The Scout's analysis of 15 key player prices in 2026/27 Fantasy

With 2026/27 Fantasy Premier League now LIVE, The Scout provides analysis of 15 key player prices.

Erling Haaland (Man City forward) £15.5m

Manchester City’s forward has become the most-expensive player of all-time after being priced at £15.5m.

Haaland has risen £1.5m from his starting price in the previous campaign, when he went on to top the player charts on 239 points thanks to 27 goals and eight assists.

Despite his new cost, Haaland’s history shows it’ll be a major risk to go without him in your opening squad.

He has been the top-scoring player after the first six Gameweeks in all four of his seasons at Man City, averaging nine goals and 61.3 points.

Home matches against promoted Coventry City and Ipswich Town over the first seven Gameweeks will make Haaland a big favourite for managers playing their first Triple Captain chip of the season.

Bruno Fernandes (Man Utd midfielder) £12.0m

The Manchester United playmaker earns the joint-highest price rise of 2026/27, climbing from last season’s £9.0m up to £12.0m.

Fernandes ultimately ended 2025/26 just four points behind Haaland on 235, thanks to nine goals and 24 assists.

Yet a look at his output after Michael Carrick took charge in Gameweek 22 suggests the Portuguese can get even better this time around.

Fernandes was the top-scoring player in Fantasy over those final 17 Gameweeks of 2025/26, producing 129 points at an average of 7.6 per match.

Man Utd’s opening pair of matches hand Fernandes the opportunity to immediately challenge Haaland for the captaincy, with back-to-back matches against promoted pair Hull City and Ipswich.

Gabriel (Arsenal defender) £8.0m

Arsenal’s centre-back dominated the defender standings in Fantasy last season, finishing 30 points clear of any other player in his position on 209 points.

A huge threat at set-pieces, Gabriel’s multiple routes to returns are highlighted by his three goals, five assists, 18 clean sheets and 22 defensive contribution (DC) points. In Fantasy, a defender earns two points if he makes 10 or more defensive actions in a match, with midfielders needing to make 12 in order to collect the extra points.

Indeed, such was his consistency, he blanked in only six of his 30 starts in 2025/26.

While a rise of £2.0m from last season’s £6.0m is fairly hefty, it’s worth noting that Gabriel’s total of 209 points was the third-best of all-time, just behind the record of 213 points set by Andrew Robertson for Liverpool in 2018/19.

If he can remain injury-free and start more than 30 matches this time around, there’s every chance Gabriel can surpass Robertson’s total by the end of 2026/27 Fantasy.

Cole Palmer (Chelsea midfielder) £9.5m

The Chelsea star drops £1.0m from his starting cost of £10.5m last season after he finished 2025/26 with a hugely underwhelming 114 points.

It’s easy to forget that Palmer delivered back-to-back 200+ point campaigns prior to last season. Indeed, he was the top-scoring player in 2023/24, scoring 22 goals and assisting 13 more in his one and only season under Mauricio Pochettino.

There’s now hope that the arrival of Xabi Alonso as manager can revive Palmer’s prospects, and the midfielder’s lack of international football over the summer gives him the chance to star in the Blues’ upcoming pre-season friendlies.

Furthermore, a lack of European football in 2026/27 for Chelsea will also mean Palmer will be fresher and less likely to be rotated for Premier League matches.

Alexander Isak (Liverpool forward) £9.0m

The Swede comes in at a hefty £6.5m less than Haaland after his injury-hit debut campaign for Liverpool. Priced at £10.5m in 2025/26, Isak was restricted to just eight starts and amassed just 41 points.

Similarly to Palmer, his output in 2024/25 - in his final campaign at Newcastle United - shows Isak’s potential, with the forward scoring 23 goals and supplying six assists to total 211 points.

A long-term injury to his rival Hugo Ekitike (£7.5m) should allow Isak to secure the centre-forward role under new head coach Andoni Iraola. And he could even take over penalty duties following the departure of FPL legend Mohamed Salah.

Igor Thiago (Brentford forward) £8.0m

Brentford’s forward is one of two players – along with Gabriel – to rise in price by £2.0m for 2026/27 Fantasy.

Thiago started at £6.0m in his breakout campaign last season and emerged as Haaland’s main rival for the Golden Boot, scoring 22 goals in 37 starts to total 181 points in Fantasy.

The underlying numbers further back up Thiago’s major goal threat. His 80 shots in the box and 41 big chances (situations where a player is expected to score) were also ranked second to Haaland among forwards in 2025/26 Fantasy.

Junior Kroupi (Bournemouth midfielder) £7.5m

Along with Fernandes, the Bournemouth star earns the joint-highest price rise of 2026/27, jumping by £3.0m up to £7.5m following his impressive debut campaign.

Kroupi also changes position from a forward to a midfielder this time around, having mainly featured as a No 10 for the Cherries in 2025/26. Despite playing in that central support role, Kroupi enjoyed a prolific season, scoring 13 goals over 33 appearances.

The Frenchman’s 134.0 minutes per goal was over 50 minutes quicker than Antoine Semenyo (£8.5m), whose average of 188.2 was the fastest among regular starters in midfield last season.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (Everton midfielder) £6.5m

The Everton star appears to be among the best all-round options in the sub-£7.0m midfielder category.

In his breakout Fantasy campaign last season, Dewsbury-Hall combined eight goals and seven assists with 10 DC points and 18 bonus points to total 151 points.

Despite his rise of £1.0m for 2026/27, Dewsbury-Hall can still offer strong value if he mirrors his average of 5.0 points per start from last season.

William Osula (Newcastle forward) £6.0m

His form towards the end of 2025/26 looks very encouraging for Osula’s chances of securing a regular starting role for Newcastle this season.

The forward had started only one of his side's opening 31 matches, earning a further 16 appearances as a substitute, and scoring only two goals. But Osula then went on to start all of the Magpies’ final seven matches, scoring five more goals in the process.

Newcastle face only three of last season’s top 10 clubs across their opening 10 matches, giving Osula the opportunity to stake a claim as this season’s Thiago in the £6.0m bracket.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Leeds forward) £6.0m

The Leeds star is another name that jumps out in the very competitive £6.0m forward bracket.

Calvert-Lewin scored 14 goals and supplied two assists last season to total 142 points, claiming sixth spot among forwards ahead of Arsenal’s Viktor Gyokeres (£7.5m).

The Englishman is also Leeds’ No 1 penalty-taker and can be a great long-term option to keep in your squad and start for his favourable fixtures.

Ethan Ampadu (Leeds midfielder) £5.5m

The Welshman is one of the standout budget midfielders when it comes to potential for DC points.

Ampadu earned 38 of them last season, the third-most among midfielders and just two behind Everton’s James Garner (£6.0m). Yet in terms of success rate, Ampadu had the slight advantage – he earned DC points in 54.3 per cent of his matches, compared with the 52.6 of Garner.

With last season’s standout DC player Elliot Anderson now rising to £6.5m, having moved from Nottingham Forest to Manchester City, Ampadu could become a more popular pick in the sub-£6.0m category.

Tyrick Mitchell (Crystal Palace defender) £4.5m

Among all defenders priced under £5.0m for 2026/27 Fantasy, Mitchell’s total of 135 points last season was the best of all.

It was also just one point behind his fellow wing-back Daniel Munoz, who will set you back £5.5m this season due to his greater attacking threat.

It is worth noting that Palace are among eight sides who will start the season with a new manager after Pierre Sage replaced Oliver Glasner at the helm, and monitoring their tactics over pre-season will be crucial.

If Sage carries on with the wing-back system of his predecessor, Mitchell can be a great value pick at the back.

Antonin Kinsky (Spurs goalkeeper) £4.5m

Tottenham Hotspur’s summer rebuild in defence could ultimately lift Kinsky’s prospects of emerging as a great budget goalkeeper.

Spurs’ new centre-backs Marcos Senesi and Jan Paul van Hecke now come in at £6.0m and £5.0m respectively, while their attacking right-back Pedro Porro is £5.5m.

If Spurs can build on the underlying numbers in their seven matches under Roberto De Zerbi late last season, their No 1 could be a strong sub-£5.0m pick.

After De Zerbi was appointed head coach in Gameweek 32, they conceded a league-low 10 big chances, which are situations where a player is expected to score.

Bobby Thomas (Coventry defender) £4.0m

This season, all promoted defenders currently in the game have been attractively priced at £4.0m.

In the 2025/26 Championship, Coventry’s Thomas had the most impressive attacking output of any centre-back, scoring three goals and assisting a further four.

His potential for DC points also looks very promising.

Having averaged 8.6 defensive actions in the Championship last season, you’d expect Thomas to be a lot busier in the Premier League in 2026/27.

Charlie Hughes (Hull defender) £4.0m

Of all promoted defenders for 2026/27, the Hull centre-back looks the likeliest to benefit from defensive contributions.

Hughes averaged 11.8 defensive actions in last season’s Championship, more than any other defender from Coventry, Hull and Ipswich Town.

While a goal and an assist does show his attacking limitations, Hughes’ potential for DC points and ultra-low cost makes him a great option to have on your bench and call upon in emergencies.

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