Top 5 Cheap Players for FPL 2025-26

With the introduction of the new CBIT system (defensive contribution points), cheap players are few and far between this season.

But if you’re looking for some budget options to support your main cast of premium players, we have a few that may be of interest.

Leeds’ 2024/25 season ranked among the most dominant the Championship has seen from a data perspective, and they’ve now added a new attacking full-back to the squad.

Gudmundsson, primarily a left-back but capable of playing further forward, posted a non-penalty expected goals plus expected assists per 90 of 0.11 last season. It’s not exactly eye-catching, but he’s a potential starter for a title-winning side that boasted the league’s lowest expected goals against.

His opening six fixtures include four decent ones: EVE, ful, wol, and BOU.

We expect Gudmundsson to start at left-back in Gameweek 1, though there’s a chance teammate Sam Byram gets the nod instead. Helpfully, he’s also priced at £4.0m.

All eyes are on Leeds’ final preseason friendly, where we should get some clues on their preferred starting XI.

Interested in a cheap midfielder that may benefit from the new bonus point system?

Of course you are.

Carlos Baleba is the latest Brighton asset to attract interest from top clubs, and it’s for good reason. Baleba averaged over seven defensive actions per game last season but also chipped in with four goals + assists.

He’s the option who can dependably give you both the added bonus of the new point system along with the occasional offensive return.

Not bad for a £5.0m midfielder.

It feels like an eternity since Aston Villa spent £25 million to prise Malen away from Borussia Dortmund.

He arrived off the back of two strong seasons in Germany, registering a combined 29 goals and assists across the 2022–2024 campaigns.

But so far, he’s yet to find his feet at Villa.

That could change this season, with the departures of Asensio and Rashford opening up potential minutes for the Dutch winger. If Malen can nail down a regular spot in Aston Villa’s frontline, he has the potential to be the best cheap midfielder in FPL.

Yes, Everton recently signed another striker, but in our view, Beto still has the potential to be one of the best cheap FPL picks this season.

It’s easy to overlook the fact that Beto scored 8 goals in the second half of last season, finishing the campaign with the sixth-best non-penalty expected goals per 90 of all Premier League strikers.

And that wasn’t a fluke. Beto has consistently produced between 0.4 and 0.5 npxG per 90 throughout his career, making him a monster at his price point.

If the word is that Beto is set to start the season as Everton’s main striker, he’ll be hard to ignore.

As things stand, Harvey Elliott isn’t a viable pick, but due to the sheer lack of budget midfielder options right now, we’re including him with clear caveats.

Elliott has been strongly linked with moves to Aston Villa and West Ham. If one of those goes through, he could quickly become the standout cheap midfield option in FPL.

His attacking output at Liverpool hasn’t been anything special, but a lack of consistent minutes has played a part. A move should give him a better platform to deliver.

He’s one to monitor. If no transfer materialises, he’ll likely be replaced by a stronger budget option as more emerge during pre-season.