Rooney is starting at the lowest price he’s ever been in FPL at 9.0. He finished at a 9.9 value last season, rightly so as it was his worst Fantasy performance ever. Mourinho has promised to play Roon-dog millionaire as a forward, though, and while that might mean less playing time give the acquisition of Zlat man scoop and the surgence (new word) of Martial Law, it should mean more goals.
Even if Rooney reproduces his abysmal form from last season, in which he was playing balls deep 50m from goal, he’ll crack the top ten strikers in the league, and with United's signings so far and the imminent arrival of Paul Pogba, Mourinho's men are sneaking towards being favourites for the title.
Leighton Baines (5.5) -- Everton
Like Rooney, Leighton is a former Fantasy great who, in his twilight years, is now the cheapest he's been since the Noughties. Last season the set-piece supremo only registered two goals, two assists and four clean sheets but this was largely down to playing only 1500 minutes through injury and Everton having a worse defence than Melania Trump.
The Toffees are unlikely to defend any worse than last season. Steklenberg should help and I imagine they'll bring in a few other decent ringers. A defender who was worth 8.1 by the end of the 2010/11 season in which he scored a whopping 178 points (Aguero scored 184 last year) is mos def worth a squirtle.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan (9.0) -- Manchester United
We spoke about Rick in
Monday's post but he's worth another mention. If he brings a fraction of the production to the Prem that he displayed for Dortmund last season he'll be the new Cristiano Ronaldo.
Andre Ayew (7.5) -- Swansea
You may not want to hitch your Fantasy cart to the Swansea bandwagon but there is little doubt that Ayew is underpriced. He hit the ground running in his first Prem season netting 12 goals, 5 assists and 25 bonus points. That was enough to bag him the fourth most points of any midfielder last season (the same as Payet), largely due to the fact that he's actually a forward (shh don't tell FPL).
The Swans kick things off against noobs Burnley and Hull in what the FPL site's new 'Fixture Difficulty Rating' (FDR) correctly classify as the easiest possible games. If you want to come out of the blocks firing, and get a little extra bang for your buck, Ayew's the man for you.
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| Don't mess with Bob Barker, whoever that is |
The Overvalued
Riyad Mahrez (9.5) -- Leicester
Leicester are not going to win the league this season. Sorry to be the one to break it to you. Last season wasn't a fluke but it was a freak, and even assuming Mahrez isn't sold now, others integral to the Foxes' miracle will be wary of the adage that lightning doesn't strike twice.
There are only three mids more expensive than Mahrez this season and whilst he's a quality player, his success is heavily contingent on Leicester's success. For the same cash you could have Mkhitarayan or Payet and not have to fret about watching the Leicester miracle go up in smoke.
Daniel Sturridge (10.0) -- Liverpool
This is a controversial one as Spaniel Porridge is demonstrably talented enough to warrant a hefty investment. The problem is he's made of biscuits. An injured player isn't the worst Fantasy fate since even the most tinkerful and profligate of us are granted a free transfer every week, but there aren't any appealing options in Danny's price bracket, so if his glass legs shatter it might necessitate a two or three transfer re-gig, along with the points sacrifice that entails. Also, that stupid fucking dance...
The Pic of the Week*
*Subject to six bajillion changes between now and 13 August.
