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 Who are the best FPL £4.5m midfielders for 2025/26? Expert Fantasy Premier League manager Abdul Rehman (<a href="https://twitter.com/FPL_Salah">FPL Salah</a>) has it covered.
We’ll be keeping this list of £4.5m midfielders regularly updated before the Gameweek 1 deadline, so make sure to bookmark this page.
And check out our <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fantasy-premier-league-ultimate-guide-fpl-tips">Ultimate Guide to FPL</a> for all our best player articles and much more.
 
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<h2>Best £4.5m FPL midfielders 2025/26</h2>
The £4.5m midfielder bracket is not the most exciting category - but shouldn't be ignored nonetheless.
Just like the <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/who-are-the-best-fpl-budget-goalkeepers">budget goalkeeper</a> position, the fifth midfielder option is often overlooked in Fantasy Premier League.
It’s a rare occurrence that they will ever be needed but it’s good to have a solid starter to be well prepared.
Underlying attacking statistics are not the main focus when selecting your budget midfielder.
Security of starts is undoubtedly the most crucial factor and that is what we will mainly focus on in this article.
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Just like the £4.5m forwards in 2025/26, there doesn’t seem to be any nailed £4.5m midfielder options at the moment.
Here we will go through the best of them and look at some with the potential to break through too.
<h3>Lewis Miley (£4.5m) - Newcastle</h3>
Arguably the best pick in this price range, Miley has played a fair few senior minutes over the last two seasons. 
Although he only managed one start - in which he scored - last campaign he had 13 bench cameos. 
In 2023/24, he registered a goal and three assists in 17 Premier League appearances (14 starts) and even managed a Champions League assist. 
With Sean Longstaff now at Leeds and Joe Willock’s future uncertain, the pathway is clearer for Miley to get regular minutes as the first backup in a midfield three.  
Eddie Howe has publicly called him 'pivotal to our future' - and Miley looks poised to continue developing into a first-team regular. 
How many starts he gets, we don’t know, but I imagine he will get plenty of minutes off the bench and possibly some starts to help out with the workload across all competitions.
As things stand, he is one of the most likely £4.5m midfielders to break into his first team.
<div id="attachment_73718" style="width: 850px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-73718" class="size-full wp-image-73718" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/playerstats-L.Miley-bordered.jpeg" alt="Lewis Miley Stats" width="840" height="690" />
Lewis Miley's stats
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<h3>Aaron Ramsey (£4.5m) - Burnley</h3>
Ramsey is our Wildcard high-upside play at £4.5m. 
A natural winger, he racked up eight goals and four assists for Norwich and Middlesbrough in the 2022/23 Championship season before earning a move to Burnley. 
After suffering a serious knee injury in early 2024, he missed more than a year of action. But now fit, Ramsey could offer the kind of forward threat rarely seen at this price if he earns a starting spot. 
He played 65 minutes in a friendly against Shrewsbury on July 26 but was not in the squad for the subsequent two friendlies. 
Burnley play their final <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fpl-pre-season-results-guide">friendly</a> against Lazio on the August 9, so keep an eye on him. 
He’s another one who should get minutes off the bench but could play his way into the starting 11. 
<div id="attachment_73747" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-73747" class="size-full wp-image-73747" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Ramsey-Burnley.jpg" alt="Aaron Ramsey. Picture by Getty Images" width="1024" height="683" />
Aaron Ramsey. Picture by Getty Images
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<h3>Romain Faivre (£4.5m) - Bournemouth</h3>
Faivre brings technical ability and versatility having featured for Brest last season, with three goals and two assists in 20 Ligue 1 games. 
He can operate across the midfield and flanks and if he nails down a regular role at Bournemouth, he becomes a very interesting pick. 
His good showing in the French League may give him some leeway with Andoni Iraola. 
He has played a part in three of Bournemouth’s pre-season friendlies, even managing 90 minutes against Hibernian on July 15.<span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}"> 
If he stays at Bournemouth, realistically he should see minutes off the bench and there are no rumours linking him to another loan move away so far.<span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240,&quot;335559740&quot;:279}">  
<h3>Justin Devenny (£4.5m) - Crystal Palace</h3>
Devenny made 23 league appearances last season, starting four of them. 
He impressed for Palace and got plenty of minutes last season, seeing as he is only 21.  
He’s unlikely to start from Gameweek 1 but if injuries strike or squad rotation kicks in, he could get opportunities. 
He plays deeper than someone like Ramsey, so don't expect many returns, but he could offer secure minutes which is valuable at this price. 
Devenny also played 90 minutes in Palace’s friendly against Augsburg on August 1.
The young Northern-Irishman has a decent chance to break into the team and I imagine he gets plenty of minutes off the bench like last season.
<div id="attachment_73721" style="width: 850px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-73721" class="size-full wp-image-73721" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/playerstats-Devenny-bordered.jpeg" alt="Justin Devenny Stats" width="840" height="690" />
Justin Devenny's stats
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<h3>Josh King (£4.5m) - Fulham</h3>
Josh King has been gaining a bit of traction.
The 18-year-old played 90 minutes in Fulham's friendly against Al-Ittihad and 45 minutes against Forest.
The youngster has also managed to notch two pre-season goals for Fulham so is doing all the right things.
He can play as a defensive, central and attacking midfielder so his versatility might see him get a fair few minutes off the bench and possibly some starts.
King is definitely one to watch and given the scarcity of a nailed £4.5m midfielder he's as good as any just n0w.
Keep an eye their friendly against Eintracht Frankfurt on the 9th of August as the last game before the start of the season should be quite telling.
<div id="attachment_73823" style="width: 850px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-73823" class="size-full wp-image-73823" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/playerstats-King-bordered.jpeg" alt="Josh King Stats" width="840" height="690" />
Josh King Stats
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<h3>Other £4.5m midfielders</h3>
Andy Irving may be one of the most under-the-radar picks in this bracket. 
After notching nine goals and four assists in Austria’s top flight, he earned a recall to West Ham’s first-team squad last season and even started against Chelsea. 
He's been playing regular minutes in West Ham's friendlies, even grabbing a goal against Grasshoppers where he played 90 minutes.
Matheus França is another one to keep an eye on. The Palace midfielder signed during the 2023/24 summer transfer window for an estimated £17m from Brazilian side Flamengo.
The 21-year-old midfielder's start to his Palace career was hampered due to a back problem, so he's one to monitor.
Harrison Reed has plenty of Premier League experience for Fulham. His starts and minutes have dwindled over the last few seasons but he did suffer a few injuries last season. Despite this, he still managed 12 bench cameos.
We currently have 73 midfielders in the £4.5m price range but no real starter options.
That could change in the run up to Gameweek 1, so keep an eye on this article for future updates.
<h2>Best FPL £4.5m midfielders: Abdul's rankings</h2>
I will now rank these options, exclusively for Hub <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/join">members</a>.
Rankings are given for the player’s FPL potential looking at price, fixtures and overall value. Check out our <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/predictions">predicted points tool</a> for Hub AI's view.
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Best £4.5m FPL midfielders for 2025/26

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