Following two very productive seasons, Everton’s Seamus Coleman regressed during 2015/16, largely due to two separate injury lay-offs.
As a result, he began this season slightly under the radar – in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), the Republic of Ireland defender saw his price drop to 5.5.
That already looked good value, given his attacking capabilities from right-back and the prospect of fresh impetus from new Toffees boss Ronald Koeman.
Sure enough, after ticking over during the first half of the season, a favourable run of fixtures from the mid-point onwards saw Coleman put together a sensational run of form.
That spell ultimately earned the defender a place in our Team of the Season.
The Statistics
An ankle injury meant Coleman didn’t make his first appearance of the campaign until Gameweek 4, when he picked up six points in the 3-0 victory over Sunderland.
He followed that up with a goal in the 3-1 win against Middlesbrough a week later, and further strikes at Goodison Park followed against Swansea City and Arsenal during the first half of the campaign.
In terms of clean sheets, Coleman registered 10 over the course of the season, with Everton keeping 13 in total – an increase from the 12 that Southampton managed under the stewardship of Koeman in 2015/16.
But it was a 12-point haul in the emphatic 4-0 victory over Manchester City in Gameweek 21 that put Fantasy managers on red alert regarding the Toffees defender.
Coleman registered an assist and maximum bonus points in that win, which came ahead of a hugely favourable schedule for Koeman’s side.
By this stage, Coleman was owned by just 195,977 FPL managers.
With Koeman now dabbling with a three-man defence, deploying Colman at wing-back, Coleman flourished further with a 15-point score in the 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace. At that point, it became clear that he was pushing for ‘must-have’ status.
Coleman would go on to produce four clean sheets, three assists and four bonus points in his next seven starts as his price rose to a high of 6.1 in Gameweek 29, with the right-back then owned by 851,796 bosses.
But his season was then brought to a cruel conclusion when he suffered a broken leg during Republic of Ireland’s World Cup Qualifier against Wales at the end of March.
He ended the campaign with 133 points in FPL, placing him seventh among defenders in the game.
In terms of points per match (ppm), Coleman was ranked fourth with 5.1, while his four double-digit scores earned him four appearances in the Dream Team – only Bournemouth’s Charlie Daniels (five) received more call-ups among defenders.
The Prospects
While there is no exact timeline on Coleman’s return, early reports following his operation suggested that he may be running again by August. However, given the apparent severity of his double leg break, we should be prepared for him to be sidelined for at least the first half of the 2017/18 campaign.
The defender did sign a new five-year contract with the Toffees earlier this month, with the faith shown by the club illustrating they have no doubts that he will make a full recovery.
His performances this season might merit a price rise to 6.0 in FPL, although his injury could mean he remains at 5.5.
In Coleman’s absence, Mason Holgate deputised at right-back. Youngster Jonjoe Kenny is another option for Koeman, with the Republic of Ireland international himself heaping praise on how well the two youngsters performed in his absence.
But Koeman will surely explore the possibility of bringing in a more senior option, with Southampton’s Cedric Soares and the recently released Cuco Martina, having both previously worked with Koeman at St Mary’s, likely to be on the radar.
Holgate certainly looks set to see his price of 4.0 in FPL rise this summer, perhaps to 5.0, while senior defenders Leighton Baines and Phil Jagielka are likely to warrant price tags of 5.5 given their attacking threat.
As for Coleman, his progress will be keenly monitored, and should he be able to recreate the form he showed before his injury, there’s little doubt that his Fantasy stock will soar once again.
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