Which FPL players haven’t played many pre-season minutes?
For a variety of reasons, some highly thought-of FPL assets haven’t yet played many minutes throughout pre-season.
Whether it’s injury-related, being eased in at a new club or throwing a strop until they’re sold, let’s check out who these players are and assess whether they’ll be ready for Gameweek 1.
Thanks to Fantasy Football Scout’s pre-season minutes tracker for information.
Gabriel Magalhaes (£6.0m, Arsenal)
After the 0-1 friendly defeat to Tottenham, Mikel Arteta said that the hurt centre-back is one of several names he’ll expect to see available for the Old Trafford opener.
He’s in around 25% of current FPL drafts. But you’d still probably feel safer going with William Saliba (£6.0m) or David Raya (£5.5m) to cover Arsenal’s defence.
- READ MORE: Best £6.0m defenders in FPL 2025/26
Victor Gyokeres (£9.0m, Arsenal)
Whereas for new teammate Gyokeres, the lack of game time is purely about his long-winded transfer.
He played 13 minutes of that Spurs loss in Hong Kong, touching the ball only twice but showing a willingness to run in behind.
The two main questions for FPL managers are: does he immediately displace Kai Havertz (£7.5m) and could he be Arsenal’s new penalty-taker?
Justin Kluivert (£7.0m, Bournemouth)
Meanwhile, the man trusted with Bournemouth’s spot kicks has been restricted to a mere 45 minutes this summer.
Little has been said about his injury, but it doesn’t seem major.
Yoane Wissa (£7.5m, Brentford)
The 28-year-old forward netted 19 times last season, racking up the league’s second-best non-penalty expected goals (NPxG) tally.
Having seen his Brentford manager and various influential teammates depart over the summer, he believes that the club’s rejection of a Newcastle transfer bid broke a previously made promise.
Wissa arrived at Brentford’s training ground on Thursday but quickly left, reiterating his desire to leave.
Bart Verbruggen (£4.5m, Brighton)
One of the few non-promoted first-choice goalkeepers to be priced below £5.0m, Verbruggen underwent a summer knee operation. So his status for Gameweek 1 isn’t yet known.
James Tarkowski (£5.5m, Everton)
A name heavily mentioned in FPL circles since the introduction of defensive contribution points, the expensive Everton centre-back is still recovering from April’s hamstring problem.
At least he came on for 21 minutes of Wednesday night’s meeting with West Ham. With two friendlies to go, Tarkowski should be fine.
Antonee Robinson (£5.0m, Fulham)
No defender got close to Robinson’s 10 assists from last season. However, the flying full-back had minor knee surgery at the start of this summer and is without any runouts.
Instead, Ryan Sessegnon (£5.5m) has been playing in his position.
Hugo Ekitike (£8.5m, Liverpool)
Similarly to Gyokeres, new arrival Ekitike has only just made his debut, accumulating 45 minutes in sweltering Japanese conditions.
He gave off some slight Roberto Firmino vibes but is still getting up to speed. What’s handy for FPL managers is that Liverpool play on that first Friday night, meaning there should be some strong pre-deadline lineup rumours.
Bryan Mbeumo (£8.0m, Manchester United)
Elsewhere, Mbeumo is being eased into Man United life after his seemingly never-ending transfer saga finally concluded.
Ruben Amorim says he hopes to play him during their final Summer Series encounter with Everton. After that is Fiorentina, but he’s possibly behind Bruno Fernandes (£9.0m) and Matheus Cunha (£8.0m) in the community’s thinking.
Alexander Isak (£10.5m, Newcastle)
Another major plotline revolves around Newcastle’s star striker. As the media tries its hardest to force through a move to Liverpool, Isak has made himself unavailable for the Magpies’ friendlies.
Currently training at former club Real Sociedad, it’s very much a ‘wait and see’ situation.
Dominic Solanke (£7.5m, Tottenham)
A popular FPL selection because Spurs have a new manager and host Burnley in Gameweek 1, Solanke played 45 minutes of the first friendly.
Thomas Frank says the forward should recover from his minor ankle issue to face at least one of Newcastle and Bayern Munich. After that, it’s the UEFA Super Cup versus Paris Saint-Germain.
Destiny Udogie (£4.5m, Tottenham)
Another to play a half against Reading, Udogie felt something in the Luton Town warm-up and didn’t travel with Spurs to Asia. The knee knock is being carefully managed.
He stands out as a potential defensive bargain, but only if managers have answers by the end of PSG.
