The best Fantasy Premier League forwards for 2023-24

With a £2.5m increase from his already high £11.5m base price from last season, Haaland joins the likes of Robin van Persie, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Thierry Henry as the joint-most expensive player in the game's history.

The Norwegian hitman broke the all-time Premier League goals record in a phenomenal first campaign in England, with his 36 strikes in 35 appearances, including a run of three consecutive home hat-tricks.

He also provided nine assists and, as a result, was the top-scoring FPL player on 272 points, although that was still less than Mohamed Salah's record single-season return (303 points) in 2017/18. That's something the former Dortmund man will have on his list of records to shatter next season.

Although purchasing him will leave you on the verge of bankruptcy, he will be worth every penny of his new price-tag, especially considering Man City’s kind early fixture list.

The treble winners’ season starts with a trip to newly-promoted Burnley, followed by encounters against Sheffield United, Fulham, West Ham United, Forest and Wolves before October.

Kane enjoyed arguably the greatest individual goal-scoring season of his already iconic career, which was somewhat overshadowed by Man City goal-gobbler Haaland.

Indeed, Kane's return of 30 goals in the top-flight last season looks more impressive than Haaland's 36, when you consider that he bagged those for a shambolic Spurs side that finished eighth in the table.

Haaland’s arrival in the Premier League has had a negative impact on Kane’s ownership. But considering the England skipper finished narrowly behind the Norwegian with 273 FPL points, and can both score goals and create chances regularly, it will be difficult for managers to leave out Kane this term, especially now that he will have a quality service provider sitting just behind him in summer signing James Maddison.

Kane could be the top captain pick as well thanks to Tottenham's over-reliance on him to provide the goods in the attacking third. Indeed, no player across the Premier League has scored a larger proportion of their team’s goals than Kane - who accounts for 43% of Tottenham’s haul.

Wilson enjoyed his most productive top-flight campaign last season, as he netted 18 Premier League goals to help Newcastle achieve Champions League football.

The former Cherries forward's prolific campaign was largely influenced by a bizzare clinical streak in front of goal between Gameweeks 29 and 36 that saw him find the net 11 times despite starting just five matches and playing as low as 555 minutes.

He finished as the fourth-best forward for xG (17.49) and, of those with over 300 minutes, only Haaland has a better minutes-per-goal rate (104.8). Even so, the presence of Alexander Isak (£7.0m) means Wilson remains a rotation risk, which will only increase with Champions League action on the horizon.

What's more, Newcastle's tough opening run of PL fixtures further limits the appeal of Wilson as an option. However, he could be a useful option on the bench for later weeks, given he's likely retain spot-kick duties for Newcastle.

Watkins' fortunes have changed dramatically since Unai Emery took over as new boss at Villa Park. The former Bees forward netted once in his first ten starts and was on a mere three going into Gameweek 21.

However, the January sale of Danny Ings to West Ham meant Watkins re-established himself as the main man up top, he scored in ten of the following 12 matches – delivering 11 goals and three assists.

Goals dried up in the closing weeks, but he grabbed one more on the final day. His explosive turn of speed, dribbling, and link-up play, as well as his recoveries and tackles, all contribute largely to bonus points, which makes him an attractive budget option.

After an injury-hit debut season at Arsenal following his £45m switch from the Etihad Stadium, Jesus' price has remained £8.0m in FPL, meaning there's a bargain to be had if he improves his goal-scoring drastically next season.

The Brazilian has faced criticism during his time in England for being a wasteful finisher, but his tally of 11 goals and 7 assists is still decent output, couple that with the fact his minutes are assured with summer recruit Kai Havertz likely to play as a midfield No. 8 than a false-9, Jesus would be hard to ignore for FPL managers once again.

Averaging just 3.4 FPL points per match, Nunez was too wasteful and never really cemented a starting berth in Jurgen Klopp’s starting XI last season in what was an injury-hit campaign. Still, having dropped £1.5m to £7.5m, he is a bit more tempting option for manager next season.

As wasteful as he was in 2022/23, Nunez’s tally of nine goals and five assists last season is respectful considering that he only made 19 starts, but Liverpool fans will expect more from their £64-million striker next season.

He had similarly underwhelming debut season at Benfica, but truly exploded onto the scene in his second season, where he scored 26 goals in 28 league games and was the top scorer in the Primeira Liga.

So, there's a strong chance the dynamic forward will rediscover his scoring boots next season. His clever, urgent movement and rumbustious runs are a menace for the opposition defenders to cope with, but the Uruguayan striker needs to work on his composure in front of goal, which could ultimately define his striking output.

New Chelsea arrival Nkunku represent great value-for-money with FPL bosses able to snap him up for just £7.5m. Per FBref, he has overperformed his expected goals (xG) in each of the last two seasons. His 16 goals last season arrived from an xG of 14.4, with his 20 in 34 the previous season against an xG of 16.1.

Capable of playing as a striker or across attacking midfield, Nkunku’s versatility could come in handy for the managers, even though he likes staying close to opposition goal to be involved in as much attacking action as possible.

After a 43-goal record-breaking season in the Championship, Mitrovic started last season on fire back in the top-flight, netting 11 times in his first 15 matches. Goalless for the next six, he then received a large FA ban and – although he scored a few late on – Gameweek 38 brought his fourth penalty miss. Still, he finished the season with a very respectable 14 Premier League goals.

Dominant in the air with fine ball retention numbers, very hard to push off the ball, and usually an aggressive defender, too, the 27-year-old is as good a target-man forward as you can find in the modern-day, and almost always offers decent attacking output.

What's more, everything that Marco Silva's side creates will go through Mitrovic, who is the focal point of most of their attacks, and a clear target for all those crosses and through balls into the box he so often thrives off, though FPL managers should be warned that the combative centre-forward is one yellow card away from a suspension.

That being said, Fulham's tricky opening five fixtures means the Serb's early appeal is somewhat limited.

Isak's goals were a huge reason for Newcastle's Champions League qualification as he struck 10 times in 22 outings.

It remains to be seen how Eddie Howe juggles the workloads of Wilson and Isak with UEFA Champions League football on the cusp, but one thing is for sure the Swede will be the first name on Howe's team sheet once again in 2023-24, albeit as a winger on occasions after his late-season run-outs on the left wing.

The £60m club-record record signing from Real Sociedad is likely to continue his rise to prominence this season. Not only is he a deadly poacher, but he also possesses the rare mix of power and elegance to be a strong, skillful, crafty dribbler who is equally effective at creating chances for his teammates, making him a potentially shrewd addition to FPL squads.

Awoniyi only managed 10 goals last season but proved to be Steve Cooper’s late season saviour. The Nigerian striker ended his debut campaign in the east Midlands with a flourish, netting six times in the final four matches.

Awoniyi was incredibly clinical during this hot streak, and should he maintain that purple patch at the start of next season, he can be a steal at just £6.5m.

Solanke was one of the steals last season. He didn’t often score but was around to help those FPL managers that needed money placed elsewhere.

Indeed, the forward with the most assists last season was involved in almost half of Bournemouth's goals, having a hand in 16 (6 goals, 10 assists), ranking as sixth-best FPL point collector amongst his positional peers (130). However, a tricky schedule suggests he should be avoided early on.

Calvert-Lewin has dropped a further £2.0m after another injury-hit campaign and will now cost Fantasy bosses just £6.0m, making him one of the cheaper starting forwards on offer. He scored just two goals in 2022/23, but could become a vital cog in Sean Dyche's system next season. If he can keep himself fit, he can be a good bench option to have in your team as cash-strapped Everton are unlikely to bring in another proven top-level centre-forward to compete for minutes with him.

Young Ferguson has the potential to be the best budget-enabling forward option to start the 2023-24 season. He burst onto the scene last term with six Premier League goals from just under 1000 minutes of top-flight action, and proved he can be the answer to Brighton's well-documented striker problems in the past seasons.

The 18-year-old is an energetic and agile centre-forward who scores goals but also has playmaking abilities as he often drops deep to pick out the passes and be involved in the build-up. Ferguson looks like the archetypal modern striker, who usually earns you more FPL points than old-fashioned target-man ones.