It’s almost upon us boys, the new Fantasy Premier League season is just under a week away, and we are all faced with the familiar dilemma’s. Who to pick from Midfield, Defence and Attack from the teams we think are going to do well. The dilemma at Swansea however seems to be, how do we keep hold of our best players from last season. At the time of writing, Ashley Williams looks set to leave and Andre Ayew just confirmed a move to West Ham. The one shining light is Gylfi Sigurdsson signing a new contract with the club. It’s the last two players I mentioned that are a current FPL Dilemma. Do we go with Andre Ayew or Gylfi Sigurdsson.
There are other potential options, increasing the FPL dilemma. Routledge has proven himself this pre-season, there are some youngsters who could stake a claim to play in the first team. But the two standout options are Ayew & Sigurdsson. And it’s my job to try and clear up this impossible decision for you guys before the season starts.
Andre Ayew (7.5m)
Can anyone say Out of Position Potential? Andre Ayew is one of those midfielders who plays incredibly advanced up the pitch, and is often utilized as a striker who can run behind the oppositions lines with his pace and has an eye for goal to match. The signing of Andre Ayew went under the radar at first but Andre Ayew’s first season at Swansea was a resounding success. So much so that the likes of West Ham have spent 20m on him.
Last season saw him get 12 Goals, the third highest scoring midfielder behind Mahrez and Sanchez, 2 Assists and a point total of 171 which put him joint fourth highest scoring midfielder with Dmitri Payet. This is just one of the areas he outshines Sigurddson in. Other reasons to pick Ayew is his superior Penalty Box Touches at 139 for the season, the majority of his goals came from inside the box and his shot accuracy at 38.8% and Goal Conversion at 17.9% bettered that of Sigurdsson. Add to this that the West Ham line up, Ayew could be the leading man, and we could be looking at a 200+ point FPL player if he improves on last season.
Gylfi Sigurdsson (7.5m)
Gylfi Sigurdsson is the FPL consistent player, at least at Swansea. Last season was a good season for him, and he was only outshone by his team mate, most likely because of his advance position. Despite an average stint at Tottenham Hotspur Gylfi Sigurdsson has proven that in the modern number 10 role he is a reliable centre of the play for Swansea, capable of goals and assists. And to that his set piece threat, and he threatens to have a breakout season where he is a must have midfielder.
Last season saw him get 11 Goals, only one less than Andre Ayew and he got 3 assists, which was one more. This resulted in 158 points which put him as the joint 11th highest scoring midfielder with Ross Barkley. As far as 7.5m options this season go, Arnautovic and Ayew both at 7.5m outscored him.
However we do know that Sigurdsson isn’t a one hit wonder as he has been consistently good in that Swansea side. And if you think it’s clear cut between these two players because of the total points scored, well it’s not. Sigurdsson has the underlying stats to suggest he could outscore his team mate.
One plus is the fact he is on set pieces and doesn’t look challenged in that regard. He scored 3 times from Penalties last season. And had more goal attempts, more shots on target and more attempts per minute. Where he fell to Ayew was the Accuracy of his shots because they came from distance and how many times he converted his chances. But if he ups this, then he will outscore Ayew. He also is more likely to create chances for his team. 13 through balls to Ayew’s 7 as well as 57 chances created to Ayew’s 24, if the team around him start putting away the chances, Sigurdsson’s points will sore.
Who to pick?
Can I say both? Ayew has left and is the focal point of an attack for West Ham, then there is place for both in your side for this season. If Sigurdsson was cheaper for me this would be a harder decision. And I know I could be proven wrong. But Ayew is the explosive option. And as both have similar ownership at 9.0% for Sigurdsson and 8.6 for Ayew, I think either choice is a good one for your side.
Written by JNO United (@JNOUnited)
