FPL Budget Picks: The Best FWD Under £9.5

Forwards under £9.5m: the value board

Every forward on this list is expected to start. That's the headline, and at these prices it's the only headline that matters — a cheap striker on the bench is a £6.0m paperweight.

João Pedro (CHE, £7.7m) tops our board and it isn't close. About 35 points projected over the next six, a very kind run starting with Hull at Stamford Bridge, and roughly 7 in 10 managers already own him. He's the template for a reason. Pay up.

Wissa (NEW, £6.2m) is the value in the room. Nearly the same projected output — around 32 over six — at £1.5m less, with a favourable run opening at Leeds. Only about 1.5 in 10 own him. That's the gap you exploit.

Isak (LIV, £9.0m) starts, scores, and then the fixtures arrive. Fulham at home is fine; the run after it is very tough. He's a proven goalscorer paying a fixture tax.

Thiago (BRE, £7.9m) starts every week but the run is tough and the projection — about 24 over six — doesn't justify nearly £8m. Wissa does his job cheaper.

Barry (EVE, £5.6m) is quietly interesting: projected level with Thiago at £2.3m less, hardly owned (about 1 in 20). Tough fixtures, starting at Tottenham, but as an enabler who plays, he's honest money.

Calvert-Lewin (LEE, £6.0m) starts and 1 in 4 own him, but Newcastle at home kicks off a tough stretch. Hold if you have him; don't chase.

Evanilson (BOU, £6.0m) — average fixtures, average projection. Fine, forgettable.

Havertz (ARS, £7.5m) starts but a very tough run and a thin projection make £7.5m feel like romance. Pass.

Brobbey (SUN, £5.9m) hosts Arsenal next. That tells you everything about his run.

Emersonn (IPS, £5.5m) projects surprisingly well for the price and starts, but he's unproven at this level — a punt, not a plan.

McBurnie (HUL, £5.5m) and Gonzalo (FUL, £6.0m) both start, both face brutal openers (Chelsea away, Liverpool away respectively), both unproven. Bench fodder that plays — which, to be fair, is worth something.

The call: João Pedro is the buy if the budget stretches — best projection, best fixtures, and the crowd already knows it. If you need the £1.5m elsewhere, Wissa is the smartest money on this list: near-identical output, barely owned, and he actually starts. Take one of those two and stop overthinking it.