Budget FPL starters after five gameweeks: points, prices and minutes

The cheapest player with a big points total is not automatically the best next transfer. This snapshot asks a narrower question: which budget players have combined points with regular starts in the first five gameweeks of 2026/27?

As of 6 October 2026, Bogle leads the qualifying defenders with 42 points at £4.6m (9.13 points per £1m), while Groß leads the midfielders with 47 at £5.9m (7.97). Tzolakis leads the goalkeepers and Kostoulas the forwards. These are points already earned, not predictions for Gameweek 6.

The screen: price, minutes and starts

We took a dated snapshot of the official FPL player data after Gameweek 5 was marked finished and checked. All five opening gameweeks were complete; Gameweek 6 was still upcoming.

Our budget limits are £5.0m for goalkeepers, £5.0m for defenders, £6.5m for midfielders and £7.0m for forwards. These are editorial screening choices, not official FPL budget categories. Players must have at least 270 minutes and three starts so that one short scoring appearance cannot qualify by itself. This leaves 150 of 667 players in the snapshot.

Within each position, we divide season-to-date FPL points by the player's current price in millions. We sort by that ratio, then minutes, then player ID. The displayed ratio is rounded to two decimals. Different positions have different scoring rules and budgets, so compare within a position rather than treating this as one overall transfer ranking.

Goalkeepers: top five by points per £1m

16 players qualified in this position.

Defenders: top five by points per £1m

59 players qualified in this position.

Midfielders: top five by points per £1m

62 players qualified in this position.

Forwards: top five by points per £1m

13 players qualified in this position.

Brian Brobbey was flagged as doubtful in the source snapshot. We retain him because this is a historical-output screen, and label the flag rather than silently treating him as an available transfer. Check the latest FPL status and team news before any deadline; all availability and prices here are frozen on 6 October.

Worked example: Bogle versus De Cuyper

Bogle's 42 points divided by £4.6m gives 9.13 points per £1m. De Cuyper's 38 divided by £5.0m gives 7.60. Both started five times, but Bogle played 365 minutes and De Cuyper 423. The ratio favours Bogle's points and price; the minutes column adds context that the ratio alone hides.

Neither calculation says who will score more next week. To make a transfer decision, compare their predicted points over the coming gameweeks, then test the replacement in the FPL team planner. That keeps the forward-looking comparison tied to your squad, budget and starting eleven. The free team rater gives a separate current squad benchmark.

Download and reproduce the results

Download all 150 qualifying players as a CSV. It includes player IDs, names, clubs, positions, current prices, points, minutes, starts, the ratio, and the source availability flag and news. In a spreadsheet, divide total_points by price_gbp_m to reproduce the ratio. The tables above show the first five players in each position.

Source fields: id, first_name, second_name, web_name, team, element_type, now_cost, total_points, minutes, starts, status and news from the official FPL bootstrap-static endpoint. Divide now_cost by ten to obtain a price in millions. Team abbreviations come from the same response. This is an independent KnightManagers analysis of public FPL data, not an official Premier League publication.

What this can and cannot tell you

Five gameweeks are a small sample. Past points include events that may not repeat, and this screen does not adjust for fixtures, expected minutes, injury risk or future role changes. Three starts do not establish a secure starting place. The ratio uses today's price, not the price at which anyone bought the player, and is not investment return or a measure of prediction accuracy.

The CSV and article are a fixed historical snapshot. They will not change with later price movements or results. Use the dated tables to find candidates worth investigating, then use current information to make the decision.