Best £5m Midfielders in FPL 2025/26

Finding the Best £5m Midfielders in FPL 2025/26 can be the difference between a balanced squad and a budget headache. These low-priced players are crucial enablers, offering potential returns without eating into your premium funds.

In this article, we highlight the standout £5.0m options based on fixtures, form, and underlying stats – perfect for completing your Gameweek 1 draft.

Pape Sarr

Whilst Tottenham finished their 2025/26 campaign with a Europa League win, they still fell short in the Premier League – finishing in 17th place.

However, with a change of manager with former Brentford boss Thomas Frank coming in, and the addition of new player signings, we could well see huge improvement from the London club this season.

Their recent 1-0 pre-season friendly win over Arsenal is an early sign of what to expect from them. But, it was also another showing of Pape Sarr’ attacking threat. In fact, Sarr heads into the new season off the back of scoring three goals in his previous two matches. He also ranked second among his midfield teammates for defensive contributions, which is promising considering the recent rule changes.

Sunderland

Earning promotion from the Championship via the play-offs is arguably the least convincing route back into the top tier. That may be the case, but the Black Cats have an extremely favourable fixture list early on.

West Ham, Brentford, Burnley, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa await Sunderland in the first five Gameweeks, some of the worst defences in the league last season, based on underlying statistics.

With that in mind, the thought of bringing in a Sunderland attacker becomes slightly more appealing, especially one priced at £5m.

One of them is set-piece man and penalty taker Enzo Le Fee. As well as scoring in pre-season, the Frenchman was pivotal to his sides promotion play – offs – contributing towards two of their five goals scored.

Another Black Cats assets worth considering is former Arsenal man Granit Xhaka. The last time Xhaka played in the Premier League he amassed seven goals and eight assists, whilst also averaging around 7.5 defensive contributions per match.

Ryan Christie

Bournemouth were fantastic last time out. The Cherries went from relegation favourites in the 2023/24 to finishing ninth in 2024/25.

A mixed starting schedule sees Bournemouth clash with Liverpool in Gameweek 1. However, after that match they then go onto play Wolves, Tottenham and Brighton.

The fixtures ahead look great for defensive contributions and one player who offers that is Ryan Christie. Along with defensive potential, Christie takes corners, and produced two goals and three assists in the previous season.

Who else could be an option?

There are several more £5m options, another of them is 21-year-old Carlos Baleba. The Brighton man was crucial for his side last season – featuring 34 times and bagging three goals and one assist. Baleba also ranked among the top eight midfielders for total defensive contributions in the 2024/25 league campaign.

Chelsea Kiernan Dewsbury Hall could be another one to watch. There is a possibility the Englishman gets a move ahead of the new season. Sources already suggest he could move over to fellow London side Fulham.