at not only the best 4.5 million defender in FPL but also the most popular one. The Dutchman played 36 games for the magnificent Magpies last season and hence does not have rotation risk unless Newcastle sign another Centre-back to rival him. Not only does he have a cemented position, but he has cemented it in one of the best defences in the league. Newcastle conceded only 33 goals last season, the joint lowest in the league with Manchester City.

Last season, he averaged 3.6 points per match and finished the season with two assists to his name. He also created 3 big chances and helped keep 14 clean sheets, the joint second-highest in the league. He is already owned by 31.2% of FPL managers, so if you do not own him you should bring him to your team ASAP, otherwise, you could miss out on some valuable clean sheet points.

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Matty Cash

The second player on the list of best 4.5 million FPL defenders is Aston Villa’s Polish defender Matty Cash. Cash is the first-choice right-back for Aston Villa, who we saw improve massively after Unai Emery took the reigns at the club. Though due to injury played only 20 games last season, he is back to full fitness and should be ready to do a job for the Villans.

He had 2 assists last season, while an xGI of 1.15, and helped keep four clean sheets for his team. We can expect even better performances from Aston Villa this season and jumping on him early could be rewarding for managers. He is currently owned by only 3.5% of managers and seems like a great differential pick at 4.5 million.

Further Read: Best £4.0 Million FPL Defenders For The 2023/24 FPL Season

Tyrone Mings/Pau Torres

The next player on the list for the best 4.5 million defenders in FPL for this season is Matty Cash’s teammate Tyrone Mings. Mings averaged around 3.7 points per game last season, 17 of which were bonus points. He also scored once and assisted further three goals, while also keeping 12 clean sheets. However, Mings now has competition for the left-center-back position in the Aston Villa team with the signing of Pau Torres, who is also priced at 4.5 Million and rumored to be the starting center-back in the upcoming season for Aston Villa.

So while Mings seems like a good pick at 4.5 million, we would suggest that you wait and watch how the pre season unfolds before jumping on the bandwagon like the 16.5% of managers who have already bought him.

Pau Torres has previously played for Emery and is widely expected to be a sure starter, you can also directly go for him instead of Mings in your FPL team.

Emery doesn’t rotate his defence a lot so we should have a clear idea on the Aston Villa backline before FPL GW1 deadline.

Aston Villa and Newcastle defender rotate well(Cash/Mings/Torres and Botman)

If you rotate them correctly till GW18, you will have-⁣

• 1/18 games vs Last season Top 6✅⁣
• 3/18 games vs Last Season 7th-10th placed teams✅⁣
• 14/18 games vs Last Season 11th-17th placed & Newly Promoted Teams✅⁣

Further Read: £4.5 Million FPL Midfielders Watchlist for the 2023/24 FPL Season

Rico Henry

The fourth player on this list is Brentford’s left-back, Rico Henry. Henry started 37 games last season and averaged 3 points per match, while also contributing with 3 assists. What adds to Henry’s appeal is that in the first nine gameweeks, Brentford won’t face Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool or Brighton. Brentford also is a defensively solid team keeping 11 clean sheets last season and coming 6th in xGC. Due to Newcastle’s favorable fixtures too, Henry can be a great rotation option with Botman. At a lowly 5.8% ownership, he is certainly one to watch right now.

Rico Henry also assisted Brentford first goal of the pre-season vs Boreham Wood(All Pre-Season Game updates)

Further Read: FPL Rotational Pairs and Combinations- Defenders and Goal Keepers

Joël Veltman

The next player on the list of best 4.5 million defenders is one that many are saying is an overlooked option. Joel Veltman played 25 games last season and averaged 3.1 points per match. He also contributed with a goal and an assist. However, Brighton are on the market for a new right-back though they are yet to sign a new Right-Bank at the time of writing. He also has Tariq Lamptey for competition, who if played enough can be a really good option at 4.0 million. Currently selected by 1.3% of managers, if Veltman is able to cement his spot in the team, he can be a great option.

Further Read: Best £5 & £5.5 Million FPL Midfielders For The 2023/24 FPL Season

Tyrick Mitchell

Tyrick Mitchell has become a sort of cult legend in the last few seasons when it comes to 4.5 million-priced defenders in FPL. He played 34 games last season while averaging 2.6 points per game and got 7 bonus points. Mitchell gave two assists last season and helped keep 8 clean sheets for the Eagles. He also rotates very well with an Aston Villa defender in a way that you play only one of the top six of last season in Brighton in the first ten Gameweeks. While Crystal Palace’s defence has not been the strongest in the past season, with Roy Hodgson at the helm maybe things can change. At 4.5 million with ownership of only 0.8%, Mitchell can be a good pick for the 2023/24 season.

Andersen is also a good shout with good attacking threat. Andersen is ranked 3rd Best for xG(2.53) among the £4.5 Defenders.

Further Read: FPL Tips and Best Practices to Have an Enjoyable FPL Season

James Tarkowski

The last player on the list is Everton’s James Tarkowski. Sean Dyche did an impressive job saving the Toffees from relegation last season and will now look to build on that performance this season. Dyche is known to play defensively solid football since his Burnley days and we could see that operating at Everton too this season. If that does happen, then Tarkowski can be a great pick at 4.5 million.

He is set to be the first choice for Dyche next season after playing all 38 games for Everton last season and is known to go up for headers as shown by his xG of 3.13(Highest xG among £4.5 Defenders) from last season. He averaged 2.8 points per match while contributing with 1 goal and 1 assist. Everton kept only nine clean sheets last season, but that number should go up this season and if it does, owned by only 3.1% of managers, Tarkowski can be a great pick.

Further Read: Initial GW1 Drafts and Key Notes for the 2023/24 season

Destiny Udogie

Perisic is expected to leave Spurs and Sessegnon is injured which means Destiny Udogie could be the starting Left back for Spurs for the 2023/24 FPL season. Spurs signed Destiny Udogie last season but loaned him back to Udinese where he once again had a good season playing 33 times(31 starts) in Serie A registering 3 goals and 4 assists during the season.

Watch out for pre-season games to see how he fits into new manager Ange Postecoglou’s system. But early indicators are that he could be a real differential defender.

Pre-Season Update: Udogie played 45 minutes and scored on his debut in the pre-season friendly against West Ham. Link to track stats, minutes played and key notes for all pre-season friendlies for all 20 teams below-

Further Read: 2023/24 FPL Pre Season: All Clubs Friendlies Fixtures & Updates

£4.5 Million FPL Defenders From the Championship

Arnel Ahmedhodzic, 0.9% Ownership

Arnel Ahmedhodzic plays as a CB for Sheffield United and racked up 6 goals and 2 assists for the blades in the championship last season. He’s a stong goal scoring threat for Sheffiled United under Paul Heckingbottom and could be a great option who has gone under the radar amongst FPL managers at the moment.

Further Read: Best £4.0 Million FPL Defenders For The 2023/24 FPL Season

Connor Roberts, 0.7% Ownership

Connor Roberts is not a new name amongst FPL managers, The welsh fullback was once again crucial for Burnely in their sensational Championship campaign. He played majority of the season as a RB and picked up 4 goals and 6 assists. Burnley play an attacking brand of football under Kompany and Roberts should come in FPL radar once Burnley’s fixtures begin to ease.

Other £4.5 Million FPL Defenders Options to Keep an Eye on Over Pre-Season

Some other players to keep an eye out for include Levi Colwill, who was linked with a permanent move to Brighton from Chelsea. But Pochettino has decided to keep Colwill and could be straight away first choice along with Thiago Silva in the defense.

The other Chelsea defender to keep an eye on include Benoît Badiashile who is priced at 4.5 million and if Colwill leaves, it could mean he starts for Chelsea. Wesley Fofana is out with a long term injury which increases Badiashile’s expected minutes along with an eye on Chelsea’s transfers.

£4.5 Defenders- Attacking Potential

It is important to have an eye on the attacking threat provided by these defenders as they get 6 points for a goal!

Top £4.5 Defenders for Expected Goal Involvement(xGI) from last season:

Stats from Fantasy Football Hub– Check them out for OPTA Stats, Player Comparison, FPL Planner, Rate my Team Tool and much more for FPL by signing up for 50% discount here.

• Tarkowski- 6.8
• Henry- 4.8
• Andersen- 4.3
• Pinnock- 4.2
• Burn- 4.1
• Sessegnon- 4.0
• Davies- 3.8
• Neco Williams- 3.7
• Botman- 3.6

This is our list of the best 4.5 million defenders for the FPL season 2023/24. Hope you liked the article and we hope this helped you build your time.

Further reads from ALLABOUTFPL ahead of FPL GW1 of the 2023/24 FPL Season

Pre-Season Friendlies Updates & Fixtures

2023/24 FPL Pre Season: All Clubs Friendlies Fixtures & Updates
2023/24 Pre Season Summary of All 20 Premier League Teams 

FPL GW1 Must Read Articles:
FPL GW1 Scout Picks Based On Stats, Analysis, And Matchups
2023/24 Season: Predicted GW1 Lineups of All 20 PL Teams
Top FPL GW1 Differential Picks To Consider Ahead Of GW1 Deadline
FPL GW1 Team Reveal & Strategy – AllAboutFPL
FPL GW1 Tips & Preview – Breaking Down The Key Dilemmas
FPL Players And Teams To Target From FPL Gameweek 1 To 6 

Drafts for FPL GW1:

FPL Gameweek 1 Drafts with Haaland + Salah and Trent Trio
FPL GW1 Drafts with 3-4-3 Formation | 2023/24 FPL Season 
Initial GW1 Drafts for the 2023/24 Season with Pros and Cons
Top FPL GW1 Differential Picks to Consider Ahead of GW1 Deadline
Four Players Who Have Never Left My FPL GW1 Draft
FPL GW1 Team Reveal & Strategy – AllAboutFPL

FPL Goalkeepers Analysis:

Best FPL Goalkeepers to Target For The 2023/24 FPL Season
Best FPL Goalkeepers at Each Price Point for the 2023/24 Season
FPL Rotational Pairs and Combinations- Defenders and Goal Keepers

2023/24 FPL Season Positional Analysis:

Defenders:
Best £4.0 Million FPL Defenders For The 2023/24 FPL Season
Best £4.5 Million FPL Defenders for the 2023/24 FPL Season
Best £5-£5.5 Million FPL Defenders for the 2023/24 FPL Season 
FPL Rotational Pairs and Combinations- Defenders and Goal Keepers

Midfielders:
£4.5 Million FPL Midfielders Watchlist for the 2023/24 FPL Season
Best £5 & £5.5 Million FPL Midfielders For The 2023/24 FPL Season
Best £6.0 -£7.5 Million FPL Midfielders | 2023/24 Season
Mbeumo vs Mitoma vs Eze vs Diaby- 6.5. FPL Midfielders Comparison and Verdict
Best Premium FPL Midfielders (£8.0 -£12.5 Million) | 23/24 Season

Forwards:
Best Mid-Priced FPL Forwards (£7.0 – £8.0m) | 2023/24 Season
Best FPL Forwards in The £6.0 & £6.5M Price Bracket
Best FPL Budget Forwards (£4.5 – £5.5 Million) | 23/24 Season

Ultimate Guide & FPL Calendar:

Ultimate FPL Pre-Season Guide & Tips for the 2023/24 Season
2023/24 FPL Season Schedule: Key Dates, Information & Timeline

Fixture Analysis:
FPL Fixture Analysis For The 2023/24 FPL Season | PL Fixtures

General FPL Blogs:
FPL Team Structure Guide- 6 Different Team Structures with Drafts, Pros and Cons
Premier League Penalty & Set Piece Takers | 2023/24 PL Season
Best FPL Picks Outside Top 6 Teams | 2023/24 FPL Season
FPL Differentials- Players To Watch Ahead Of The 2023/24 Season
FPL Budget Enablers(Top Budget Picks Position wise)
Under Priced FPL Assets from Big 6 Teams
Best Differential FPL Team For The 2023-2024 Season
Players to Avoid in FPL Ahead of FPL Gameweek 1
Initial Reaction to FPL Player Price Reveals for the 2023/24 FPL Season
List of Free to Join Prize FPL Mini Leagues Ahead of 23/24 Season
FPL Tips and Best Practices to Have an Enjoyable FPL Season
FPL Team ID- What is it? How to get a Low Team ID for 2023/24 FPL Season
Best FPL Team Names for the 2023/24 FPL Season

If you’re new to FPL, here is a link to all our FPL Beginners Guide including FPL Beginner’s Guide- How to play?, Bench boost, Team value, Triple captain, Effective ownership, Price Changes, Free Hit, Bonus Points, and more.

Link to all our 2023/24 Pre-Season articles including all team pre-season friendly updates, team previews, fixture analysis, position-wise analysis, and more. Completely free to access as well!

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What’s next from ALLABOUTFPL ahead of FPL Gameweek 1 of the 2023/24 FPL Season?

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