With the official Fantasy Premier League game opened a couple of weeks ago, managers have eagerly been building, scrapping and rebuilding their sides to the point of an obsession.

After all, if you haven't gone through about 50 iterations in fit in the likes of Harry Kane, Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez, can you call yourself a real fan?

But while everyone is clamouring for the stars of the top sides, it's often those players who come a little further down on the price list that prove to be the best picks.

As anybody who poached the likes of Josh King last year or Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy the season before can vouch, picking up a bargain player before other fantasy players is the real way to get into the top places.

This year the fantasy pricing seems to be a little more balanced with players who would normally be a little cheaper given tags that better reflect their prospects.

There may still be some value to be found at lower parts of the price scale and free up some funds for those big players. Here are five potential bargains to consider...

Ben Foster

 

While his brand of football isn't everyone's cup of tea, Tony Pulis has a great many fans within the world of Fantasy Premier League.

At each of Stoke City, Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion the Welshman has promoted a defence-first approach that offered a steady influx at clean sheet points, turning unglamorous defenders into fantasy gold.

At 4.5m, Foster offers the cheapest way into the Baggies backline and is likely to beat his score of 113 points as Pulis looks to tighten things up.

Lewis Cook

When you're trying to squeeze those extra pounds to get that Manchester City or Chelsea player into your side, you sometimes have to really scrape the bottom of the barrel elsewhere.

With 4.5m being the cheapest midfield price, most managers will look to fill their bench with a viable, playing and cheap option.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek seems to be the most popular with 16% of managers, but the 0.8% Lewis Cook may well be the better option.

He plays in an attacking Bournemouth side, has come off the back of an Under-20s World Cup victory and could be the creative hub for the Cherries in Jack Wilshere's absence. Keep an eye on him.

Harry Maguire

For much of last season Leicester's heroic side of 2015/16 was of little to no use in fantasy terms.

The attack struggled for goals, the midfield managed few assists and the defence shipped goals for fun.

Under Craig Shakespeare they seemed to get some of their discipline and fight back, and Foxes fans will hope this continues.

With Maguire's aerial threat (he managed 33 attempts in 29 appearances) he'll likely end up Leicester's top scoring defender. Not bad for 5.0m.

Troy Deeney

 

With strikers the most expensive position in the game, it's important to find one that can break through defences without breaking the bank.

£6.5m seems to be the bench mark for the cheapest viable options, with anyone below either unsure of a starting place or struggling for quality.

In this range it seems to be between Dwight Gayle and Troy Deeney, and with the latter on penalties and spearheading a side with a bright new manager in Marco Silva, he just gets the nod for the start of the season.

Manuel Lanzini

At 7.0m, we're not sure if Lanzini qualifies as a bargain but he could well be a hidden gem in this year's game.

With Dimitri Payet long gone, the Argentine is the chief creative outlet for the Hammers in a side packed with attacking talent.

Each of Michail Antonio, Andre Ayew and Marko Arnautovic know where the goal is while Javier Hernandez's imminent arrival should help Lanzini grab a lot more assists from through balls. Plus, with eight goals last year, he knows how to find the goal himself.