The Watchlist – Carlos Salcido

Carlos Salcido made a spirited and inspired Fulham debut last weekend at Blackburn. While that’s just one game, Salcido’s performance and the statistics he turned in, suggests that he will be more than capable of providing respectable Fantasy returns for the long haul. 

With a very reasonable run of fixtures on the horizon (EVE, whm, TOT, wba, WIG) and Fulham looking to establish some defensive stability now that the transfer window has closed, Salcido is definitely one to monitor given his 5.0 price tag. That makes him a cheaper alternative to team-mate Brede Hangland (5.6) and a more secure option than the likes of Stephen Kelly and John Pantsil. We like him so much, Salcido came crashing into our Watchlist rankings in fourth spot earlier today.

For those unfamiliar to his talents, Salcido has been a regular with the Mexican national team for several years, and played every minute of every game for them this past summer. At the league level, he has most recently plied his trade during the past four seasons with PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands. He made 121 appearances for the Dutch outfit, including 21 Champions League starts, notching 3 goals in the process. A solid defensive performer wth bags of pace and attacking intent, Salcido’s endevours saw him named PSV’s vice captain in 2007.

Not surprisingly he was duly linked with a number of Premier League clubs but it was Fulham who followed through their interest.

“Carlos is a versatile defender who can play in a number of positions…It is pleasing that we have been able to make additions of extremely high quality during this window.”

Mark Hughes is right, Salcido offers versitility, but it’s pretty clear that the Mexican was brought in to fill the void left by Paul Konchesky’s departure for Anfield. The early signs are that Fulham may well have benefited greatly from that particular little exchange.

In his Premier League opener at Ewood, Salcido was regularly involved in the attack from left-back. Indeed, he was only denied a debut goal by smart Paul Robinson save that kept out his curling effort to the far post. Salcido was not to be denied Fantasy returns however, and followed up shortly after with a perfectly flighted cross onto the forehead of CONCACAF rival Clint Dempsey for the second-half equaliser.

It left Mark Hughes purring, emphasised in Monday’s comments on the Mexican’s debut.

“I was really pleased with Carlos’ debut against Blackburn…He hasn’t had a lot of time with the team in training but obviously he very quickly understood what the game [against Blackburn] was about after a nervous couple of minutes….He looked like he was really enjoying himself at the end of the match and produced a great ball for the equaliser. He’s going to be a really important player for us.”

Hughes wasn’t the only one impressed by the showing; signficantly, Salcido caught the eye of the FPL Bonus Point judges – gaining two additional points in his first outing.

While Salcido’s attacking exploits were clearly on show, Opta’s statistics provided an in-depth insight. Our Members can get a full breakdown of course but the highlights showed that Salcido was credited with 87 touches, 20 successful passes in the opposing half, and 1 successful and 3 unsuccessful crosses.  Again, it was only one game, but on a “per game” basis, these numbers rank him up there with the very best in the Premier League.

Arsenal’s Gael Clichy stands at the top of the rankings with an average of 90 touches per game and 25 successful passes in the opposing half – Salcido got close to those figures on his debut and away from home against Blackburn. When it comes to the crossed ball, the shortlist of players with more than one successful cross per game includes familiar Fantasy names like Konchesky, Leighton Baines, John O’Shea, Ashley Cole, and Patrice Evra.  Salcido will be doing well if he can maintain his standing amongst that group on a regular basis. If he does, he has every chance of providing returns that more than justify his price tag.