With clean sheets becoming a rarity in FPL, it has become a real catch to invest big in goalkeepers. Yes, you have people like Matz Sels or Jordan Pickford, who are doing fantastic and don’t cost more than £5m. And they are the best goalkeepers to own in Fantasy Premier League 2024-25.
But what if you want to have an upgrade in defence or in the attacking options and yet don’t leave out the chances of bagging some extra points from the GK?
This is a real grey area and if we talk about gameweek21 in particular, the options are minimal. However, we have got two cool customers for goalkeeping positions. And the best part? Both of them would cost you £4.5m. Hence, you can save some cash and bolster your attacking options.
Let your points tally build from the back, huh? Here we go!
Dean Henderson (£4.5m)
There was a time when this Manchester United academy graduate was rumoured to replace David de Gea as the Red Devils’ no.1. But then the wind changed direction at Old Trafford, as well as at Carrington. Now Henderson finds himself as the last line of defence for Glasner’s Palace.
He is now at the sixth spot for most points by a goalkeeper in Fantasy Premier League 2024-25. With an ownership close to 12% and 66pts in his kitty, Henderson looks to be the perfect choice for the budget goalkeeper segment ahead of GW21.
Crystal Palace is slated to lock horns with Leicester City in the next gameweek, followed by a tie against newly-appointed Potter’s West Ham United. Both of them are going through a difficult season and have changed their respective managers already. Therefore, Henderson might be an economical route to potential clean sheets now.
Bart Verbruggen (£4.5m)
If you are looking for a goalkeeper who is good enough, has a good run of fixtures at the moment, comes under the budget category, and also happens to be a huge differential, then the Brighton no.1 is your best bet. He has an ownership of less than 3% at the moment.
Verbruggen had a difficult season last time. He had to make constant switches between the front of the goalpost and the reserve bench.
His owners in FPL were rightfully frustrated, as he embarrassed them repeatedly. I, too, squared off this otherwise brilliant Brighton asset after a bad run of gameweeks with depleted points.
But he looks good this season. Having retained his no.1 spot, Verbruggen is now showing great confidence behind the Brighton defence.
Just two gameweeks ago, he managed to bag 9pts against Thomas Frank’s Brentford FC, who made it almost a habit to score within a minute at the beginning of the season.
It’s a commendable job to stop such an exciting attacking unit and bag some bonus points for a couple of brilliant saves. With Ipswich Town next and Everton in the next three, there probably won’t be a better time to bring in the Brighton goalkeeper to your fantasy lineup.
