Under the Radar – Dusan Tadic

It’s quite interesting to note how far under the radar Dusan Tadic has flown. Despite his ownership (5.3%) being marginally higher than teammate Sadio Mané (4.6%) he is a very rare sight in the teams of FFScout regulars. Despite this, he has managed to muster up 39 points so far this season, which places him in joint fourth for the midfield rankings.

His price, now sitting at 6.9m is very appealing. Why is it though that he has been overlooked by many fantasy managers? Will he turn out to be a good option going forward?

Stats

Tadic has a very good Points-Per-90 (PP90) of just over 7.3 as well as a respectable Points-Per-Game (PPG) total of 6.5. These stats are reassuring for many managers. Tadic is the type of player that could blank for successive weeks whilst returning 15+ points when you least expect it. Take last season for example, where he grabbed 1 goal and 4 assists in Gameweek 8.

His underlying stats for goal potential do him no favours. He has okay scores across the board but nothing that is worth writing home about. His creativity stats however, are another story. He has made a total of 56 crosses this season, seconded only to Dimitri Payet of West Ham. Of these crosses, 19 were successful – more than any other midfielder. He has also created an impressive 22 chances, the 5th best of any midfielder. These stats show he has the potential to grab more assists, which should boost his appeal given he only has one so far this season.

If you take a look at his stats over the last four games however, his stats become ever more impressive. His crosses (44) and successful crosses (14) far and away beat the tallies recorded by any other midfielder. He remains fifth for chances created (14) behind the usual suspects. He also boasts an impressive number of touches in the final 3rd (156) over this period which betters that of the likes of Payet, Mahrez and Mata – the 3 midfielders who currently beat him for overall points scored.

Fixtures

It seems that perhaps it has been fixtures which have put managers off picking up the Serbian winger. Nevertheless, his upcoming fixtures look like they could yield some points, rewarding those who put faith in him.

This weekend sees him face Chelsea, away, who have conceded 14 league goals over their seven games – very unusual given their previous defensive form. Tadic has interchanged flanks this season, but his last couple of games have seen him play on the left. Furthermore, he has scored all three of his goals this season when he has been fielded on the left hand side. One would expect him to play left wing against Chelsea then, meaning he would be up against failing Branislav Ivanovic. His fellow countryman has conceded 34 chances down his right flank, more than any other team, as well as 75 crosses. This looks excellent for Tadic and I can see him picking up some points in this game.

The Gameweek after, Southampton face Leicester at home, a side who have been great going forward but woeful defensively. Leicester too have conceded 14 goals in their seven games and are yet to keep a clean sheet. Furthermore, they have only conceded one less attempt down the right hand side (33) than Chelsea, which could see Tadic return some healthy points.

A trip to Liverpool follows, with the Reds conceding nine goals in their last four games. Over these games they have made six defensive errors, two of which led to a goal; figures worse than any other team over that period. Another poor defensive showing from Liverpool could see Tadic get attacking returns.

His fixtures over the next nine are as follows:

che (A), LEI (H), liv (a), BOU (H), sun (a), STO (H), mci (a), AVL (H), cpl (A)

Alternative Players

Tadic, priced at 6.9 (originally 7.0) is firmly in the mid to low priced category for midfielders. This season, with misfiring heavy hitters, the budget options have shone through.

Riyad Mahrez (6.5) is an obvious one. He has performed explosively and consistently since the season began. 5 double figure hauls in 7 games have saw Mahrez become a priority transfer in for many managers who probably overlooked Tadic in the process.

Andre Ayew (7.2) also had a great start to the season. With 3 goals and 1 assist in his first 4 games, he was very popular given Swansea’s strong form. However, he is yet to register any attacking returns since and has become a popular makeweight for other options that have shone brighter.

Dimitri Payet (7.8) has been another consistent and reliable performer this season and is looking like one to keep for the duration. The playmaker has 3 goals and 3 assists in 7 games and has a kind run of fixtures. It is clear to see why he is so popular at the minute, being chosen ahead of more outside options such as Tadic.

Ross Barkley (6.9) matches Tadic for price and points. One could argue he too has been overlooked by many of us on FFScout despite his ownership being 23.7% in the overall game. We can put this largely due to fixtures; Everton’s have been and are pretty awful.

Conclusion

Tadic looks a very good differential now over what can only be described as a good run of fixtures for Southampton. He has 3 goals to his name this season, despite being more of an assister and I expect him to add more to his name over the coming weeks.

To me, it looks like he hasn’t been very popular due to the other options that have been available in midfield. There has been a wealth of options this season so there has bound to have been some who would be overlooked. Mahrez and Payet have shouted louder than the rest and have hence nested themselves nicely into our teams. Popular heavy hitters such as Sanchez, Hazard and De Bruyne are also very popular, contending for the other 2-3 slots in our midfields.

I’d seriously consider Tadic as an option if you haven’t already. If you have some ground to make up in a mini league, or are sitting with a 7 figure rank, one of his hauls could be enough to make up a lot of ground.