An XI of bargains to consider with unlimited transfers

The Premier League is almost back – and with it, selection headaches over your FPL team.

The World Cup break means there’s something a bit different in Fantasy Premier League this year; you’re blessed with unlimited transfers.

If you’re anything like us, you’ll probably spend a considerable portion of Christmas daydreaming about how you can fit Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah in your team. To afford a few big hitters, you’re going to make some sacrifices elsewhere but fear not – we’ve got you covered with some brilliant bargain options.

Here’s an XI of Fantasy Premier League’s best budget options to consider before the Boxing Day deadline, arranged in a 4-4-2 formation.

Goalkeeper: Danny Ward – £4.1m

Following Kasper Schmeichel’s shock move to Nice in the summer, there were some question marks over who would guard the net for Leicester this season.

Wales international Ward appears to have won that battle. He didn’t cover himself in glory at the World Cup, and he endured a shaky start as Brendan Rodgers’ Foxes looked like relegation fodder in the early weeks of the campaign, but he’s improved as the campaign has gone on.

The 29-year-old kept five clean sheets in his last six Premier League appearances before the break, conceding just one goal – and that was to Manchester City.

Only Nick Pope and Aaron Ramsdale have kept more clean sheets this season. £4.1million is an absolute steal.

Defence: Ben White – £4.7m

White left England’s camp for still-undisclosed personal reasons midway through Qatar 2022, but there’s no suggestion he’ll be kept out of Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal XI. He returned to training right away and featured in the Gunners’ mid-season friendlies.

The versatile defender was exceptional before the World Cup break. Slotting in at right-back, White has extra license to get forward, as he demonstrated with an excellent assist against September back in October.

£4.7million is a bargain.

Defence: William Saliba – £5.3m

Another Arsenal defender to consider is Saliba. He’s a bit more expensive, but justifies the fee.

Having taken White’s pace alongside Gabriel in the centre of defence, the Frenchman has arguably been the best-performing centre-back of the Premier League season so far.

Saliba barely featured for France so should return from Qatar relatively fresh. He’s produced a number of man-of-the-match displays and has even contributed a couple of goals so far.

His price…