Lys Mousset – Fantasy Football Potential

Sheffield United have broken their club record transfer fee with the signing of Bournemouth striker Lys Mousset on a three year deal. The fee is believed to be in the region of £10 million as the Frenchman looks for more first team action. Surprisingly, Mousset becomes the only non home nations player in the squad which is quite remarkable.

On the move, Wilder has said:

“Lys is big, quick and a different type of threat at the top of the pitch to what we already have. I think he’ll prove to be a great fit for us and the fact that he selected us above other options shows he’s hungry to do well. It is a fantastic piece of business for us in the current market and we are look forward to him joining up with the squad.”

Player History

Bournemouth initially signed the striker from French side, Le Havre, where he broke through their youth set up. He spent a decade at the club overall with his most prolific season coming in his last, scoring 14 goals in 28 Ligue 2 appearances.

From 2015-16 Mousset played his international football for France u20s, despite also having a Senegalese father. He was quite brilliant for the u20s side, scoring 22 goals in just 17 games. After impressing greatly for them he moved up an age group and his scoring spree continued.

He scored a respectable five goals in eight games for the u21s but was failing to make an impact at club level. After Bournemouth splashed €7.3 million on him, he didn’t repay their money, failing to score in all competitions in his first season. He did struggle with injury though, playing just 11 Premier League matches.

His second season in England was better but nothing to shout about. He scored his first goal in a Cherries shirt, against Wigan in an FA Cup tie in January 2018, 18 months after signing for the club! He’d score just two more before the end of the season, notching at an average of a goal every ten games.

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The 2018/19 season looked to be Mousset’s last chance at Dean Court with fans and manager alike becoming more frustrated with the forward. Once again he failed to deliver the goals, with Callum Wilson and Joshua King becoming a lethal partnership for Eddie Howe’s side. He managed to feature in 21 Premier League games that season, but scored the solitary goal against Arsenal in a 5-1 defeat at the Emirates.

Fantasy Football Potential

Despite the words of Sheffield United manager, Wilder, Mousset is a big risk to smash a club record fee with. His scoring record hasn’t been great to say the least, since coming to England, but could Wilder be the man to find the best out of him. His international record is very decent and if he can find something similar to that in the Premier League then he could be a very cute signing.

Everybody is looking for a cheap forward to enable budget elsewhere and I believe Mousset could be that player. Alex Greenwood at £4.5m is the most popular selection so far, but with Mousset’s move, he could be even better. His price tag is slightly higher at £5.0m, but if he is starting week in, week out for the Blades then it should be cheap enough.

He is selected by just 0.4% of FPL managers and despite the move, that number won’t rise too much due to his poor Premier League performances in the past. Incidentally, his first match for his new club will be against his old, with home matches against Crystal Palace and Leicester to follow. It doesn’t get any easier for Wilder’s side, playing against Chelsea, Everton and Liverpool in their next four.

Written by, Harry Clark (@HarryClark_)

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