Whose ready for another Dwight Schrute thread! This was quite a tricky one and is a bit more wordy but hopefully the information and ranking is useful!

Today, we look at PREMIUM FPL STRIKERS (9.0+)

RT, Likes, Comments always appreciated

#FPLCommunity

Comparing the 8 premium striker is quite a difficult one to put into numerical value but I will do my best by assigning points (8 = the best / 1 = the worst!). They’ll all get a rank on where I feel there points will end up next season (using this season as a template).

For reference the 8 premium striker we will be discussing are:
Roberto Firmino (LIV)
Sergio Agüero (MCI)
Anthony Martial (MNU)
Timo Werner (CHE)
Jamie Vardy (LEI)
Harry Kane (SPU)
Raul Jiminez (WOL)
Danny Ings (SOU)

This is in on the assumption that these 8 strikers will be 9+ million. Aubameyang has been left out due to widespread reports he will be a MID. G.Jesus has been left out as Agüero will be taking his place.

Strikers get 4 points for goals so this will always take priority!

Timo Werner takes more shot than any of the other strikers with 4 per game - he was expected to get 23 goals last year and ended up on 28. Almost all these elite strikers outperform their XG due to their above average finishing. But only Danny Ings surpassed him on this front.

The weakness with Werner is that he did not score a single header last year and was reliant on weaker German defences and counter attacking football. Against the low block sides of Sheffield, Burnley and Leeds he may struggle to be effective.

If we are to look at the most lethal finisher around, that would be Sergio Agüero who despite only starting 18 games scored 16 for the season which was his XG for the year. The risk with Sergio is his injury record. on average he played between 10-20 games less than the rest.

Harry Kane on finishing ability alone has always been one of the best, his XG was 13 in the 29 he played but he ended up with 18. This was in a season of turmoil and change, plus injuries. If he plays 30+ games next year, he WILL get 20+ goals.

A big debate for me is Tony Martial v Raul Jiminez. Both ended the season on 17 goals but Wolves were far more reliant on Raul for goals. This is shown but Jiminez marching his XG of 17.

Martial actually outperformed this after getting himself the CF role in Ole’s reinvigorated strikerforce and achieved +4 more than Jiminez whilst not taking any penalties. My initial thoughts would be Martial outscores Jiminez next season.

The two Brits of Jamie and Danny are next - at this is the toughest to call. I personally don’t feel either will achieve 20+ goals next year but you know they’ll be the main men for their two teams! If Ings was anywhere below 8 he’d be in my side but it sounds like he’s 9.0 now!

Ings was expected to get 16 for the season given his XG and Vardy 19. Both outperformed this but next year I think both will be hitting nearer the 15 goal mark. If they come in at 9/10 then I think both of them will be popular picks given the choices in the middle!

Finally, Firmino ... he just doesn’t justify his price! He was the only striker to get below double figures with 9 despite being expected to get 17 for the season. This can of course turn in an instance and Firmino does prove a threat in other areas as you’ll see below

Using the stats above... this would be their ranking so far:
Harry Kane 8
Timo Werner 7
Sergio Agüero 6
Anthony Martial 5
Raul Jiminez 4
Jamie Vardy 3
Danny Ings 2
Roberto Firmino 1

But there is more to football and points then just goals. So what about the other areas of threats that contribute to both bonus points but also assist points! For the next round the points will be halved

Timo Werner again scores highly with 9 assists for the season! He’s stats look so dangerous, but there is always the risk with new players from a different league. He underperformed slightly on this (which isn’t a shock as strikers are greedy) and was expected to get 10.

With an XG/XA of 33 G/A in 34 games. He is dangerous - he also makes more key passes a game with 2 than any of the other options and is joint top for dribbles.

Only one player outperformed their XA and that was Roberto Firmino. He is a threat with Salah and Mane either side. But if assists weight into your thinking his XA is lower than Werner and joint with 3 others. Surely not enough to make you go for him.

Martial comes in highly here as well, mostly due to United’s penalty threat. He got 6 assists for the season along with being joint top for dribbling. Jiminez is still a threat from assists and performed (similar to shooting) almost exactly to his XA with 6 assists.

Vardy and Ings both chip away a bit when it comes to assists but both are more often goal getters. Vardy got 5 for the season and Ings with 3 - neither are jaw dropping and so don’t expect many assists to these players names.

But the worst was actually Sergio Agüero who astonishingly was expected to get 7 assists but ended up with only 1. Agüero scores a lot but that’s often because in and around the box he usually only has eyes for the goal ... I’m not complaining!

This is the same as Kane who only got 2 assists - the top two premium strikers of Harry and Sergio will not be passing the ball much

So to try and get some value here this is how I’d rank them:

Werner 4
Firmino 3.5
Martial 3
Jiminez 2.5
Vardy 2
Ings 1.5
Kane 1
Agüero 0.5

Therefore, if they match their XG/XA next season this SHOULD be how they’ll rank in terms of points

A* Werner 7+4 = 11
B+ Kane 8+1 = 9
B Martial 5+3 = 8
C Jiminez 4+2.5 = 6.5
C- Agüero 6+0.5 = 6.5
C- Vardy 3+2 = 5
D Firmino 1+3.5 = 4.5
D- Ings 2+1.5 = 3.5

THANKS!