Harvey Elliott, Ivan Toney and Emiliano Buendia could be among the surprise packages of the new Premier League campaign; Sky Sports Fantasy Football is now live for the 2021/22 season, play for free
Friday 13 August 2021 12:13, UK
Billy Lumsden picks out some of the players under £8m in Sky Sports Fantasy Football, some of which may prove to be quite the bargain.
There is just over 24 hours to go until the Premier League and Sky Sports Fantasy Football campaign gets underway, and with some of the star names making your starting XI for obvious reasons, some cheaper bargain buys could be considered to allow you to meet the £100m budget.
An impressive pre-season for the 18 year-old could see him in contention to feature for Liverpool throughout the season, which does make his Sky Sports Fantasy Football price of £6.9m seem rather cheap considering the flair and creativity he could provide.
During his loan spell with Blackburn in the EFL Championship last campaign, Elliott found the net seven times and racked up 11 assists. Granting he is given some Premier League experience under Jurgen Klopp, he could be the option you cannot afford to miss out on, enabling you to reinvest in your squad elsewhere.
Ivan Toney netted 33 goals in Brentford's promotion season, including one in the play-off semi-final against Bournemouth and another in the final against Swansea, both coming from the penalty spot.
As well as his goals, Toney actually created 10 for his teammates and could be the perfect budget option to play alongside the likes of Harry Kane and Mohamed Salah. A price of £7.9m could prove to be a bargain if he can even halve his goals from last term.
He could get your season off to a flyer too, with Brentford welcoming Arsenal in the Friday Night Football opener. His side then face Crystal Palace and Aston Villa, which are some fixtures to sink your teeth into in my opinion. Make sure you have selected him or any Arsenal assets as your captain before 8pm tomorrow. Play for free here.
Emiliano Buendia netted 15 goals & created 16 in the EFL Championship last season, inspiring Norwich to yet another promotion to the Premier League. Saying that, Buendia has now signed for Aston Villa along with a host of new incomings at Villa Park,
It is clear that Buendia has been deployed to fill the void left by Jack Grealish's departure to Manchester City, but a price of just £7.9m could prove to be a Fantasy Football bargain as well as the creative spark that Villa need.
Again, Villa have a generous first three fixtures as they take on Watford, Newcastle and Brentford. He may be a doubt for Saturday, though the two fixtures following this could be incentive enough to recruit his services ahead of the Overhaul.
Billy Gilmour earned the UEFA Star of the Match as Scotland drew with England at Euro 2020, proving how much potential he has at such a young age. Norwich will certainly be thankful for his services as he joins on loan from Chelsea for the upcoming season.
If Norwich see more of the ball, as they have been doing in pre-season, Gilmour could earn a heap of passing bonus points (60 or 70+ passes within the game), while his tenacious style could see him tally tackling bonus points too (4 or 5+ tackles).
Norwich face Liverpool first, before matches against Manchester City and Leicester before the Overhaul. He is perhaps one to monitor before this period and before you make any rash decisions, but as far as 'enablers' go, Gilmour could be an option for the future this season.
Robert Sanchez was a Sky Sports Fantasy Football favourite last campaign, having racked up 10 clean sheets from just 27 appearances in 2020/21. Sanchez had attained 138 points by the end of the season, a solid effort from the Brighton stopper.
It is rather surprising to see his selection percentage at a lowly 2.98 per cent, given that Brighton's first three games are Burnley, Watford and Everton. Sanchez is a mere £6.5m, £0.7m more than Emiliano Martinez of Aston Villa, providing a cheaper option between the sticks.
Will any of these players make the cut as you make last minute changes to your side. The Premier League draws ever closer, and with that comes the Sky Sports Fantasy Football deadline. Create your team for free here.
