FPL Budget Picks: The Best MID Under £9.0

Midfielders under £9.0m: who's actually worth your money

The sharpest number in this bracket: Mbeumo, £7.9m, projected for about 41 points over the next six weeks — the best of the 78 midfielders who qualify, and only about 2 or 3 in 10 managers own him. He starts every week for United, and once the small matter of City at Old Trafford is out of the way, the fixtures turn very kind indeed. That's what value looks like: a starter, a run of games, a price that leaves change.

The rest of the shortlist, in the order we'd actually rank them:

Rogers (CHE, £7.6m) — nailed starter, Hull at home next, and a very kind run after that. Good for roughly 39 points over six. About 3 in 10 already have him, so he's hardly a secret, but the maths still works.

Szoboszlai (LIV, £7.0m) — starts, but the fixtures are brutal and the numbers say around 26 points over six. Nearly 4 in 10 own him. That's a lot of managers paying for the badge.

Groß (BHA, £5.6m) — the quiet one. Starts every week, never blanks badly, and projects close to 38 points — within touching distance of players £2m dearer. Coventry away first. Fixtures are only average, but at £5.6m you're not paying for fixtures, you're paying for minutes. Only about 1 or 2 in 10 own him.

Cherki (MCI, £7.8m) and Semenyo (MCI, £8.4m) — both start, both have decent fixtures, but around 23–25 points over six is thin for the money. City's rotation carousel is the tax you pay.

Tavernier (BOU, £6.0m) — starter, barely anyone owns him, solid 30-odd points projected. Honest pick.

Cunha (MUN, £7.9m) — same price and fixtures as Mbeumo, projected ten points fewer. Buy the better one.

Gibbs-White, Dewsbury-Hall, Ødegaard — all starters, all facing tough-to-horrible runs. Fine players, wrong time.

Diego Gomez (BHA, £5.0m) — 28 points projected at five million flat, starts for Brighton. If you need a fifth midfielder who actually plays rather than a bench ornament, this is it.

The call: Mbeumo is the buy — best projection in the bracket, kind fixtures, starts every week, and most managers haven't caught up yet. Rogers is the sensible alternative if you want the cheaper route. And if the budget's tight, Groß at £5.6m is doing 95% of the job for 70% of the price — which, round here, is the whole point.