Which FPL players are the most-owned?

In the final days until the 2023/24 season gets underway, it’s time to assess the most-owned FPL players so far.

By default, initial FPL squads are auto-picked and therefore skew the ownership numbers. However, with the season about to begin, most managers are close to settling on an initial squad. Templates have formed and bandwagons are waiting to take off.

At the time of writing (Tuesday afternoon), three players have over 50% ownership and nine exceed 30%.

Most-owned FPL players

Goalkeepers

The popularity of West Ham’s Alphonse Areola comes from a belief that he’ll be the most likely £4.0m goalkeeper to play. Yet it’s been predominantly Lukasz Fabianski in friendlies so far.

New Man United arrival Andre Onana is in a quarter of teams, as he’s cheaper than defender Luke Shaw. As for Aaron Ramsdale, Ederson and Nick Pope, it’s likely just a case of managers wanting to cover certain big teams but not being able to squeeze them into defence.

Pope faces some top opponents though, with David Raya‘s imminent move to Arsenal putting Ramsdale’s status under threat.

Of the £4.5m names, Jordan Pickford is most popular because of Everton’s nice-looking early fixtures and the four 1-0 home wins once Sean Dyche arrived.

Defenders

Brighton left-back Pervis Estupinan is the first of three 50%+ players, priced nicely at £5.0m. From Gameweek 20, no defender totalled more penalty area touches (56) or clean sheets (9), whilst there was a high-profile 17-point haul at Arsenal.

Luke Shaw, Kieran Trippier and Trent Alexander-Arnold are all premium assets that offer starts, clean sheets and attacking potential. The latter is a very expensive £8.0m, giving the FPL community constant debates on whether that money can be better used elsewhere.

It’s two of those three that John Stones should offer but he has the risk of participating in Pep Roulette. At least Arsenal’s Gabriel and William Saliba are more secure – the Brazilian’s expected goals (xG) tally of 5.08 was the highest of all defenders.

Unlike last season, where Trippier was only £0.5m more than defensive team-mates, Sven Botman is now much cheaper. It’s a surprise that he remains at £4.5m, as he offers a route into one of the league’s best defences.

Meanwhile, managers know the risk of choosing Reece James. He’s an attacking force but often injured, whilst Tyrone Mings‘ place is slightly weakened by Pau Torres’ arrival.

Midfielders

Further upfield, Bukayo Saka‘s low £8.5m price has been pounced upon. Equally priced to Martin Odegaard and just £0.5m more than Gabriel Martinelli, the 21-year-old is also on penalties.

Bruno Fernandes is arguably the biggest bargain of this season but team-mate Marcus Rashford is still value for money, despite £9.0m being a huge rise from last year’s £6.5m.

Kaoru Mitoma begins with Luton (h), Wolves (a) and West Ham (h), whilst newly-reclassified midfielder Bryan Mbeumo tends to shine when Ivan Toney isn’t around. He should be on penalty duty, although Alexis Mac Allister likely gives way to Mohamed Salah.

The Egyptian bagged 11 goals and seven assists in Liverpool’s final 15 matches but he’s not quite one of FPL’s most-owned. His pre-season form may tempt purchases closer to the deadline but there’s simply so much value in other midfielders. For example, Eberechi Eze delivered two goals and five assists during Crystal’s Palace friendlies.

Forwards

Elsewhere, just look at that Erling Haaland ownership! 86.5% is an insane amount, considering he’s now been priced up to a joint-highest of all time £14.0m.

The main movements of the week have been the injuries to Gabriel Jesus and Christopher Nkunku, the next two most-picked. Instead, Ollie Watkins is backed because of a nice fixture run, top pre-season form and Aston Villa’s progress under Unai Emery.

At Liverpool, Darwin Nunez is currently popular but he doesn’t seem to be in Jurgen Klopp’s preferred XI. Fixtures are tough for Alexander Isak, whilst newbie Nicolas Jackson‘s minutes look more secure without Nkunku.

Should Harry Kane stay at Spurs, his initial ownership could rise. He finished just nine points behind Haaland last time and that was during a bad Spurs year.