Mid-Priced FPL Forwards (£7.0 - £7.5m)

Here we goooooo! FPL is back & if you were like me who stayed connected with FPL through Twitter & other social channels, it might come as a surprise that the Premier League starts within the next few days! Did we even have a break? 😄 The roller-coaster 21/22 season is still fresh in our minds & believe that most of you would have achieved your pre-season targets when it all ended in GW38. So, let’s dive into the article, which is my 1^st for the upcoming 22/23 FPL season. Hope you enjoy it & do support us by sharing with those you think would find our content interesting.

Link to all our 2022/23 Pre Season articles including a transfer tracker of all new signings, all team pre-season friendly updates, team previews, fixture analysis, position-wise analysis, and more. Completely free to access as well!

Are mid-priced forwards worth the price?

Compared to the midfielders & defenders, forwards have traditionally scored lesser FPL points. For instance, last season there was only 1 forward in the top 10 point scorers (Harry Kane – 7^th) & surprisingly we had to expand the list to 20 to include another forward (Ronaldo – 19^th)! But in most of the previous seasons we have had at least 1 or 2 standout budget forwards who have accumulated 130+ points. Gems like Bamford, Wilson, DCL, Antonio had incredible seasons not so long ago. But most were 6.5m to be honest.

Also, there is a consensus that FPL towers has underpriced players this time, but on closer inspection you would notice that the prices for forwards are a mixed bag where some justify their prices while others feel overpriced. The previous 6-6.5m forwards with potential have been bumped to 7-7.5m. However, let’s look at the options available in this price bracket & check whether any of them justify inclusion in our squads.

Mid-Priced FPL Forwards (£7.0 – £7.5m) | 2022/23 Season

7.5 million FPL Forwards

Michail Antonio (West Ham)

Antonio played the most minutes among all similar priced options last season. He was essentially the main stay in the Hammers line-up & contributed immensely to their 7^th place finish. He started last season with a bang by contributing 4 goals & 3 assists in the 1^st three fixtures. But as the season progressed, his output dried up & he scored 10 goals & 10 assists (2 were fantasy assists) in total. His ability to linkup play with the other attackers & drift to the wider positions to create space, greatly helped the team in having an unpredictable attack. Last season the incredible performances of Bowen & Benrahma which were mainly possible due to them getting in behind defenses could also be attributed to the work rate of Antonio.

Outlook for 22/23 season:

Antonio is 32 years old & has been an injury prone player throughout his career. Luckily, he did not suffer any serious injuries last season. West Ham have a new striker option in Gianluca Scamacca & we could therefore expect a reduction in minutes for Antonio. Initially at least he will still remain their main striker going into the new season having accounted for the 4^th most minutes in pre-season. He is reported to have a minor knock but with an opening fixture against City & an unpredictable line-up, it is definitely not the right time for a punt at 7.5m.

Verdict: 👀

Wait & see option. His output declined massively towards the 2nd half of last season & with increased competition for places better to jump on later.

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Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)

Mid-Priced FPL Budget Forward - Ollie Watkins

Watkins was the mainstay in the Villa attack under both Dean Smith & then Gerrard as well. His tireless front foot pressing & anchor play along with the versatility to play as the main striker or the wide attacker roles made him one of the first names on the team sheet. After the initial manager bounce, Gerrard’s team started to falter. They finished the season in a lackluster manner with 1 win out of the last 5 games, including a remarkable capitulation in the last match which allowed City to trump Liverpool to the title.

Outlook for 22/23 season:

Watkins has been the main striker for Villa in pre-season & will continue to be so. He could very well be on penalties as well. Coutinho took a penalty vs Leeds (but missed) in pre-season & Gerrard has said that he has not yet decided on the main pen taker. So, at 7.5m he could be a great differential option for our teams. He’ll be at the end of most of the chances created by the team & with a good opening set of fixtures he’ll be looking forward to kickstart the campaign in style. He definitely has a 20 goal season in him & with Gerrard’s attacking style, this could be his year.

Verdict: 👍

A good solid option. Bailey at 5m provides a more affordable out-of-position (OOP) option but Watkins is more than recommended if you are going with a 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 team setup, at least for the first few weeks.

Further Read: Best Aston Villa FPL Players | Aston Villa Preview | 2022/23 Season

Callum Wilson (Newcastle United)

Mid-Priced FPL Budget Forward - Callum Wilson

If not for his injury proneness, Wilson could have easily hit 15 goals last season. Having injured for most of last season he still managed to score 8 goals in 16 starts. Pretty impressive for a budget striker. Chris Wood who deputized for him was a failure & did not impress with the opportunities that he got. Wilson is easily the best striker at the club & they will heavily rely on him to progress up the league table.

Outlook for 22/23 season:

With Eddie Howe at the helm in this new look attack minded Newcastle side & creativity supplied by Trippier & Guimarães, it would be a struggle to not score 15 goals for a striker of his caliber. That is, if he stays injury free, which is the crucial point. The magpies have a good run of fixtures from GW6 onwards. However, him being the pen taker & at the end of most big chances it could be a calculated risk to go with him as a differential from the start as well.

Verdict: 👍

A differential pick but one with high potential based on the team play style. Him being on pens is another bonus.

Further Read: Best Newcastle FPL Players | Newcastle Preview | 2022/23 Season

Patrick Bamford (Leeds United)

To be honest, this is one player pricing FPL definitely got wrong. Last season was an injury ravaged one for Bamford. After an impressive first season (20/21) with Leeds in the Premier League, when he scored 17 goals & 11 assists (3 fantasy assists), much of Leed’s top table ambitions rested on him & Raphinha. But after starting the first 5 matches, he then was a part of only 4 more matches for the entire season. During this period, Bielsa was sacked & Jesse Marsch took over as the manager.

Outlook for 22/23 season:

With Jesse Marsch implementing a more balanced & calculated style of play compared to the high pressing ultra-attacking mode of Bielsa, it is to be seen how reliable Bamford can be counted as an option for our teams. Even more so, based on pre-season line-ups it is to be expected that Gelhardt & Rodrigo could easily deputize for Bamford. But in the last game of pre-season against Cagliari he looked like his old self & if he can keep his fitness could very well be a option moving forward. They have good starting fixtures though, but wait & see would be the better option since he feels overpriced as well.

Verdict: 👀

Based on the last pre-season game, he is one to keep a close eye on. But maybe wait for the 1st few games to analyze & then make an informed decision.

Further Read: Best Leeds FPL Players | Leeds Preview | 2022/23 FPL Season

The 7.0 Million FPL Forwards

Ivan Toney (Brentford)

Mid-Priced FPL Budget Forward - Ivan Toney

Toney is the talisman at Brentford, and he did well to finish with 12 goals & 5 assists last season. He was sporadic during the first half of the season with his returns & not too reliable. But this was a feature of the team as a whole which played some unimpressive football. But with Eriksen joining in the January transfer window, the team greatly transformed from being relegation candidates to finishing 13^th. He is on pens & against mediocre or lower table teams he could really come into our reckoning.

Outlook for 22/23 season:

They have a good run of fixtures after a seemingly tough first 2 against Leicester City & Man. United. With Eriksen shifting base to Man. United, it will be an intriguing watch as to how they overcome their creativity woes. So, it could be wise to wait & see how much the team gels & which version of the team we get to see this time around, the first half season team or the much improved second half one. Also, we need to identify whether Toney drops deep & Mbeumo is the main man at the front. In pre-season it has been the “Mbeumo (6m) show” as he has scored 4 goals against Toney’s massive 1 goal!

Verdict: 👀

Wait & see before jumping on the possible future Toney train.

Further Read: Best FPL Assets to Consider from Promoted Teams | 22/23 Season

Danny Ings (Aston Villa)

After Gerrard took over Ings was not used consistently in the side & with the January transfer of Coutinho, his game time was under serious doubt. But Gerrard did try to bring out the best of his available players by playing the 4-3-1-2, where Ings got opportunities. But his performances were unimpressive & towards the end of the season he was reduced to mostly a bit part player.

Outlook for 22/23 season:

With Bailey impressing in the pre-season matches & the team looking more versatile & adaptable to a 4-3-3 with Coutinho & Watkins alongside, Ings could be used mostly as an impact sub or to give rest to other key attackers. Even if he would start, there would be no guarantees that he would last for more than 60-70 mins. But when on the pitch he could certainly be on penalties.

Verdict: 👎

Not an option now due to better options available in the team.

Further Read: A Guide to FPL Team Structure | 2022/23 FPL Season

Eddie Nketiah (Arsenal)

Nketiah was a brilliant differential towards the latter end of last season when he impressed & latched on to the opportunities that came his way. Anyone who owned him during that period surely had huge rank rises & at 5.5m he was a brilliant budget option into the Arsenal attack. In just 8 starts, he scored 5 goals and did well to provide a deflated Arsenal side with the required boost to finish the season at 5^th. This season though, FPL has priced him at 7m on the basis that he would be their main striker. But little did they know there was a messiah who would come to the club soon!

Outlook for 22/23 season:

With the arrival of Gabriel Jesus, Nketiah’s minutes are sure to be affected. With the 5-sub rule, he could now be used as an attacking option to either give rest to the nailed-on players in the front 3 or to bring more attacking numbers when they might be trailing & are looking for a goal. Jesus being at 8m does him no good as well. So surely not an option unless an injury or serious bad form affects the front 3.

Verdict: 👎

Not an option now. He could be subbed on in most matches thereby restricting the auto-sub player in our teams to come on instead.

Further Read: Best Differential FPL Team for the 2022-2023 Season

Anthony Martial (Manchester United)

Martial has been one of the top performers for United in the pre-season games. His positional play and the understanding with his teammates in the attacking half have provided a new lease of life to the side. It has indeed opened new routes to the attack as well, instead of the mostly unidirectional attack of last season. But that was before Ronaldo’s re-emergence! With Ronaldo back in the reckoning, Martial’s minutes might be uncertain once again. Under Ten Hag the United attack has looked refreshed and they have started to play more like a ‘team’ again. They still lack the defensive nous, but their attackers all look primed to get returns this season. The caveat being the role of Ronaldo this season.

Outlook for 22/23 season:

It is still up in the air & until a few games into the season we might still actually not know what Ten Hag’s playing XI might look like. Even the new players that have come in might require time to adapt to his philosophy. In all of this adaptation phase, there would be the added pressure on the team to perform and get results to finish in the top 4 once again. It’ll be interesting to see how the team performs in the initial stretch of games. If Martial stays in the side, then he’s definitely worth a punt, but until then he could just be a transfer waiting to happen!

Verdict: 👀

Sadly not an option as of now. But closer to deadline if we get some news from Ten Hag, it could be interesting.

Further Read: Best £4.5 Million FPL Midfielders For The 2022/23 FPL Season

Raúl Jiménez (Wolves)

Yesteryear budget hero Jiménez really struggled to find his feet last season after the head injury he suffered in the 20/21 season. It was a horrible injury & any player would require the adaptation time to adjust again to the physicality of the Premier League. He retuned to play under a new coach (Bruno Lage), so it would be an added task to adapt to his tactics as well. He could only score a paltry 6 goals from 30 starts when Wolves as a whole were still trying to find their playing identity.

Outlook for 22/23 season:

He is injured again! A knee injury sustained in pre-season will likely keep him out for at least a month. Wolves have good opening fixtures but it’s really unfortunate for Raul to not be part of them.

Verdict: 👎

Not at all an option.

Further Read: Best £4.0 Million FPL Defenders for the 2022/23 FPL Season

Gianluca Scamacca (West Ham)

Brought in to provide competition to Antonio for the striker role. He scored 16 goals in Serie A last season. He is definitely not an option from the start but could come into consideration based on how well he is utilized by David Moyes.

Verdict: 👀

Wait & see. Based on how quickly he gets to speed, might soon be an interesting option.

Pre-season Summary & Player Verdict

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Avii (@Chap_FPL)

FPL enthusiast since 2016/17, 1 x top 5k, 1x top 25k, 2 x top 50k | Chelsea 💙 | Something about everything interests me, so I don't get bored | 20th century guy in the 21st century

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