The best Fantasy Premier League’s bargain defender tips to buy ahead of 2022/23 season

After a turbulent 2021/22 campaign, football fans can now take their picks on who they want to be in their Fantasy Premier League squad for the new season.

Football clubs have gradually revealed their player prices over the past couple of weeks and now supporters can delve into the virtual world, choosing from some of the big summer signings and identifying the best hidden gems.

This summer has seen the likes of Erling Haaland, Darwin Nunez and Fabio Vieira join the English tip tier - all of whom will undoubtedly be selected in thousands of FPL teams around the globe.

Meanwhile, the usual suspects in Mohamed Salah, Kevin De Bruyne, Heung-min Son and the like will continue to be chosen, taking out a huge chunk of a player’s budget.

While these expensive stars are likely to guarantee you the most points, there are also a list of cheap alternatives that could prove to be real bargains throughout the season.

With less than a month to go until the 2022/23 Premier League campaign kicks off, we are taking an in-depth look at the biggest bargains in each position to make sure your FPL team is looking its best - starting with the defence:

Neco Williams - £4 million

Neco Williams has spent most of his professional career with Liverpool, making his senior debut in 2019.

The Welshman went onto make 26 appearances across all competitions for the Reds, but struggled to impress in the Premier League.

Despite still being a teenager, Williams struggled with social media abuse during his last full season with the Reds and failed to meet the high expectations of playing for Jurgen Klopp’s side.

However, the defender enjoyed an exceptional loan spell with Fulham last season as they won the Championship title and he now looks set to join Nottingham Forest who also fought their way back to the top tier.

Adding Williams to your FPL team could be a risky move, however it is likely that his time with Fulham has left him much improved and perhaps he is now ready for a more successful stint in the Premier League.

The 21-year-old impressed both going forward and staying back for the Cottagers and so could earn you some important points across the season.

Sven Botman - £4.5 million

Newcastle United could be set to bring in a number of big names this summer, but Sven Botman is certainly one of the most exciting.

Despite interest from AC Milan, the centre-back joined from Lille for around £35 million and could prove to be a key asset under Eddie Howe.

The Magpies are expected to enjoy a much improved season following last year’s takeover and it seems unlikely that they will have the same leaky defence issues that they have suffered with in recent years.

Botman played an important role for Lille in his first season in France as they lifted their first Ligue 1 trophy in ten years - conceding only 23 goals all season.

If the Dutchman can replicate his form into the Premier League then his clean sheets could guarantee you some big points.

He is also 6 ft 5, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him bag a few headed goals.

Tyrell Malacia - £4.5m

Tyrell Malacia became Erik ten Hag’s first signing as Manchester United boss last week, as he joined from Feyenoord for an initial £13 million.

The Dutchman is looking like an exciting signing for the Red Devils and Ten Hag could be the one to get the best out of him if he is familiar with the defender from his time in the Netherlands.

At only £4.5 million, Malacia is a cheaper option than both Luke Shaw and Alex Telles and picked up more goal contributions than both last season (one goal, four assists).

If the 22-year-old can pick up where he left off with Feyenoord then he could be a good addition to your side.

Kieran Trippier - £5m

Kieran Trippier returned to the Premier League with Newcastle United in January and made an instant impact for the Magpies.

The full-back was one of United’s best players as they turned a corner in the new year until a broken foot limited him to only six appearances for the remainder of the season.

Like Botman, Trippier could be a real asset to Newcastle’s defence ahead of an exciting campaign and will play a key role in both the defence and attack, with his set-piece ability an additional bonus that’s likely to rack up the FPL points.

The 31-year-old will also be eager to impress in order to work his way into England’s World Cup squad.

Kyle Walker - £5 million

Kyle Walker has been one of the best full-backs in the Premier League since he joined Man City five years ago.

Despite this, the England international has a lower FPL price than all three centre-backs in Aymeric Laporte, Ruben Dias and John Stones, while he is a whopping £2m cheaper than Joao Cancelo.

While Pep Guardiola likes to rotate his team throughout the campaign, Walker still made 20 appearances in the top tier last season and it is always highly unlikely that any Man City defender will have a negative impact on your FPL team.

Walker claimed eleven clean sheets in the Premier League last season - that is 44 points for his defending alone.

While Cancelo will have picked up more points for his assists, Walker is definitely worth considering for significantly less money.

Ivan Perisic - £5.5m

Ivan Perisic joined Tottenham Hotspur on a free transfer this summer after spending Antonio Conte’s last two years at Inter Milan alongside him.

While the Croatia international may not be one of the most exciting signings for Spurs, he has been considered a bit of a cheat code for FPL users.

While Perisic has spent most of his career as a winger, the 33-year-old operates as a wing-back under Conte and will most likely take up that role for Tottenham.

Despite being used as a defender, Perisic still has some brilliant attacking statistics - picking up eight goals and assisting another seven in Serie A last season.

This means Perisic has the potential to pick up plenty of points for clean sheets, while also putting a brilliant shift in at the other end of the pitch too.

While certainly not quite as good as the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Cancelo, Perisic would still be a huge steal for FPL players and would also take up a lot less of your budget