At 12.5 and 11.5 million respectively, Kane and Lukaku
represent two of the most premium forward options in this year’s FPL. The price
tags are undoubtedly warranted, in that both have consistently scored freely
over the past few seasons and both a
The answer actually lies in the midfield. This is where the
savings from passing on Kane and Lukaku can be invested: my side currently
features neither of the two strikers, and this has enabled me to field Alli,
Salah and Mane together. All three of these players found the back of the net
in Gameweek 1, meaning I was able to start off the campaign with a respectable
74-point return. The question thus becomes a relatively simple one: can three
premium midfielders outscore both Kane and Lukaku? In the alternative, can two
premium midfielders outscore one of Kane or Lukaku? This second query is not
quite as black and white as it appears, in that by somewhat decimating the rest
of the squad it is possible to shoehorn in one of Kane and Lukaku as well as
two premium midfielders, making the battle for value a straight shootout
between a premium midfielder and Kane or Lukaku. However, putting to one side
this radical approach to balancing the budget, these are the questions that
need to be addressed. At this stage in the season, they obviously cannot be
answered definitively – those who do answer it correctly will have the key to
success this year.
For the time being, my answer is that the premium
midfielders are the way forward. Kane is not the only man at Spurs with a proven
record of FPL returns – Alli has established himself as the consummate
goal-scoring midfielder, and Eriksen has been returning good assist numbers for
some time now. Both continued this trend in GW1, with the Dane notching two
assists and Alli scoring the opener. Lukaku’s new club, too, showed signs of
offering great midfield value: Mkhitaryan is cheap in the premium bracket at
8.0, and he returned two assists against West Ham. The clincher, however, is
Liverpool. Salah and Mane are both playing in a front three where goals and
assists are shared pretty much evenly – and there are plenty to go around. Just
as Spurs picked up where they left off, Liverpool showcased all of their classic
strengths and weaknesses on the opening weekend. The defence was shambolic as
ever, but the attack looked even more lethal than last season; this is quite
some feat given that the team is still waiting on the reintroduction of a
creative midfielder into the middle of the park, be that Coutinho (transfer
speculation) or Lallana (actual injury). The fluid, rapid front three are
clearly capable of creating a lot of goals for themselves, but when normal
service is resumed from the middle of the park the attacking returns will
simply go through the roof. Coupled with Mkhitaryan or one of the Spurs
midfielders, the dynamic duo of Salah and Mane in the FPL team is worth the
sacrifice of abandoning Kane and Lukaku.
This is particularly true given the wealth of budget
alternatives to Kane and Lukaku. Last year saw a real dearth of viable forward
options, but this time around there seems to be a lot more choice. Just a small
step down from the two mercurial strikers brings top players such as Lacazette
and Jesus into the mix: the new Arsenal man scored after just two minutes and looked
dangerous throughout, and Jesus blanked but was unlucky not to have about four.
Further down the price list, great value may well be offered by the likes of
Firmino, Benteke, Hernandez, Rashford or, based on Gameweek 1, maybe Mounie!
None of these are likely to match Kane or Lukaku, but they should all be
capable of providing steady returns which, coupled with the points of the
premium midfielders, will be enough to make up for the absence of the Spurs and
United forwards. Firmino got off to a very strong start, and is even more
appealing now he seems to be on penalty duty. Benteke had a couple of good
chances, and will surely start taking those kinds of opportunities before long.
Rashford recorded an assist, and looked dangerous throughout with his direct
running. Mounie, of course, shone on his debut with a brace to secure an
unlikely 3-0 win for Huddersfield. Hernandez was disappointingly anonymous, but
the strength of the opposition means that he can be cut some slack – West Ham
will have to offer a lot more going forward in future matches if he is to
remain a viable option, however.
Nonetheless, the point clearly stands that Kane and Lukaku do not stand
alone as forwards who will all but guarantee decent returns: neither have
reached 13/14 Suarez levels of must-have, and as such their cheaper
understudies may be the way to go.
It is worth noting that even if heavy investment in the
midfield does indeed turn out to be the better option, opting against Kane and
Lukaku will make for a very long season. Gameweek 1 gave me a stark taste of
what I’m letting myself in for: Spurs and Manchester United both played on the
Sunday, so following a strong showing on Saturday I was left to watch on
powerlessly as the two big hitters went out to determine if I would finish the
week in the top 100k or outside the top million. In the end, one delivered and
one did not – Kane’s blank ensured I
remained comfortably above the average, but Lukaku’s brace meant my ranking
took a beating in the last game of the weekend. Cheering on blanks for two of
the most prolific forwards in the league is not a fun existence – I may cave
before long for the sake of my mental wellbeing! For now, though, it is
exciting to see whether my sizeable risk will pay off: early signs are promising
enough for me to conclude by cautiously suggesting that it is possible to get
by without Kane or Lukaku.
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James Martin
Follow me on Twitter @JamesMartin013
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