Great Expectations – Bafetimbi Gomis

Lacking strength in depth up front, Swansea City recruited Bafetimbi Gomis last summer in an attempt to provide their leading frontman, Wilfried Bony, with competition. The Ivorian responded by stamping his authority on the lone striker berth, netting eight goals in between Gameweek 7-16, thus restricting his counterpart to just three starts over the first half of the season.

In the wake of Bony’s big-money move to Manchester City, Gomis initially struggled to impart his presence, before a late flourish alerted Fantasy managers to his potential next term.

Key Factors

• Gomis clearly profited from a free run at the lone forward berth upon Bony’s winter departure; the French marksman recorded just one goal prior to Gameweek 21 yet notched six strikes and one assist from that point onwards. Looking at his minutes per goal average before (581) and after (198) that point offers the truest indicator of an upturn in form. In truth, the former Lyon striker needed time to calibrate his sights, as evidenced by the five consecutive blanks he carded at the turn of the year. In the latter stages, Gomis clearly exhibited greater confidence and become more attuned with manager Garry Monk’s philosophy, netting six times in his final ten appearances of the season – with three of these being cameos of 20 minutes or less. Furthermore, Gomis reaffirmed his credentials by scoring against the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City, revealing fixture-proof potential that should be further investigated next term.

 

• Considering he chalked up a modest haul of 84 points last season, Gomis is set to remain in the mid-price bracket. Conversely, Gylfi Sigurdsson is poised for a sizeable price increase – in light of the 6.0-priced midfielder notching an impressive 154 points – which could render Gomis the most valuable route in Swansea’s attack. This line of thought is lent greater credence by the wealth of high-priced midfielders (the likes of Eden Hazard, Alexis Sanchez and David Silva) who are already topping many shopping lists, making it harder to isolate funds for a pricier Sigurdsson, who could easily come in around 7.5 – 8.0 next time out.

 

• Delving into the stats that defined his strong finish to the campaign, Gomis executed a shot every 27.6 minutes from Gameweek 21 onwards. Put into perspective, only two forwards that clocked 1000+ minutes from that point on (Sergio Aguero and Harry Kane) fired off their attempts at a quicker rate. In addition, Gomis posted a shot accuracy of 44.2% and shot conversion rate of 14% from the point of Bony’s departure – intriguingly, that outstrips the Ivorian’s shot accuracy (36.4%) and conversion rate (13.6%) for the Swans in 2014/15.

 

• Gomis’ late-season displays certainly bode well for his prospects next time around. Speaking on the Frenchman’s showings, Monk heaped praise on Gomis, with the Swansea lone striker role looking his to lose:
  

  “Of course he was frustrated in the early part of his time here because he is a big striker and people forgot what he had done his career; he’s played Champions League, he’s played international football, he’s scored a big number of goals in every single season. He’s a top player who wanted to feel pride in what he was achieving and being that No 1 – but he was never a problem. And I told him at the time, ‘Let’s have this conversation at the end of the season and I guarantee things will be different’. I think they are. He has been fantastic for us.”

 

• Monk’s occasional use of a midfield diamond behind a front two merely heightens Gomis’ security of starts. Whilst there’s no question over Sigurdsson’s starting role in either system, the Icelandic playmaker struggled for returns whenever Monk moved away from the default 4-2-3-1, as he was stationed somewhat deeper as a result of the switch.

 

• The arrival of new signing Andre Ayew may also have a bearing on Gomis’ prospects. The pacy Ghanaian will doubtless attract interest in pre-season, particularly if he’s confirmed as a midfielder across the games. Ayew will provide another direct attacking threat to the Swansea attack and a new avenue of service to Gomis as the lone striker. Certainly Sigurdsson’s appeal will be dented whilst Fantasy managers assess Ayew as an alternative, a factor that could initially leave many considering Gomis as the preferred option in Monk’s attack.