Can Kane and Son break the FPL template?

Looking at two of the most consistent attackers in the Premier League. Using data and the fixture ticker from the Fantasy Football Members Area with other factors to establish if Kane and Son could break the FPL template this season.

With the arrival of new Manchester City signing Haaland and Salah’s amazing season last campaign managers are struggling to fit the Tottenham duo into their teams. Reminding ourselves how good they are could be a good idea.

Kane and Son have been popular picks in FPL for some time. Over the years the pair have amassed a total of 200+ points in a total of six seasons between them in their last seven campaigns. Both have shown excellent consistency over the years and provided constant opportunities for captaincy too.

Kane

Owned by just 22% of the game at the time of writing. Kane has been chased by some of the biggest teams in Europe for years the England international has dominated the forward category for years in FPL. With four seasons hitting 200+ points and coming close with 190+ points in another two campaigns Kane is a constant performer for FPL managers.

Kane managed an impressive 17 goals last season. If that wasn’t enough for managers the forward also managed impressive underlying stats. Amongst all players last season he was:

Second for goal attempts, just behind Salah.
Third for shots in the box.
Second for big chances total.
Joint second for headed attempts on goal.

Goal threat didn’t seem to be a problem for Harry Kane. That can be seen by his goal threat data. But a large part of the FPL community still felt Kane was playing a deeper and more of a provider role through the season.

In terms of distribution last season he managed nine assists. Creating 19 big chances Kane secured the most in the Premier League last season amongst all players.

Another key data point is non-penalty expected goal involvement. Last season the Englishman managed an average of 22.10, the third highest in the league and ahead of team mate Son. Another impressive factor considering he also takes the penalties.

Son

Owned by 26% of the game at the time of writing. Another relentlessly consistent FPL option last season. The South Korean managed to rack up 23 goals and share the golden boot with Salah, not an easy feat.

Interestingly Son was 10th amongst all players for goal attempts and third for big chances total. This shows that either Son needs less chances to score a goal considering he scored the joint most in the season gone or that Son could have over performed.

In terms of distribution Son is up there too. Although one less than new team mate Kulusevski and playing much more minutes he still managed seven assists. Son was also fifth amongst all players for chances created, ahead of Kane but behind on big chances created.

The Tottenham attacker came fourth for non penalty expected goal involvement last season with an average of 21.50 and overachieving by 8.50. Another example that Son continues to defy the data.

Comparison overview

Both had incredible seasons and both had fantastic data. What is clear though is that Son overperformed on his stats. Kane’s underlying stats were also better overall. Looking ahead Kane’s stats are more convincing. But if you’re a firm believer that Son isn’t over performing and is just clinical then he’s also an excellent choice.

Haaland

The new Man City signing is a massive factor in the arguably low ownership of Spurs men Son and Kane. Looking at Haaland gives us a good idea of why FPL managers around the world are backing him over the Tottenham attackers.

Haaland has entered the game at the same price as Kane £11.5m. At that price it’s very difficult to include premium options outside of Trent and Salah, both deemed essential to the majority of the FPL community.

With 20 goals in his 21 matches for Norway Haaland has proved he can do it on an international level. If that wasn’t enough he also managed more attacking returns than games played since his debut for Dortmund in the 19/20 season.

At the time of writing the striker has an ownership of 58%. Something we have to take into account as FPL managers is going against ownership and staying with the pack could mean we avoid a bad start to the season.

The Premier League proven factor

Haaland’s stats are at an elite level and the club he plays for even more impressive. However not being proven in the Premier League has to be considered. Attackers Werner (Chelsea) and Sancho (Manchester United) both came from the Bundesliga.

Although highly rated Werner and Sancho failed to impress. Their numbers were fantastic in the Bundesliga and their was high expectation that both would do well but their Bundesliga form has yet to translate into the English League. Something we have to consider when looking at Haaland.

Kane and Son have the Premier League proven factor. Although none are playing for English free scorers Man City their consistent form has been world class and in one of if not the toughest leagues in the world. Both give assurances of points and unlike Haaland are Premier League proven.

Fixtures

Using the Fantasy Football Scout Season Ticker we can see that the teams and fixtures are in order of easiest to hardest at the bottom for the first eight game weeks. Game week nine has a number of significant fixture swings and is when a large section of the FPL community will look to wildcard.

We can see that Manchester City have the third best fixtures in that period where-as Tottenham have the ninth best fixtures. A significant gap between both.

Can Kane and Son break the template?

The answer is yes. Their both Premier League proven whilst Haaland is not. The consistency of Son and Kane simply cant be ignored, out of the pair Kane’s data does seem more reliable overall but a large section of the community believe that looking at Son’s data is pointless.

Ownership and fixtures back Haaland and that can’t be ignore either. His goal record for club and country is fantastic and his quality is clear.

All three are great options and the safer option is to back Haaland. However if you can ignore the fixtures and ownership and want to play slightly more aggressively then backing the Tottenham boys could be a fantastic idea.

If you haven’t read our latest signing article, check out our piece on Jesse Lingard’s move to Nottingham Forest and what it could mean for FPL here.