FPL Budget Picks: The Best GK Under £5.0

Hardly anyone owns him — barely 1 in 20 — and that's the catch too: he's unproven at this level and his starting spot isn't nailed down yet. At this price, minutes are the entire purchase. Buy the shirt, not the name.

The rest of the bracket, quickly, in our order of preference:

Kelleher (BRE, £5.0m) — proven, favourable fixtures, around 22 points projected, but starts not confirmed and LIV (H) first up is grim. Verbruggen (BHA, £4.5m) — the template pick, owned by about 2 in 10, very kind run starting CRY (H), but again not pencilled in as a certain starter. Tzolakis (HUL, £4.7m) — and here's a sentence Cheapy enjoys writing: he actually starts. Average fixtures (FUL away next), around 21 points, owned by about 1 in 10. Kinsky (TOT, £4.5m) — lovely fixtures starting COV (H), but unproven and unconfirmed. Martinez (CHE, £5.0m) and Leno (FUL, £4.5m) — proven hands, average runs, neither guaranteed the shirt. Lammens (MUN, £4.9m) — tough fixtures, pass. Roefs (SUN, £4.9m) — quietly projected around 21 with favourable fixtures and almost no owners, worth a watch. Horníček (NEW, £5.0m) — confirmed starter, around 21 points, owned by practically nobody (~1 in 50ish), AVL (H) next. Petrović (BOU, £4.5m) — average run, starts unclear. Rushworth (COV, £4.5m) — the sneaky one: confirmed starter, very kind fixtures after TOT (A), nearly 22 projected points, and owned by almost literally no one.

So. The romance pick is Trafford, and the numbers back him — if he starts. But a keeper who definitely plays beats a keeper who might play, every single week, and three names here come with the magic word "starter": Tzolakis, Horníček and Rushworth.

The call: Trafford is the top pick — the fixtures and the points make him worth the small leap of faith, and if Leeds confirm him he's the best £5.0m in the game. If you'd rather not gamble a bench slot on a maybe, Rushworth at £4.5m is the best alternative: guaranteed minutes, lovely fixtures, and he costs half a million less. Buy Trafford if you like upside; buy Rushworth if you like sleeping at night. Cheapy's buying Rushworth.