Who are the best FPL players from each promoted side?
If you’re wanting to identify the best promoted players from an FPL perspective, here are some Leeds, Burnley and Sunderland candidates.
Using Fantasy Football Scout’s Fixture Ticker, we see that one has a great-looking start, but another ranks near the bottom.
The new season kicks off on Friday 15 August, when Liverpool host Bournemouth at Anfield.
THE BEST 2025/26 PROMOTED PLAYERS
LEEDS UNITED
Although the last two seasons have seen all three promoted sides go straight back down, this time we have a couple that ended on 100 points.
Furthermore, champions Leeds seem well-backed financially and have already made a few signings – Jaka Bijol, Sebastiaan Bornauw and Lukas Nmecha.
Daniel Farke likes a possession-based 4-2-3-1 but doesn’t have fond Premier League memories. And this time, their opening match against Everton is followed by Arsenal and Newcastle. Maybe they can cling onto the fact that the only three Championship sides to ever net more often than them all survived the following season.
Joel Piroe
It feels wise to back the ever-present 2025 starter in a team that scored 42 times in their final 17 encounters.
Then again, despite bagging 19 goals and seven assists, his place will be in danger if a big-money striker comes in on top of Nmecha. Farke seems to think that Piroe’s lack of physicality and pressing is a concern.
Daniel James
Instead, a good route into Leeds’ attack could be via James. 12 goals and nine assists from just 30 starts saw him named in the division’s Team of the Season. The other 16 matchdays had him either injured or protected from picking up another.
The winger loves to shoot and had a better minutes per attempt rate than Piroe (26.5 v 30.3) – albeit many of James’ were from distance.
For the 27-year-old, it’s now all about faring better than his previous few Premier League campaigns.
Jayden Bogle
Amongst all the headlines about Burnley’s watertight defence, let’s acknowledge that Leeds actually had a far lower expected goals conceded (xGC) tally – 29.6 v 39.1.
From an attacking perspective, it’s a blow to lose those potential Junior Firpo assists, as he’s departed on a free transfer. But at right-back, Bogle is there with six goals and four assists himself.
His 47 shots ranked better than all but one defender, so maybe it’s time for the FPL reincarnation of Stuart Dallas. Bogle is prone to a yellow card, mind.
BURNLEY
Also amassing 100 points thanks to a legendary backline that kept 30 clean sheets – including 12 in a row – the Clarets never let in more than one per match. Though the xGC overachievement was astonishing.
Scott Parker’s lot only lost twice and neither of these took place at Turf Moor.
It’s been a busy period for transfers so far, making some loans permanent and adding Kyle Walker, Quilindschy Hartman, Axel Tuanzebe, Max Weiss and Loum Tchaouna.
Yet a couple of key names have already exited, likely joined in the departure lounge by goalkeeper James Trafford.
Early matches against Tottenham, Liverpool and Man City aren’t exactly appealing, though Sunderland (h) is in the middle.
Zian Flemming
One of those remaining loanees is a former Millwall attacking midfielder who has been used as Parker’s number nine. It resulted in a solid 12 goals and four assists, but picking any of Burnley’s attackers feels wrong.
Ranked 10th in the Championship for shots (561) and expected goals (xG, 57.5), their rearguard churned out a dozen 0-0s.
Additionally, you’d expect a new forward to come in and throw further doubt on Flemming’s FPL prospects.
Marcus Edwards
At the time of writing, the status of box-to-box midfielder Josh Brownhill is unknown. He’s a free agent and in control of his next destination.
Therefore, Edwards could be the key asset. Considering the transfer rumours of previous years, it was a shock to see him make a loan Championship move in January and his quality quickly became obvious.
It coincided with more Burnley goals, albeit not really from him. Hopefully, managers get some pre-season clues on whether his minutes will be shared with Jaidon Anthony.
Maxime Esteve
Parker usually deploys a 4-2-3-1 that denies counter attacks. The rock at the back of all this history-making was Esteve, a starter in all 46 matches. It allowed him to be Fantasy EFL’s second-highest scorer on 328 points, despite just one attacking return.
But losing both his centre-back partner, CJ Egan-Riley, and probably the goalkeeper behind him will hurt. Still, he could be a solid £4.0m FPL option that is playable in Gameweek 2.
SUNDERLAND
Meanwhile, 24 points behind both of these were the playoff winners, Sunderland. Once a spot was secured in it, they rotated the team and lost their final five Championship matches, before a couple of defensive howlers helped them get promoted.
In the Premier League era, only three teams have gone up with fewer goals (58), yet the fixture computer has been kind to them. West Ham (h), Burnley (a) and Brentford (h) are all winnable occasions.
Regis Le Bris seems to be more tactically flexible than the other two managers and cares less about possession. Though Jobe Bellingham is a big loss, the Mackems are straight out of the blocks with expensive signings like Habib Diarra, Enzo Le Fee, Noah Sadiki and seemingly Chemsdine Talbi.
Eliezer Mayenda
It’s incredibly tough to pick three names from the favourites to finish last, especially when a huge turnover in talent looks essential. So let’s choose two.
Versatile 20-year-old Mayenda wasn’t a regular starter but did well in the playoffs at a time when Wilson Isidor faded. His pace could help apply Le Bris’ counter-attacking style in the top-flight.
Trai Hume
Linked with various goalkeepers, we need to look elsewhere for Sunderland’s defensive potential, not that 17 clean sheets was a particularly impressive amount.
Right-back Hume started 46 times, contributing three goals and six assists. Benefitting from most of their attacks deriving from the flanks, he shot 22 times from inside the penalty area.
