Today we are comparing the Fantasy Premier League Potential of two unknown prodigies in the Premier League, Alexandre Lacazette and Alvaro Morata. With both of them making their inaugural seasons in the Premier League these players are difficult to compare with the likes of Kane and Aguero, as the difficulty of other leagues can be questioned. This season in particular sees a vast amount of premium strikers above the price of 10m so picking the correct ones could be vital for your Fantasy Premier League team’s success.
Let’s look into this FPL Dilemma…
Alexandre Lacazette
The French striker is a product of Olympique Lyon’s academy and made his first appearances as a sub on their last game of the 2009/10 season. Unfortunately for Lacazette he played just 11 games in the next season, bagging 2 goals along the way. However the 5ft 9’ striker finally got his all-important run of games in the 2011/12 season where the made 34 appearances in all competitions, but scoring just 6 goals in the process. He then continued with his poor scoring record the season after with 4 goals in his 36 appearances.
In the 2013/14 season the striker seemed to add aggression to his game which may have been key to his 18 goals that season. Lacazette also registered 2 red cards and 8 yellow cards that season. He had more cards in that season alone than the rest of his career beforehand. He then gained his first international cap in a crazy match against Belgium which ended 4-3 to the Belgians. For his club Lacazette notched an impressive 29 goals in 35 games, which included 6 braces and a hattrick.
In 2015/16 Lacazette bagged 23 goals in 44 matches for club and country which is impressive more as he endured a Harry Kane-esque slow start to the season, failing to score until late September. Last season was by far his most prolific as he scored 36 goals in 44 games. He signed for the Gunners for a fee believed to be around £46 million.
Alvaro Morata
Morata, like Lacazette, came through the youth system. Morata also had a slow start to his career. In his first two seasons at Real Madrid he racked up just 9 minutes against Espanyol and Real Zaragoza in the 2010/11 and 2011/12 seasons. The Spaniard was then demoted to Real Madrid B, who play their football the Spanish Segunda Division. After impressing for them he played a few games for the first team, then proceeded to dip in and out of the first and reserve team where he eventually notched 18 goals in 36 games in all competitions, including 4 goals in Spain U21’s European Championship campaign.
Then in 2013/14 season, Morata played all of his football with Real Madrid in the La Liga but failed to make a real impact as he slumped to just 9 goals in 28, which did include a 31 minute cameo in the Real Madrid’s 4-1 Champions League Final win over Athletico Madrid. Juventus then purchased the 6ft 1 forward for around £15 million and Morata impressed with 18 goals that season. Morata also scored in consecutive fixtures against Real Madrid which single handedly knocked the Spanish Giants out of the cup.
He continued to flourish with Spain but struggled with Juventus scoring 12 goals in 47 for the Italian side. He did however score 3 goals for Spain in the 2016 Euros. These strong performances on the international stage forced Real Madrid to trigger the buy-back clause for a Morata, which saw the 26 year-old return to his boyhood club. In the 2016/17 season Morata scored 15 in 27 games which is impressive further considering he started just 15 of those matches. Finally, after strong speculation linking him with Manchester United, Morata was lured to Chelsea by former Juventus manager Antonio Conte who bought him for a club record fee which (including add-ons) will reach £70 million.
The Verdict
Initially looking at the individual scoring records, the vast majority would opt for Lacazette, but you have to take into consideration the calibre of opposition the two have previously come up against. Morata may have scored significantly less goals throughout his career, however he has been competing against world class strikers, whilst Lacazette was the main man at Lyon.
In FPL, Morata is the cheaper option at 10m in comparison to Lacazette’s 10.5m. Also Morata is playing for the Champions of England, whereas Arsenal may be losing Alexis Sanchez who was instrumental for Wenger’s side last season, racking up 264 fantasy points. But you could argue that Chelsea are briefly losing their best player, Eden Hazard for the beginning of the season, which could affect Morata’s form and fantasy football returns.
Overall, I believe Morata is the more viable option as he and midfielder Cesc Fabregas could have a strong connection which could mirror the Fabregas and Costa partnership of the 2014/15 season.
Written by a Harry Clark (@Harryclark67).
