FPL Budget Picks: The Best FWD Under £7.5

Budget Forwards Under £7.5m: Wissa's the One Doing the Heavy Lifting

Twenty-eight forwards qualify at this price, and one of them is pencilled in for 29 points over the next six — nearly ten clear of almost everything else in the bracket. That's Wissa, £6.2m at Newcastle, starting every week, with a very kind run opening at Coventry away. About 2 in 10 managers already own him, which for a forward doing that much at that price is frankly too few.

The rest of the bracket, in order, with my usual question attached — does he actually play, and against whom:

Barry (EVE, £5.7m) — starts, proven, down for around 21 over six. The catch is a very tough run beginning at Hull. About 1 in 10 own him. The player's fine; the fixtures aren't.

Calvert-Lewin (LEE, £6.0m) — the most-owned name here (~2.5 in 10), but Arsenal away next and a brutal run after. He starts, which keeps him respectable, but the schedule caps him around 20 over six.

Emersonn (IPS, £5.5m) — starts, decent numbers for £5.5m, but unproven at this level and the fixtures are rotten. Hardly anyone has him. A watch, not a buy.

Evanilson (BOU, £6.0m) — reliable starter, average fixtures, Chelsea away first. Steady, unspectacular.

Gonzalo (FUL, £6.0m), McBurnie (HUL, £5.5m), Marmoush (TOT, £7.0m), N.Jackson (AVL, £6.5m), Delap (NFO, £5.6m), Strand Larsen (CRY, £6.0m) — all expected to start, all staring at tough runs, none projected past the high teens. Marmoush at £7.0m for roughly 12 points over six is the worst value on the page.

The one wrinkle worth noting: Kostoulas (BHA, £5.6m) has a very kind run starting at Sunderland and around 21 points pencilled in — a tidy enabler if you need the extra half-million Barry costs.

But the call here isn't complicated. Wissa is the top pick — he starts, he's proven, the fixtures are gentle, and nothing else in the bracket gets near his numbers. Barry is the best alternative if the £6.2m won't stretch, tough fixtures and all. Buy Wissa; everything else is a compromise.