FPL Budget Picks: The Best FWD Under £9.5

Budget Forwards: Who's Actually Worth Your Money Under £9.5m

Here's the sharpest number in the budget forward bracket right now: Wissa, £6.2m, projected for 29 points over the next six — nearly ten clear of anyone else on this list. That's not a gap you argue with.

The Newcastle man starts, he's proven at this level, and the fixtures are about as kind as they get, opening at Coventry. About 2 in 10 managers already own him, so he's not a secret — but at £6.2m he's the rare cheap forward where you're not paying for hope, you're paying for minutes and a run of games he should score in. That's what value looks like.

Quick receipts on the rest:

• Barry (EVE, £5.7m) — starts, proven, 20.8 projected, but the fixtures are brutal, starting at Hull. Hardly anyone has him (~1 in 10).
• Calvert-Lewin (LEE, £6.0m) — starts, and about 2-3 in 10 own him, but Arsenal away next and a very tough run after. The ownership is ahead of the fixtures here.
• Thiago (BRE, £7.8m) — starts, but £7.8m for under 20 projected points on tough fixtures is a hard sell. That money buys a defender who actually keeps clean sheets.
• Emersonn (IPS, £5.5m) — projects well at 22.1, but he's unproven and the run is grim. A £5.5m punt, not a plan.
• Evanilson (BOU, £6.0m) — starts, proven, average fixtures, Chelsea away first. Fine. Just fine.
• Kostoulas (BHA, £5.6m) — the quiet one. Starts, proven, very kind fixtures beginning at Sunderland, nearly 21 projected, and barely anyone owns him. At £5.6m that's proper value.
• Gonzalo, McBurnie, Marmoush, Jackson, Delap — all expected to start, all staring at tough runs, none projecting enough to bother with. Marmoush at £7.0m for 12 points is the worst deal on the page.

Nobody here carries a serious minutes flag, which is refreshing — at this price, a starter who never blanks beats a shiny name who's off on 60 every time.

The call: buy Wissa. He's the best forward under £6.5m by a distance and the fixtures are handing him a run. If you need something cheaper — or you're funding a premium elsewhere — Kostoulas at £5.6m is the enabler who actually plays, with fixtures nearly as good and ownership so low you're early to it. Everyone else is either overpriced, overfaced by the fixtures, or both.