BARGAIN HUNT
Rodrigo Muniz and other strikers who could make a mockery of their starting Dream Team price
Fulham's new No9 has been one of the Premier League's most-prolific goalscorers this calendar year
NEED a bargain striker to bring your Dream Team together before the new season gets underway on Friday night?
Look no further.
We've identified five forwards below £4m with the potential to make a mockery of their affordable price once the action starts.
5
Rodrigo Muniz (£3m)
The Fulham striker's tally of nine league goals in 2023/24 may seem underwhelming but the outlook changes when you consider they all came after the start of February.
In fact, Muniz was among the most-prolific goalscorers in the top flight during the final third of the campaign.
At his best, the Brazilian bagged eight goals in as many games, including a brace against Tottenham.
Muniz has been given the No9 shirt this season as reward for his efforts and he will hope to hit the ground running with Manchester United, Leicester and Ipswich (plus a Carabao Cup opponent) to play before the end of August.
Niclas Fullkrug (£3.5m)
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5
A shiny, new toy for Dream Team bosses!
West Ham's new target man has arguably never been hotter after some eye-catching performances during Borussia Dortmund's run to the Champions League final and a succession of impactful substitute cameos for Germany at Euro 2024.
Fullkrug isn't the most cultured forward around but he's mightily effective at his best and a nightmare for opposition centre-backs.
The Hammers have seemingly improved the quality of their squad considerably this summer and with the likes of Lucas Paqueta (£4m), Jarrod Bowen (£5m), Mohammed Kudus (£5m) and fellow new signing Crysencio Summerville (£3m) providing the service, Fullkrug should get enough deliveries into the box.
Granted, Julen Lopetegui's side face a relatively difficult start to the season in terms of fixtures but the German striker is a tempting option at £3.5m.
Oscar Bobb (£2m)
5
There's value-for-money options and then there's outright bargains.
Predicting Pep Guardiola's team selections is fraught with risk but Manchester City's No52 seems set to play his fair share of minutes this month at least.
Bobb has caught the eye in pre-season and an assist in the Community Shield last Saturday has only strengthened his case for a spot in the starting XI when the defending champions travel to Stamford Bridge in Gameweek 1.
The talented Norwegian will obviously not play as an out-and-out striker, that spot is reserved for his blonde compatriot aiming for a third consecutive Golden Boot, but he may well be given the nod on the right flank.
Whether the 21-year-old is a long-term selection is another conversation but he's a potential game-breaker for the first few Gameweeks at £2m if he is afforded enough minutes to strut his stuff.
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Jean-Philippe Mateta (£3.5m)
5
This suggestion comes with an important caveat.
The Frenchman went all the way to the gold medal match while on duty for his country at the Olympics and so he's not been with Crystal Palace during the crucial stage of pre-season.
It remains to be seen how Oliver Glasner handles the situation but it wouldn't be a surprise if Mateta's minutes were managed in August.
But looking ahead to when he's a guaranteed starter again, he's an excellent option in the mid-range.
Like the aforementioned Muniz, Mateta came to the fore at the back end of last season with a red-hot scoring streak.
The 27-year-old scored 14 goals in his final 16 outings of the campaign as the Eagles finished strongly with six wins from their last seven games.
Matheus Cunha (£3.5m)
5
One of absolute best differentials of last season.
Wolves' talisman scored 14 goals and provided eight assists at an average of one goal involvement every 126 minutes but that only tells half the story.
The Brazilian's silky dribbling and ability to draw fouls meant he finished second among players in his position for bonus points.
Cunha also ranked sixth among forwards for tackles - he ticks a lot of boxes.
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Gary O'Neil's side have a tough start to the new campaign with Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle, Aston Villa and Liverpool to play before the end of September, which is probably why Cunha features in just 0.8% of teams at present.
But you should monitor his returns closely as he averaged 6.4 points-per-game in 2023/24 - a rate superior to that of Dominic Solanke (£4m), Darwin Nunez (£4.5m) and Ollie Watkins (£6m).
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