FPL Budget Picks: The Best MID Under £9.0

Under £9.0m midfielders: who actually earns their price

Seventy-three midfielders come in under £9.0m this week. Most of them are there to sit on your bench and disappoint you. Here's who's worth the money — every one of them a nailed starter, because a cheap player who doesn't play is just a smaller waste.

Mbeumo (MUN, £8.0m) — our top pick. Starts every week, kind fixtures ahead beginning at Everton, and he's good for the best part of six points a match over the next six. About 3 in 10 already own him, so he's hardly a secret — but he's a secret that keeps paying.

Rogers (CHE, £7.5m) — the best alternative, and £0.5m cheaper. Nailed, lovely run ahead, projects slightly higher than Mbeumo over six weeks. First up is Arsenal away, which is the one wrinkle. Roughly 1 in 4 have him.

Foden (MCI, £7.0m) — the eye-catcher. Highest points projection in the whole bracket, Coventry at home next, and hardly anyone owns him — fewer than 1 in 20. Our model still ranks two players above him, mind, and it does that for a reason. Tempting punt, not the safe money.

Gibbs-White (NFO, £7.9m) — starts, kind run after Spurs at home, under 1 in 10 own him. Solid.

Cherki (MCI, £7.6m) — nailed for now, same lovely City fixtures. Nearly 2 in 10 aboard.

Groß (BHA, £5.5m) — here's the value. Starts every week, Leeds at home next, and projects nearly as well as the £8.0m men. This is what a bench-slot budget should buy.

Semenyo (MCI, £8.5m) — starter, good fixtures, but pricier than Mbeumo for fewer projected points. Pass.

Cunha (MUN, £8.0m) — plays, nice fixtures, but Mbeumo is the United midfielder to own at the same price.

Diego Gomez (BHA, £5.0m) — the deadpan bargain of the week. Five million, nailed, kind run, projects level with players £3m dearer. Owned by almost nobody.

Szoboszlai (LIV, £7.0m), Dewsbury-Hall (EVE, £6.5m), Ndiaye (EVE, £6.0m) — all start, all face tough runs. Four in 10 own Szoboszlai; that's a lot of managers holding the wrong Liverpool asset right now.

The call: buy Mbeumo at £8.0m if you've got the budget, Rogers at £7.5m if you'd rather keep the change. And if you're building from the bottom up, Diego Gomez at £5.0m is the enabler that pays for both. Reliable beats romantic. It usually does.