Budget forwards can be required if you want some of the costly FPL players in your team. But picking the ones that are most likely to serve you well from the bench is an eternal struggle. With this in mind, here are our top recommendations for the best cheap forwards in FPL 2023/24.
Cheap forwards can be some of the most important players on your team, if selected wisely. For example, Brighton’s Evan Ferguson was a 4.5 pick last year and finished the season with a regular run of minutes and two goals in the final six games to help the team’s European charge.
While this isn’t always likely to be the case, you don’t necessarily have to go with a gung-ho, all-out attack mentality featuring the likes of Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, and Gabriel Jesus in the FPL.
That’s why we recommend taking a look at these forwards, all of whom have a maximum price of just 6.0. To make it easier, too, we’ve split them into playing forwards and budget punts that can really pay off – especially in the long run.
Best cheap FPL forwards
Cheap playing forwards
Yoane Wissa (6.0, Brentford)
Wissa is a player who has flown under the radar so far in the pre-season FPL drafts, but he should be under serious consideration for anybody who doesn’t want to spend the 8.0 it would cost to get Gabriel Jesus or Ollie Watkins.
He scored just 14 fewer points than Jesus with 500 fewer minutes, and with Ivan Toney out until January, both Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo (midfielder, 6.5) could see improved points hauls as a result.
Danny Ings (6.0, West Ham)
West Ham should perform better in the league this year than they did in the previous campaign, especially with a European trophy to their name now.
While Ings didn’t get much glory in his first season with the Hammers, he could be the easiest replacement for an Antonio that is slowly faltering in delivering the goods and that could well be the chopping block more.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin (6.0, Everton)
Dominic Calvert-Lewin is perhaps the best player on this list from a pure footballing perspective, with interest from top teams throughout his career and incredible goalscoring ability.
The issue, as everyone knows all too well, is his fitness. He spent the majority of the last two seasons with a physio and struggling to find match fitness, but in the 20/21 season, he earned himself 16 goals and 3 assists from 33 Premier League appearances, making him one of the best forwards in the league that season. With consistency and no injuries, DCL could be a steal at 6.0.
Joao Pedro (5.5, Brighton)
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Reportedly joined Brighton for a reported club-record fee of £30 million, Joao Pedro may come from the Championship’s Watford, but he already has Premier League pedigree. With PL experience under his belt and a fair amount of goals too, Pedro is looking to fill the void left by previous Brighton heroes in Glenn Murray and Neil Maupay.
If he cements himself as Brighton’s main striker – which looks likely given that he’s inherited the number 9 jersey – then at 5.5 million and Brighton expected to have another good season, Joao Pedro could prove to be one of the bargains of the FPL season!
Budget punts
Cameron Archer (4.5, Aston Villa)
Archer was the 4.5 bench fodder of choice for much of the 22/23 season, but he could be in line to play a bigger role in 23/24 after an impressive U21 EURO campaign, winning the tournament with England with 2 goals from 5 attempts on target.
He had some runs in the first team last year but he’ll be hoping for a chance to push through, so he could well be worth the punt – especially if Oli Watkins picks up a injury or two.
Divin Mubama (4.5, West Ham)
Mubama is a player who could prove to be a solid pick for similar reasons to Danny Ings. During the 22/23 season, he only managed 36 minutes in the league, but neither Antonio nor Ings had exemplary displays throughout.
With a bit more first-team experience under his belt, and the possibility of Ings and Antonio struggling to find form, West Ham might have to start integrating Mubama into the squad far more than they did last year.
John McAtee (4.5, Luton)
It’s always hard to predict how a newly promoted side is going to perform. Unless something happens between now and the start of the season, Luton Town is expected to have the prolific Carlton Morris lead the line.
Meaning John McAtee will be waiting in the wings for even a sniff of a chance. The forward is now 24 and has come off the back of two loan spells with Grimsby where he was able to contribute a fair amount of goals across his two seasons. So it might be worth taking a chance on McAtee to see if he can deliver in the team’s new surroundings.
Be sure to also check out a bunch of our other FPL guides to help you out in the competitive 23/24 season:
Best FPL tips this Gameweek | Top 3 must-have FPL players from each team | Best budget defenders | Best budget midfielders | Best FPL team names | Best FPL team according to AI | Best premium FPL players ranked | All FPL position changes this season | Best promoted players | Best underpriced players | Best new signings for FPL | Top FPL trap players to avoid
