FPL Insight: Is Haaland a Must-Have for Your Starting Squad?

Top Fantasy managers debate the pros and cons of spending BIG on the Man City forward

The Scout’s panel of Fantasy Premier League experts discuss whether managers should be picking Manchester City forward Erling Haaland in their opening squads, with the Norwegian’s RECORD price tag of £15.0m in FPL.

What the experts say
Gianni Buttice (@GianniButtice)
With a full pre-season behind him and a good run of fixtures, it takes a brave manager to back against Haaland. Captaincy is a huge part of this game, and he’s the obvious candidate for three of the first five fixtures. At 5.5m less, Phil Foden (£9.5m) offers an alternative route into the Man City attack that I would like to explore, but not for Gameweek 1 given that he has reported back for pre-season so late.

Decision: Pick Haaland

Holly Shand (@HollyShand)
Haaland is a must-have in my team despite being £1.0m more than I initially expected. He is the best goalscorer the league has ever seen, and we know he starts the season strongly. He’ll be getting a full pre-season under his belt too, because he wasn’t involved in UEFA EURO 2024.

Decision: Pick Haaland

Pranil Sheth (@lateriser12)
Having had some time to explore the possibilities, a non-Haaland team looks a lot better than a Haaland team in terms of balance. That said, if there are a couple of “enablers” who emerge in the game and offer great value in the next month, I would like to start with Haaland as he has Ipswich Town at home in Gameweek 2 – and it is a lot easier to sell him afterwards and spread the funds than to buy him.

Decision: Ideally pick Haaland but plan to sell him

Utkarsh Dalmia (@ZopharFPL)
At £15.0m, Haaland is a significant part of your budget but he also makes the most important decision you have to make every week – the captaincy – quite easy. Liverpool are a bit of an unknown under Arne Slot but with Haaland you know what you’re getting. It’s also easier to get rid of the Norwegian later on if you want to, rather than scrambling to buy him with multiple transfers.

Decision: Pick Haaland

Pras (@Pras_FPL)
The first instinct people will have is that if they choose a “no Haaland” team, they can afford so much. That is until (a) a few budget gems emerge and suddenly it is easier to afford the Norwegian, and (b) Haaland bags his first pre-season hat-trick, against Chelsea. We all knew it was coming!

Decision: Pick Haaland

Lee Bonfield (@FPLFamily)
Haaland’s Gameweek 2 fixture at home to Ipswich is one where you wouldn’t want to be without the big Norwegian. I’ll likely start with him, but be open-minded to downgrading him to achieve a better balance in my squad. A lot will depend on when the players that went far in EURO 2024 return and are ready to step back into their Premier League teams – the England boys Cole Palmer (£10.5m), Bukayo Saka (£10.0m) and Foden, in particular.

Decision: Pick Haaland

Harry Daniels (@FPL_Harry)
For me the Haaland decision comes down to captaincy. If you look elsewhere and can happily rotate your captaincy between Mohamed Salah (£12.5m), Palmer, Ollie Watkins (£9.0m) and others, then Haaland is not needed for £15.0m. However, if you feel Haaland is just solid and reliable for the captaincy every week, including that match at home against Ipswich in Gameweek 2, then he is worth it.

Decision: Pick Haaland

Oscar (@FPLFocal)
No Haaland! I’m finding he hurts my team balance too much to justify at the moment. The £2.5m saved by picking Salah instead allows me to squeeze in the likes of Palmer, Saka, Alexander Isak (£8.5m) and Watkins.

Decision: No Haaland

Sam Bonfield (@FPLFamily)
I’m planning to start the season with both Salah and Haaland. Both players are getting a full pre-season with their clubs and haven’t been playing additional minutes at the Euros or Copa America. For me, this means that they feel like they will be important, especially for the captain’s armband in Gameweeks 1 and 2.

After his hat-trick against his Gameweek 1 opponents Chelsea over the weekend in a pre-season friendly, I suspect we will see Haaland’s ownership rise in the build-up to Gameweek 1. I’m still looking at a strategy where he could be swapped for Foden after the opening few weeks of the season, but his pre-season form makes that harder to consider!

Decision: Pick Haaland but plan to sell him