Champions League Fantasy Football: Forwards for every budget

In the build-up to Matchday 1 of the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League, UEFA.com picks out some premium, mid-range and budget forwards for managers on #UCLfantasy, presented by Playstation.

PREMIUM OPTIONS

The three highest-owned forwards at the time of writing are also the three most expensive, with Erling Haaland (€11.0m), Kylian Mbappé (€11.0m) and Vinícius Júnior (€11.0m) all featuring prominently in Fantasy teams. Haaland hit successive hat-tricks in the Premier League recently, while 2023/24 joint-top scorer Mbappé will now link up with Vinícius Júnior – who recorded 11 goal involvements in the Champions League last season – at Real Madrid.

Harry Kane (€10.5m) who scored the most Fantasy points among strikers last season. The Bayern München forward scored eight times in the Champions League – the same as Mbappé – and provided four assists, also picking up two Player of the Match awards.

Scorer of 94 career Champions League goals, Robert Lewandowski (€9.5m) always warrants Fantasy attention. Barcelona travel to Monaco on Matchday 1, before back-to-back home games. At the same price is Inter's Lautaro Martínez (€9.5m), who was the top scorer at the 2024 Copa América.

MID-PRICED OPTIONS

Also victorious at the Copa América with Argentina was Julián Álvarez (€8.0m), who made a summer move to Atlético de Madrid, while Kai Havertz (€8.0m) has two goals and an assist in Arsenal's first three Premier League games of the season. Álvaro Morata (€7.5m) is another striker at a new club and scored on his debut for Milan. Local rivals Inter also boast a viable mid-ranged asset, Marcus Thuram (€7.5m) being the top scorer in Serie A with four goals in his first three games.

In terms of early season form, few can match Viktor Gyökeres (€7.5m), who has struck seven times in Sporting CP's first four league games, while Loïs Openda (€7.5m) has scored three in three in all competitions for Leipzig.

Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins (€7.5m) is set to feature in the Champions League for the first time. Fellow Premier League forward Diogo Jota (€7.5m) returns to the competition having scored three career hat-tricks in European football, one in the Champions League.

BUDGET OPTIONS

After their historic 2023/24 campaign, many eyes will be on Leverkusen's Fantasy options, among them Victor Boniface (€7.0m). The Nigerian striker scored 21 goals in all competitions last season, and is already up and running in the current campaign. The same can be said of PSV Eindhoven's Luuk de Jong (€7.0m), who has struck three times already after 38 in all competitions in 2023/24.

Jonathan David (€7.0m) played a key role in Lille's progression through the Champions League qualifying rounds, while the even cheaper Sandro Kulenović (€6.0m) has been in fine form for GNK Dinamo in 2024/25, finding the net seven times in as many appearances.

Tiago Gouveia (€4.5m) recently scored for Benfica and currently features in 9% of teams, but the budget striker recently sustained an injury that is likely to keep him out of action for an extended period. Better options at a slightly higher cost are Mika Biereth (€5.5m) and Mateo Retegui (€5.5m), who have been on target three times for Sturm Graz and Atalanta respectively this season.