Riyad Mahrez – Leicester City (2015‑16) – £5.5m
Riyad Mahrez proved to be a goldmine for Claudio Ranieri and FPL bosses alike during Leicester’s title‑winning season. As Fantasy Football Scout notes, he flew out of the blocks with a 15‑point haul in Gameweek 1 against Sunderland, rewarding the 5.9 % of managers who started the campaign with the winger in their side.
It was no fluke. Mahrez posted double‑figure returns in five of the opening six gameweeks, amassing 56 points – one of the best starts ever seen in an FPL season. Unsurprisingly, other managers jumped on board, and by Gameweek 7 Mahrez featured in more than 50 % of teams.
Jamie Vardy, of course, enjoyed a dazzling campaign of his own, delivering a goal or an assist for 15 consecutive weeks, though he began the season £0.5 m more expensive than his team‑mate. Mahrez finished the campaign as the top scorer in FPL with 240 points, despite his modest starting price.
Michu – Swansea City (2012‑13) – £6.5m
There is a certain amount of nostalgia and sentiment attached to FPL; we gaze proudly at these little icons racking up points as if they were family. Michu was the epitome of an on‑screen cult hero, transforming from relative unknown to a 190‑point asset whose price rose by £2 m over the course of the year.
As Woods says, he is probably the biggest one‑season wonder in FPL history.
“A few savvy managers picked up on the fact the Spaniard had scored 15 goals in La Liga the season before and had him on the opening day when he scored twice at QPR,” adds our resident FPL expert. “He was effectively a £6.5m striker classified as a midfielder. It felt like he was in most managers’ teams by the time he ended 2012‑13 with a whopping 18 goals.”
He managed two the following season… and then left for Napoli.
