Top value picks to hold long term in FPL 2026/27
Gameweek 1 locks at 6:30pm UK on Friday 21 August. Between now and then the job is picking the players you never want to transfer out — and the cleanest screen for that is last season’s points per million at this season’s price. Below are the best value holds at every position, every one of them currently available, with the catches spelled out.
Two health warnings on the numbers. All points totals are last season’s carryover — nobody has kicked a ball in 2026/27 — and a mover’s total was not earned at his new club, so those players are flagged. And the screen is blind on Coventry, Hull and (mostly) Ipswich: their squads carry almost no Premier League data, so their bargains will only show up once real games are played.
| Player | Club | Price | Pts | Val | FDR | Sel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 VerbruggenGKP | BHA | £4.5m | 130 | 28.9 | 3.00 | 16.8% |
 KelleherGKP | BRE | £5.0m | 143 | 28.6 | 3.00 | 5.5% |
 MitchellDEFValue pick | CRY | £4.5m | 135 | 30.0 | 3.00 | 7.1% |
 TruffertDEF | BOU | £5.5m | 165 | 30.0 | 3.60 | 4.6% |
 VirgilDEF | LIV | £6.5m | 175 | 26.9 | 2.60 | 16.2% |
 GuéhiDEF | MCI | £6.0m | 179 | 29.8 | 2.80 | 24.2% |
 SzoboszlaiMID | LIV | £7.0m | 160 | 22.9 | 2.60 | 48.2% |
 RiceMID | ARS | £7.5m | 184 | 24.5 | 3.20 | 22.3% |
 GravenberchMID | LIV | £6.0m | 144 | 24.0 | 2.60 | 1.9% |
 Gibbs-WhiteMID | NFO | £8.0m | 188 | 23.5 | 3.00 | 12.1% |
 AndersonMID | MCI | £6.5m | 180 | 27.7 | 2.80 | 12.2% |
 Calvert-LewinFWD | LEE | £6.0m | 142 | 23.7 | 2.80 | 18.0% |
 João PedroFWD | CHE | £7.5m | 177 | 23.6 | 3.00 | 54.5% |
 ThiagoFWD | BRE | £8.0m | 181 | 22.6 | 3.00 | 15.9% |
 WatkinsFWD | AVL | £8.0m | 167 | 20.9 | 3.00 | 12.3% |
Goalkeepers
- Verbruggen (BHA, £4.5m) — 130 points from 38 starts, 28.9 points per £m, the best value of any keeper in the game. The catch is the schedule: a trip to Chelsea and Arsenal at home both land inside the first five.
- Kelleher (BRE, £5.0m) — 143 points from 37 starts in his first season at Brentford, 28.6 per £m. Highest total of any keeper under £5.5m; nothing harder than a 3 in the run until Chelsea visit in GW5.
The floor and the ceiling: Dubravka (TOT, £4.0m) is the cheapest starting keeper in the game after 96 points from 35 starts — but those numbers predate his summer move to Spurs. Raya (ARS, £6.0m) posted the highest keeper total, 162 points, and still clears 27 per £m at the price.
Defenders
- Mitchell (CRY, £4.5m) — 135 points from 36 starts, 30.0 per £m, at Palace since 2019. The definition of a set-and-forget pick: one visit from Man City in GW2 is the single planned bench week in the opening five.
- Truffert (BOU, £5.5m) — 165 points from all 38 starts, matching Mitchell’s 30.0 per £m at a higher ceiling. The trade-off is the league’s joint-hardest opening run (3.60), starting away at Man City — a season-long hold you may want to buy into a week or two late.
- Virgil (LIV, £6.5m) — 175 points, every start, 26.9 per £m, and Liverpool open with the softest five-game run in the league (2.60 average, nothing rated above a 3). £6.5m is the top end of value territory, but this is the hold of the position — at 16.2% ownership it still counts as an edge.
Worth a line each: Shaw (MUN, £4.5m) started all 38 for 113 points — the cheapest door into United’s 2.80 run. Guéhi (MCI, £6.0m) screens brilliantly at 29.8 per £m, but a January move means the 179 points span two clubs — treat the number with care.
Midfielders
- Szoboszlai (LIV, £7.0m) — 160 points from 36 starts, 22.9 per £m, and already in 48.2% of squads. This is holding with the crowd rather than gaining on it — the value case is that at £7.0m he rides the league’s best opening run without premium risk.
- Rice (ARS, £7.5m) — 184 points from 35 starts, 24.5 per £m: the best value of any midfielder above £7.0m. Arsenal’s 3.20 opening run is the counterargument, with Villa away and Chelsea at home back-to-back in GW2–3.
- Gravenberch (LIV, £6.0m) — 144 points from 34 starts, 24.0 per £m, owned by 1.9%. The cheap route into Liverpool’s fixtures; the price and ownership reflect a deeper role, so expect steady returns rather than hauls.
- Gibbs-White (NFO, £8.0m) — 188 points from 35 starts, 23.5 per £m, all of it earned at Forest. Two 4-rated away days (Liverpool, Villa) inside the first five make him a hold you buy for the season, not the start.
The screen’s actual #1 midfielder comes with its biggest caveat: Anderson (MCI, £6.5m) tops the position at 27.7 per £m, but he is a summer arrival at City — all 180 points were earned elsewhere, and his minutes there are unproven. Same story in part for Semenyo (MCI, £8.5m), whose 202 points span two clubs after a January move. If you buy either, size it like a punt, not a hold.
Forwards
- Calvert-Lewin (LEE, £6.0m) — 142 points from 30 starts, 23.7 per £m, the position’s best value and earned at Leeds. The cap is the club, not the player: a 2½-star side makes him a value pick to size cheaply, not a cornerstone.
- João Pedro (CHE, £7.5m) — 177 points from 31 starts, 23.6 per £m, and over half the game already owns him. The one 5-rated fixture in Chelsea’s opening five is Arsenal away in GW3; at 54.3% ownership he protects your rank more than he builds it.
- Thiago (BRE, £8.0m) — 181 points from 37 starts, 22.6 per £m. The workload pick: more starts than any forward near his price, with Chelsea in GW5 the first real test of Brentford’s run.
- Watkins (AVL, £8.0m) — 167 points from 33 starts, 20.9 per £m, at Villa since 2020. Arsenal at home in GW2 is the early wrinkle; after that the run opens up.
The premium question
Haaland (£15.5m) outscored B.Fernandes (£12.0m) by four points last season — 239 to 235 — at a £3.5m higher price, which is why they sit at 15.4 and 19.6 points per £m respectively. Per pound, Fernandes is the premium that behaves like a value pick; what the extra £3.5m on Haaland buys is ceiling and the captaincy default, at 75.2% ownership. Neither is wrong — they are different bets, and the value screen only prices one of them.
What this screen cannot see
Pre-season value has known blind spots: minutes and roles under new managers, anyone at Coventry, Hull or Ipswich, and prices that will move through August — check the price change rules before sitting on a transfer. Pair this list with the opening fixture run analysis and the FDR planner to time your entries, and see the GW1 squad build for how these picks fit a full £100.0m team.