FPL Budget Picks: The Best DEF Under £6.5
The call — Budget Defenders: What £6.5m Or Less Actually Buys You The best-value defender in the game right now costs £4.9m, starts every week, and our model has him down for the most points of any defender in this bracket over the next six — that's De Cuyper, and about 1 in 4 of you already know it.
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One squad, picked before a ball was kicked and run for six gameweeks on three transfers — no hits taken. Scored on FPL’s own results.
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We ran the rule over 83 defenders at £6.5m or under. Here's the shortlist, in order of preference — and yes, the order matters.
De Cuyper (BHA, £4.9m) — nailed starter, very kind fixtures starting with ARS (H), and comfortably the biggest projected haul of the bunch. Usually good for 5-6 a week on this run. About 1 in 4 own him. The pick.
Calafiori (ARS, £5.8m) — starts, lovely fixtures, and half the game owns him. But he's projected well below cheaper names here, and you're paying almost a quid more for the badge. Template tax.
Guéhi (MCI, £6.0m) — starts for the league's best defence, SUN (H) next, and only about 2 in 10 own him. Solid, just pricey for this exercise.
Bogle (LEE, £4.5m) — the sleeper. Starts, kind fixtures beginning with CRY (H), projects nearly as high as anyone here, and hardly a soul owns him — about 1 in 25. At £4.5m that's genuinely silly value.
Hall (NEW, £5.2m) — starter, HUL (H) up first, dependable numbers. No complaints, just doesn't beat what's above him.
Gvardiol (MCI, £5.7m) — starts and the fixtures are nice, but Guéhi's the better route into City's defence and 30p cheaper isn't enough to change that.
Muharemović (LEE, £5.0m) — projects well, expected to start, but he's unproven at this level and Bogle gets you the same Leeds clean sheets for 50p less. Take the discount.
Tarkowski (EVE, £6.1m), Van Hecke (TOT, £4.9m) — both start, both fine, both on average fixtures. Squad fillers, not season-makers.
Ajayi (HUL, £4.2m), Vuskovic (BHA, £5.0m), Davis (IPS, £4.0m) — all expected to start, which at these prices is most of the battle, but Ajayi and Davis are unproven and Davis has a rough run. De Cuyper already covers Brighton better than Vuskovic does.
The honest caveat on the top pick: De Cuyper opens with Arsenal at home, so don't panic if week one is a blank. The run after that is where the points live.
The call: buy De Cuyper as your first budget defender, and if you need a second — or the funds are tight — Bogle at £4.5m is the best alternative on the board. Starts, plays, barely owned. That's the whole job description.