As all veteran Fantasy Premier League managers will know, the annual decision to either include Sergio Aguero or Harry Kane is one of the hardest choices to make, especially at the start of a new season. A few comparisons need to be made and questions asked such as, “will Aguero stay fit?” or “will Kane score in August?”
With that said, here are our thoughts on this FPL Dilemma…
Sergio Aguero (Manchester City, £11.0m)
Arguably the most clinical striker in the league when fully fit, Sergio Aguero is an exceptional talent. Consistently hitting double digits for goals and chipping in with a few assists from time to time is not an easy feat. Throughout his years at Manchester city, the Argentine has made 206 appearances, scoring 143 times and registering 35 assists. Most recently, in the 2017/18 campaign he made 25 appearances, scoring 21 goals.
However, last season Gabriel Jesus arrived at the Etihad and Pep Guardiola started to rotate the two strikers, even playing them together at times. This was likely due to Pep raising competition within the attacking line and also aiming to avoid Aguero picking up an injury, which isn’t uncommon. This will raise doubts in the minds of fantasy managers when they consider whether he is worth his £11.0m price tag.
Harry Kane (Tottenham, £12.5m)
Harry Kane is the ultimate striker, not a one season wonder as many expected! Physicality, composure and finishing are the reasons he was the golden boot winner in the 2015/16 and 2016/17 seasons in the Premier League. He was also runner up in the 2017/18 season, just behind Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah.
There are no doubts that Kane will aim to score double digits once again this season and somehow find room to improve, claiming back the golden boot. Similar to Aguero, Kane has a phenomenal record in his time in the Premier League – 153 appearances, 108 goals and 14 assists. In the last season, Kane scored 30 goals in 37 games and was the player to have in FPL alongside, Salah and KDB.
However, with Harry Kane having a successful run in the World Cup, winning the golden boot and making it to the semi-finals with England, there’s a possibility that he won’t start in gameweek 1. Although, once he has returned to regular fitness, he is nailed on to start for Tottenham and will live up to the £12.5m price.
The Verdict
Both of these strikers arguably deserve to be in everyone’s starting XI but unfortunately this would mean a much weaker squad around them.
Once Harry Kane returns to full fitness, he will likely return to scoring and be in many squads. That said, due to Kane’s fitness coming back from the World Cup it may be wise opt for Aguero in week 1 as its likely that Guardiola will start him to kick off their season with a win.
Written by James Milburn (@jamesmilburn95)
