Does Price Mean Points? FPL 24/25

Jack Heath, known by his former YouTube and current Twitter handle 'CaptainFPL' https://x.com/CaptainFPL1 , analyses the most expensive players in this year's Fantasy Premier League priced £10.0m and above. The game released on Wednesday, so there's been much time to review the prices. Is Haaland worth 15% of our £100m budget or is there greater value elsewhere?

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1. Heung-Min Son (TOT) - £10.0m, MID

The Spurs skipper received a +£1.0m price rise for the new 24/25 season following a solid season for The Lilywhites last time out. The South Korean notched 17 goals and 8 fantasy assists, finishing the season on 213 points, 61 more than the 22/23 campaign.

Many wondered whether Son would be able to flourish without his partner in crime Harry Kane following his move to Bayern Munich last season. Son thrived in a Postecoglou system which focused on pace, quick transitions and cutting the ball back in the box where Sonny would often find himself.

Setting up as a striker in Richarlison's (£7.0m) absence or on the LW, the frontman capitalised upon the opportunities given to him. Son is one of the most clinical finishers the Premier League has ever seen with scoring 17 goals from xG of 11.49 demonstrating his overperformance. This is perhaps my one doubt when it comes to picking Son for my FPL team. He's now 32 and not getting any younger. His clinical nature will likely begin to decline which may affect his points potential. Additionally, if Richarlison can cement a starting spot and stay injury-free, I can see Son's minutes being managed this season, particularly with Europa League involvement. He may start to get taken off on 60/70 mins to protect him.

There's no doubting Sonny is a top baller who produces moments of magic every time he touches the ball. Yet, at the start of this campaign, I'd be tempted to monitor how Spurs operate with him and to see if he does begin to decline. As a Spurs fan, I'm grateful for all that Son has done for us, but for a number of years I've been in favour of selling him on as he can blow very hot and cold. With other more consistent performers in a similar price bracket in Saka (£10.0m) and Palmer (£10.5m), I'd prefer to spend my £10m somewhere else initially and then maybe transfer in Son at a later stage. Jack's verdict - wait and see.

2. Bukayo Saka (ARS) - £10.0m, MID

Saka received a +£1.5m price rise following his best points season so far with The Gunners last season. The winger scored 226 points thanks to 16 goals and 12 assists. Interestingly, the Arsenal man stepped up in the BPS system as he claimed 10 more bonus points than he did in the 22/23 season.

Last campaign, Arsenal were scintillating and pushed Manchester City until the final day of the season for the title. Mikel Arteta is cooking up something very nice and starboy Saka is the centrepiece of his plans. Even when he was injury doubt, Saka would somehow find a way to start, featuring 35/38 times from the get go. Arsenal don't really have anyone who can replicate Saka's brilliance down the RW, thus he is an essential part of how Arsenal play.

This season, Arsenal step up to play Champions League football, an exciting prospect for the boys in red and white. It will be interesting to see how Arteta manages Saka's minutes and if he gets a promising understudy to carry the load. Indeed, Trossard (£7.0m) and Nelson (£5.0m) can do a job on the right if needed but, they don't come close to Saka's brilliance. Therefore, you can trust Saka will play nearly every minute if fit, being taken off early if Arsenal have a comfortable lead.

Arsenal's fixtures are mixed start of the season as they do face 3 of last season's top 6 in their first 5 matches. Yet, they are one of the strongest sides in the league and can turnover anyone on their day. With corners, penalties and consistency in Saka's locker, he was one of the first names in my team. Jack's verdict - locked in.

3. Cole Palmer (CHE) - £10.5m, MID

Palmer had a sensational season last year finishing on a whopping 244 points, the highest scoring player in the 23/24 season. The ice-man received a record-breaking price rice of +£5.5m. It is mental to think that he started last season at £5.0m, bearing in mind he was an irregular starter at City. He transformed his trajectory with his move to Chelsea, leading the side with consistency despite an up and down campaign for The Blues.

22 goals and 13 assists was light work for Palmer last season, with penalties providing a major 9 goals from the spot. In addition, he takes corners and occasional free-kicks for Chelsea, showing his multiple methods to get points for happy FPL managers.

Undeniably, the price increase has reduced some of his value as, this season more than ever, it is proving very difficult to get more than 2 premium players into 1 team. However, despite an opening tough test against league winners Manchester City in GW1, Palmer and Chelsea don't face any of last season's top 6 until GW8. It would be very hard to not look past Palmer for a spot in our teams.

Yet, there remains one key factor: Enzo Maresca. The former Leicester man is the new manager of Chelsea. His style revolves around quick possession-based football, an attractive style that propelled Leicester to winning the Championship last time out. Pre-season will be key for Chelsea to see if they can reach new heights under the Boehly administration. I quite like the idea of saving £0.5m/£1.0m in the bank to bring in Palmer after the City test, observing how Chelsea set up in a league setting before jumping on their assets. Jack's verdict - wait and see.

4. Mohamed Salah (LIV) - £12.5m, MID

The first player on this list to receive a price decrease, Salah will enter the 24/25 season fresh due to no international involvement with Egypt this summer. The Egyptian received a -£0.5m price drop following his fruitful campaign last time out with 211 points. Yet, this was a decrease in output from the Liverpool man compared with his 239 points in the 22/23 season.

£12.5m was the correct price decision from FPL towers this season and it forces managers into a decision of whether to stick with King Mo or leave him out completely, spending the vital cash elsewhere.

One of my main concerns with Salah is his apparent decline as an FPL and football player. Looking at the table below, since his explosive 17/18 campaign with Liverpool, the winger has not been able to hit the heights of that ridiculously good season.

Key:

Green = improved on previous season

Blank = unchanged on previous season

Red = worsened compared to previous season

Indeed, many of these seasons have been separated by minor goals/assists/points differences but it still points to worrying signs. Intriguingly, last season his xG slightly decreased by 0.12 compared to 22/23 whilst his xA increased by 0.44. There's an argument that as Salah gets older, he's moving away from his selfish finisher days to becoming more of a creative focus.

However, Jurgen Klopp has now gone and Arne Slot has taken over as Liverpool boss. This leaves many questions to how he decides to set Liverpool up and rotate his squads during their European campaign. Liverpool have an embarrassment of riches up top and where Slot wants to play Salah will be key. Liverpool recently played a behind doors friendly against Preston where Salah operated down the middle in the first half. I believe this role could definitely suit him, albeit prompting the question of where Nuñéz (£7.5m) and Gakpo (£7.5m) line up in the side.

The difference with Slot is that he has been decided as successor months in advance. There will be a strong plan with how he wants to play, who he wants to recruit and how he wants to be involved with Liverpool. The Reds have a great fixture run until GW8 but I'm tempted to just hold off from selecting Salah from the get-go to see how they play under a new manager. Moreover, the question of whether Salah is regressing will still play on my mind. There were evident signs last season but it is always hard to ignore King Mo. Jack's verdict - wait and see.

5. Erling Haaland (MCI) - £15.0m, FWD

The box office section, Erling Haaland is now the most expensive FPL player in history, coming in at a whopping £15.0m. I was rather confused with the pricing, bearing in mind he was 55 points worse off last season compared to the 22/23 debut season. I thought that if he stuck at £14.0m or had a slight increase to £14.5m that would've been fair. Part of me thinks FPL Towers saw this as an ample opportunity to create headlines by making him the most expensive player ever.

Although, I'm not annoyed by the pricing decision as this now prompts FPL manager's to seriously think about whether they want Haaland in their teams and who to give the captaincy too if they don't have him. His quality is undeniable, mustering up 63 goals and 17 assists in 2 seasons which is freakishly good. Also, playing in a strong City side that score goals for fun, Haaland will always get in on the action.

What FPL managers need to weigh up is whether his inclusion in there teams is a) too big a sacrifice to justify the cash and b) whether 2 players at £7.5m offer better value. In the mid-price bracket there are a plethora of amazing FPL assets to choose from. Isak (£8.5m), Watkins (£9.0m), Eze (£7.0m), Gordon (£7.5m) and Mateta (£7.5m) are just some of the great names you can get if you save the Haaland money.

Indeed, Haaland is always going to be a strong name for the captaincy but I do think this year there is an abundance of options that can be called upon and potentially combine to outscore Haaland this season.

For example, let's compare Haaland and early bargain forward favourite João Pedro (£5.5m) who total £20.5m against a striking partnership of Watkins and Isak who total £17.5m. Based on last season, Haaland and João Pedro score you 321 points whereas Watkins and Isak score 400. As well as being £3.0m cheaper, the latter pair score 79 points more. So this does beg the question whether you get more points spreading the money across your attackers and team then going all in on Haaland. Haaland is of course reliable, but even last season he began to blank which was surprising, especially due to his unreal 22/23 season.

In potentially Guardiola's last season in charge of City, they will be hot favourites to win the title and Haaland will be favourite to win the Golden Boot for the 3rd season in a row. At the time of writing, Haaland has 31.2% ownership. Last season, I distinctly remember seeing his ownership above 80% prior to GW1. This shows that managers are debating his inclusion in their teams. For me, he's not been in any of my drafts so far. I think the emergence of cheap enablers/budget gems will be key to whether I include Haaland in my team. Jack's verdict - wait and see.