3 Liverpool players to sign for your FPL team as Mohamed Salah most expensive star
Liverpool kicks off the Premier League season in just seven days, and that means the FPL campaign is almost upon us too. For many, fantasy football is just as important as the real-life league standings, and there are a number of viable options from Arne Slot's side.AdvertisementAdvertisement AdvertisementTrying to at least force a decision, the powers that be have slapped a £14.5 million price tag on Mohamed Salah, making him Liverpool's most expensive player by a distance. He's also the priciest player in the game, and the most expensive midfielder ever.So is he still a must-own? And can we trust Slot not to rotate his star men this year?READ MORE: Rio Ngumoha given new nickname by Liverpool teammate Jeremie FrimpongREAD MORE: Liverpool transfer news LIVE: Alexander Isak twist, Bradley Barcola linked, Darwin Nunez exitThere are also new signings at Anfield to consider this summer, making decisions as complicated as they have been in some time. So I've created this rundown of three Liverpool players to pick in your FPL squad.AdvertisementAdvertisement AdvertisementMohamed SalahI won't keep you in suspense for long. Even with his premium £14.5 million price tag, Salah is still the first Liverpool player in my FPL team.There's been nothing in preseason to suggest he will be any less of a focal point for Liverpool this season. His evolution into a supreme playmaker continues apace, with chance after chance laid on for his teammates.The jury is out on Hugo Ekitike, but it can't hurt to have someone other than Darwin Nunez on the end of Salah's creative brilliance. Perhaps that assist record will finally fall this season.And Salah's goal threat should not be especially diminished either. Slot's attacking system is still designed to maximize the Egyptian's world-class talent, as you'd expect after Liverpool committed to another two years.AdvertisementAdvertisement AdvertisementThe potential arrival of Alexander Isak (£10.5 million) would put a cat among the pigeons slightly, given that it would shift the dynamic of the front line and place more of Liverpool's goal-getting burden on the striker. But if anything, it would make Salah even more appealing, turning him into a veritable assist machine.And whoever signs, there's no risk that Salah will be off penalties. There was a chance to give a spot kick to 17-year-old Will Wright in preseason, who had only signed for Liverpool earlier in the day — but rather than support the fairytale, Salah asserted the pecking order.Okay, he did miss. But as long as he's on duty, he will score plenty of points that way over the course of the FPL season.Florian WirtzIt's rare to recommend a new signing from the outset in FPL. It is often better to first see how they settle into a new club, and potentially a new league.AdvertisementAdvertisement AdvertisementBut there's evidence to suggest that Florian Wirtz should be an exception. He may have been Liverpool's record signing, but in FPL he has been priced at a rather more modest £8.5 million.It's not so low that you could call him strictly underpriced from the outset. But it is low enough to justify the gamble — if all goes to plan, Wirtz will be a real bargain at that price, and he has the potential to hit the ground running.Florian Wirtz is a FPL bargain -Credit:Carl Recine/Getty ImagesThe transition from the Bundesliga is not too steep, especially when you've been the league's standout player for two seasons running. Wirtz recorded 10 goals and 13 assists in 31 league outings for Bayer Leverkusen last season, and even maintaining those numbers would represent an excellent return on investment.AdvertisementAdvertisement AdvertisementClearly, Wirtz will no longer have any penalties to swell his tally, but he only scored two for Leverkusen in the league last season. And his output can only be helped by being surrounded by such quality teammates — Liverpool always looks for players whom it expects will be able to "scale up" at Anfield.While Wirtz and Salah together will take up somewhere approaching a quarter of your budget, they should also cover a fair proportion of Liverpool's attacking returns this season (again with the Isak caveat). For a team that scored 86 times last season, that's worth doing.Milos KerkezThis is a fairly tentative recommendation, and potentially one to consider holding off on for a few weeks to get a full picture of the Liverpool pecking order. But preseason has suggested that Milos Kerkez will go straight in at left-back ahead of Andy Robertson.AdvertisementAdvertisement AdvertisementShould that prove to be the case, then Kerkez is a great route into the Liverpool defense. The Reds kept 14 clean sheets last season, providing a steady stream of FPL points even before any other contributions.And Kerkez is likely to provide other routes to points too. He was the fifth-highest-scoring defender in FPL last season during his time at Bournemouth, scoring twice and assisting six times.The ultimate aim will be for him to ramp up to peak Robertson numbers at Liverpool, which would mean pushing double figures for assists. This potential is reflected in a premium £6.0 million price tag — but as long as he's a steady starter, he is the pick of the bunch in the Reds defense.Defensive contribution points provide some food for thought, and might point you toward a safer option like Virgil van Dijk. Kerkez is unlikely to score too well on that front.AdvertisementAdvertisement AdvertisementBut it would be hasty to get too carried away with the new way of scoring points. Ultimately, DefCons are capped at two points per game, whereas a single assist is worth three (and a goal is worth six).Honorable mentionsVirgil van Dijk: As mentioned, Van Dijk could be a beneficiary of the new DefCon scoring system. Even without that, he was the third highest-scoring defender last season, and he is clearly the safest route into the Liverpool defense in terms of minutes.Jeremie Frimpong: Sticking with the defense, Frimpong is even more attacking than Kerkez. If he starts, he's probably the better pick; but preseason suggests he faces more of a battle to wrest his place off Conor Bradley (although the Northern Irishman is an injury doubt for the start of the campaign).AdvertisementAdvertisement AdvertisementDominik Szoboszlai: If you're looking for a budget-extending midfielder, Dominik Szoboszlai has wildcard potential at £6.5 million. The signing of Wirtz appears to have moved him deeper, but he has still posted attacking returns in preseason, and his new role could mean plenty of DefCon points for the tireless Hungarian.Cody Gakpo: With Luis Diaz gone, the left flank is definitely Cody Gakpo's to lose for the time being. He bagged a brace in a recent preseason outing, and could be good value at £7.5 million.Harvey Elliott: This is entirely dependent on Harvey Elliott getting a transfer within the Premier League. If he goes somewhere where he can be a regular, £5.5 million will be one of the biggest FPL bargains out there. But at the moment, the strongest links are with RB Leipzig.Alexander Isak: As I've hinted fairly strongly throughout, Isak would be a game-changer, both for Liverpool and for FPL players. If he signs, he's a must-have at £10.5 million.
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