Team Of The Season – Josh King

The 2015/16 season was something of an anomaly, with so many budget options outperforming their initial starting prices.

But this year, there was really only one player who fulfilled that role – Bournemouth’s Josh King.

After showing flashes of his promise during 2015/16, registering six goals and three assists, King emerged during the second half of this season to become a ‘must-have’ in Fantasy Premier League (FPL).

The Norwegian international finished the campaign with 178 points and becomes the third midfielder to make it into our Team of the Season, earning 16.9% of the votes cast.

The Statistics

Beginning the campaign priced at 5.5 in FPL, King initially struggled to grab our attentions, with just two goals and one assist in 14 starts over the first 18 Gameweeks.

When he netted a third goal of the campaign in the 3-0 win over Swansea City in Gameweek 19, King sat in just 27,856 FPL squads and his price had dropped to 5.3.

Another goal soon followed against Watford, but it was his 13-point haul in the 6-3 defeat to Everton, along with the fact that Bournemouth were one of only eight teams to face a fixture in Gameweek 28, that brought King into focus as a viable Fantasy asset.

After maintaining his red-hot form with goals against West Bromwich Albion and Manchester United prior to the Gameweek 28 home clash against West Ham United, over 140,000 FPL managers made the move to draft the midfielder.

He rewarded his owners in spectacular fashion, scoring a hat-trick in the 3-2 win over the Hammers in an 18-point haul.

From that point on, King didn’t look back, blanking in just two of his next nine appearances and tallying five goals and two assists. His price peaked at 6.2 during the last three Gameweeks, and his ownership reached a high of nearly 900,000 by Gameweek 36.

The 25-year-old even added to his legend by posting on social media just before the Gameweek 38 deadline that he would miss the final day clash against Leicester City due to injury.

Ending the season with 16 goals and three assists, he ranked second for points per million value in FPL with a score of 28.7.

During the second half of the campaign, King scored more goals (12) than any other midfielder and sat joint-second among FPL midfielders for shots inside the box, with 35.

The Prospects

On the pitch, the challenge for King will be to ensure he is no one-season wonder.

But from a Fantasy perspective, his classification will be vital as to how we assess his prospects for the campaign ahead.

Thriving as both a support or lone striker during the second half of last term, there’s a strong possibility that King will be listed as a forward in 2017/18.

While this would initially seem a blow to his Fantasy prospects, the dearth of mid-price frontmen in 2016/17 suggests he could still be a factor if, as expected, he comes in around the 7.0 to 8.0 mark.

The imminent arrival of Jermain Defoe from relegated Sunderland is more of a concern.

The 34-year-old forward stated on Tuesday that he had undergone a medical with the Cherries with his move likely to be confirmed next month.

Crucially, Defoe – who netted 15 times for relegated Sunderland in 2016/17 – would be the favourite to earn spot-kick duties and, as the focal point of the attack, will surely dilute King’s appeal.

Elsewhere in the Bournemouth midfield, Ryan Fraser had his moments and earned a reasonable nine assists in his breakout campaign. But King was essentially the only viable option from the Bournemouth attack during the second half of the season, with Junior Stanislas sidelined for the majority of that period.

However, Stanislas – who netted in each of the final three fixtures – could prove a viable budget alternative if he can steer clear of the treatment room, bearing in mind that he bettered King for points per match (5.1 to 4.9) over the season.

With Defoe in the mix, it’s likely that King needs to remain as an FPL midfielder in order to retain our attention. If his classification stays the same, a mid-price King – who converted an eye-catching 23.9% of his scoring opportunities last term – could play a significant role in our plans once again.