Manchester United FPL: Who To Own, Captain And Avoid — 31 Jul

So where does the money go? The boring answer is the right one: Bruno Fernandes at £12.0m. He's projected for around 31 points over the first six — call it 5 a game, every game, because he plays every minute, takes the set pieces, and probably takes the penalties, the throw-ins and the team photo. Nearly 5 in 10 managers already own him, which tells you this isn't a clever pick. It's just the correct one. The caveat is the price: £12.0m is serious money for a midfielder who grinds out fives rather than reliably exploding.

Which brings us to Mbeumo at £8.0m — the value play. Projected for about 27 over the six, £4m cheaper than Bruno, and about 3 in 10 have him already. If your budget doesn't stretch, he's most of Fernandes' output for two-thirds of the cost. Cunha, same price, sits behind him in our pecking order — decent numbers, roughly 1 in 10 own him, but when the model prefers his team-mate at identical money, take the hint. United only have so many productive slots, and Mbeumo looks likelier to fill one.

At the back, temper the enthusiasm. Lammens at £5.0m is a perfectly sensible budget keeper — third-meanest defence in our projections, decent points, owned by about 2 in 10. Maguire at £5.0m is the cheap route in if you must, though with City and Spurs in that window the clean sheets will come in clumps, not weekly.

The honest downside on the whole enterprise: the juiciest fixtures are the first three. If you're buying, buy now, not after Bruno's put six past Ipswich and you're chasing.

The call: if you can afford Fernandes, get him for GW1 — he's the one United asset that never leaves the pitch. If you can't, Mbeumo at £8.0m is the smartest United purchase on the board. One of them should be in your squad before Hull away. Both, if the budget behaves.