Fantasy Premier League has started for the 2020/21 season. Who are the best Leeds United options?

When Leeds United got promoted it was quite hard for it to sink in for a lot of Leeds fans.

This will help with that. Leeds United players are options in Fantasy Premier League, Leeds and the Premier League are reunited (and it feels so good).

Who of the Leeds squad represents the best value? Or at least the best value until we sign every player in Europe and Argentina based on the rumours?

Unfortunately you cannot have more than three players from one club, but you can still avoid all Manchester United players if it makes you feel better. I certainly will be.

Illan Meslier - £4.5m

You don’t get many first choice goalkeepers for £4.5m. He probably won’t be your main goalkeeper during the season, but if your other goalkeeper is away at Manchester City or Liverpool then he will be an excellent deputy.

Last season Leeds kept 22 clean sheets in 46 matches. France youth international Meslier kept seven clean sheets in 10 matches and looked a more assured goalkeeper than Kiko Casilla.

Leeds will have a tougher time keeping clean sheets than last season, especially if Ben White doesn’t return to the club, but Bielsa teams are all about the system so if Leeds play well Meslier will be a great option.

Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images

Patrick Bamford - £5.5m

You cannot afford to have three expensive strikers in FPL without ruining your team. So you are often looking to get a cheap striker who is going to start every week. If we know Marcelo Bielsa, Bamford will start every game if he is fit. As of right now the only other option is Tyler Roberts (or Joe Gelhardt but it is too soon for that).

While Bamford’s finishing has rightly been criticised - he did still get 16 goals last season and he is capable of having “hot streaks” of six/seven matches in terms of goalscoring. There are also points available for assists and his involvement in build-up play gives a chance of that, although he usually makes the pass earlier in a goalscoring move than the assist. He got four assists last season.

Luke Ayling - £4.5m

Leeds’ full-backs provide a lot in attack and this is especially the case for Ayling. Last season he got four goals and five assists from right-back, although he also had to play centre-back at times. He is cheap and will play every week. If Leeds do not sign a centre-back then this becomes a worse pick, as Leeds will keep fewer clean sheets and Ayling will have to play centre-back more often reducing his attacking output, both of these will reduce his points significantly.

Best of the Rest

Pablo Hernandez - £6m: Leeds’ most expensive player, if he is fit enough to play 90 minutes in the vast majority of games then he will be a good option as he is crucial to Leeds’ attacking play. At the moment it is a risk to put in the most expensive player from a newly promoted side. However, nine goals and nine assists last season could make him a bargain.

Stuart Dallas - £4.5m: All the same reasons as Luke Ayling with the added bonus of some time in midfield. His change in position has been reflected in FPL and he is now down as a defender. Five goals and three assists last season. Only reason he is lower down is that I could see Leeds signing a left-back and Dallas not being in the starting line-up consistently this season.

Mateusz Klich - £5.5m: So long as he is fit, he will start every game. Six goals and five assists was a lower total than he would hope for last season. Klich becomes a better option if Bielsa opts for Klich in the middle with Adam Forshaw allowing Klich to attack a bit more.

Tyler Roberts - £5m: Roberts is a midfielder on this year’s game. I don’t expect him to start the first game, but it is worth keeping an eye on pre-season because if he can claim the starting striker spot he suddenly jumps to the top of this list.