7 players who prove that Paul Pogba is actually a fantasy football bargain

He's cheaper than Nolito

Tom Victor

7 players who prove that Paul Pogba is actually a fantasy football bargain

Paul Pogba might be the most expensive player in world football, but he’s far from the most pricey when it comes to fantasy football.

The new Manchester United signing will set you back £8.5m in the official Premier League game, less than a tenth of his world record £89m fee.

But he’s not even close to the most expensive player in the game, or even the most expensive midfielder.

Here are seven more stars who will set you back at least as much as the former Juventus midfielder.

Christian Eriksen – £8.5m

The Tottenham midfielder had a quietly impressive season in 2015/16, producing 16 assists while team-mates Dele Alli, Mousa Dembélé and Eric Dier made the headlines. But the Dane could find his starting place up in the air amid an apparent breakdown in contract talks, and you can’t fire in pinpoint set-pieces from the bench.

https://twitter.com/BainsXIII/status/761593528413777920

Nolito – £9.0m

We have no idea how well Nolito will adapt to the Premier League, or how far forward he will play for Manchester City. But he has even less Premier League experience than Pogba, and may not be a guaranteed starter if De Bruyne, Sterling, Silva, Navas and Sané are all fit at the same time.

FPL Thought of the Day
Best option in City's midfield? De Bruyne, Nolito, Sane, Sterling or forget all of them and just have Aguero? #FPL

— Jono Forwood 🇨🇽 (@WTFPL101) August 9, 2016

Sadio Mané – £9.0m

Liverpool’s big-money signing scored 11 Premier League goals last season, but going into the last eight games of the season he had just three to his name. Even if he ends up outscoring Pogba, the Senegal international might take a while to kick into gear.

16 of Sadio Mane's last 25 goals have been during or in the month before a transfer window/end of season.

— Daniel Storey (@danielstorey85) May 1, 2016

David Silva – £9.0m

The Man City star could really have done with a rest towards the end of last season, and his involvement in Spain’s Euro 2016 efforts can’t have helped his recovery. We wouldn’t be surprised to see him have a slower campaign this time around.

Leroy Sane clouds that #MCFC midfield even further. Who will play? Feels like only KDB is nailed on. Sterling, Nolito, Silva, Sane rotated?

— Sam Tighe (@stighefootball) August 1, 2016

Michy Batshuayi – £9.0m

We’ve been left guessing with regards to Antonio Conte’s attacking plans at Chelsea, but plenty of forwards have left Chelsea almost as quickly as they have arrived. If Diego Costa stays – and stays fit – Batshuayi could well find himself needing to make a quick impact off the bench.

https://twitter.com/FplJoker/status/757823799626637312

Henrikh Mkhitaryan – £9.5m

United’s other big midfield signing should theoretically be a stronger fantasy pick, having found the net 18 times for Borussia Dortmund last season. However while Pogba surely has to play every week when fit, the Armenian may well be rotated with the likes of Anthony Martial, Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata, Jesse Lingard, Memphis, Marcus Rashford and even Pogba himself on occasion for a starting berth behind Zlatan Ibrahimović.

https://twitter.com/B35ty8769/status/762716764568489985

Daniel Sturridge – £10.0m

Sturridge has played 49 games across the last two seasons for club and country. On the face of it that doesn’t look terrible, but only 26 were in the Premier League. It’s a big ask to expect the England striker to play even half the available league games – he’s only managed the feat twice in his professional career.