Bargain FPL Options – Forwards – Fantasy Football Tips

Welcome to the pre-season fantasy football tips series “Bargain FPL options”, the four-piece series where we find the fantasy football bargains for all positions. If you missed the first Bargain FPL options piece on goalkeepers, defenders or midfielders, be sure to give them a read!

It’s well known that most fantasy football points are scored from the outfield positions (midfielders and forwards) and having an expensive front line does cause budget issues. It is therefore important to try any find some cheaper players to help fit in these more expensive players. These five bargain FPL options in forwards should provide a solid point count and leave you a nice chunk of cash for the more important players.

Tammy Abraham (Swansea, 5.5m)

Tammy Abraham has a current ownership of just 3.2% for his first full season in the Premier League. He has had Premier League experience in the past with parent club Chelsea but that only lasted 55 minutes. He has been marked as having a groin injury with a 75% chance of playing but Swansea manager Paul Clement is optimistic that Abraham will be available for the first match of the season away at Southampton.

Abraham spent last season on loan at Championship outfit Bristol City where he scored a sensational 26 goals in just 48 appearances for the Robins which guided Bristol City away from the relegation zone. The 6ft 5 man also took part in England’s U21 European Championship campaign, where they were knocked out by Germany in a game that saw Abraham score in normal time but miss a penalty in the shoot out.

At 5.5m, he could be a great option as a 3rd striker to help free up budget that can be used elsewhere in the squad. With the injury of Spanish striker Fernando Llorente, Abraham has a great chance of starting a sufficient amount of games for the Swans.

Jay Rodriguez (West Brom, 6.0m)

Jay Rodriguez seems to be popular amongst FPL twitter accounts but has just a 3.2% ownership. Rodriguez is about to take part in his 5th season in the Premier League, making him the most experienced striker in this list.

He joined West Brom from Southampton where he had 2 successful seasons, scoring over a century of points two seasons in a row. However, injury had ruined his next 2 seasons with the Saints. He failed to play a signal minute in the 2014/15 season and just 351 minutes in the 2015/16 season.

Last season could’ve marked the restart of Rodriguez’s career, as despite the Englishman playing just under 900 minutes of Premier League football, he notched up 73 points, which equates to 7.3 points per game, which is fantastic. As long as he stays fit and stays in the starting eleven, I believe Rodriguez could grab easily over a century of points once more. His 6.0m price tag makes the forward even more tempting as a 3rd striker.

Dwight Gayle (Newcastle, 6.5m)

Dwight Gayle has a 4.0% ownership on FPL which for me is surprisingly low. Gayle has been given the price of 6.5m which in my eyes is generous. The Englishman bagged 23 Championship goals in just 32 games in a season where he was once again affected by an injury of some sorts.

The striker does have previous Premier League experience with Crystal Palace, across 3 seasons. However in those 3 Premier League campaigns, Gayle registered just under 2,700 minutes, which is the equivalent of 30 games. In those 30 games Gayle scored an impressive 15 goals and set up 3 for his team mates.

Newcastle’s opening fixtures are not too difficult by their standards, so as long as he can stay fit, Gayle should be in the points at the beginning of the season. A big factor of Gayle’s scoring record is the players around him and the quality they bring to the team. Shelvey with his set piece ability and range of passing was key for Gayle last season for a couple of his goals and Benitez has added Josh Murphy to the ranks at Newcastle, which will only improve Gayle and evidently his FPL points return.

Javier Hernandez (West Ham, 7.0m)

Javier Hernandez is the third most owned forward on FPL, as he is owned by 21.6% of FPL managers. A lot of FPL managers were surprised at his low price of£7.0m which has been more than enough to tempt them into selecting the Mexican. Also he is fifth in the list of the best minutes per goal scoring record in the Premier League, with 37 goals in 102 appearances at a goal every 130.2 minutes.
In my opinion, Hernandez could well be the best bargain striker every FPL manager is looking for. His price tag makes him cheaper than the likes of Benteke and Defoe, but still has the quality to get more points than them. Selecting him can free up budget to spend elsewhere in the squad.
West Ham have a difficult start to their Premier League campaign, as they start with Manchester United, then play other top six oppositions swiftly after. However due to his quality I believe Hernandez can score a couple in that time, considering he also has quality around him (Manuel Lanzini and Marko Arnautovic).

Roberto Firmino (Liverpool, 8.5m)

Roberto Firmino like Hernandez is also highly owned. The Brazilian has an ownership of 20.2% making him the fourth most owned forward, just behind Hernandez. You may believe that 8.5m isn’t a bargain for a striker and you’d may class him as a premium striker.

However, Firmino is entering his third consecutive season in the Premier League and he continues to improve. In his first season he scored 10 and assisted 8 goals whilst playing from an attacking midfielder role the majority of the time. Last season he was deployed further forward as a centre forward and he claimed 11 goals and 11 assists, which lead to him scoring an impressive 180 FPL points.

Also, a major factor of Firmino being a bargain in my opinion is that in pre season he was on penalties which could be huge in FPL. Liverpool received a staggering 8 penalties last season which, given he would score the same amount this season, would see the striker score an extra 32 points, which doesn’t even factor in bonus points which would be affected.

Written by Harry Clark (@HarryClark67)

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