After a period of technical tinkering, it’s time I caught up with the developments of the summer so far – starting with a look at City’s second signing of the close season – Roque Santa Cruz.
Santa Cruz arrives at City after a torrid final season with Blackburn. The Paraguayan made 17 starts for Rovers last term, notching just 4 goals and 2 assists. It was a season regularly punctured by injury however, with spells on the sidelines in October, December and from March onwards. The player’s own thinly veiled threats to leave the club in various interviews, also did little to enamour him to Ince and Allardyce or provide a stable platform for the striker to perform.
Instead fantasy managers and City fans will be clinging to the form demonstrated in the previous season – a first in English football, in which Santa Cruz provided 19 goals and 7 assists in 36 starts for Blackburn. Significantly, this was under the reign of Mark Hughes, who will surely appreciate what it takes to get the best from his new striker now he finally has him ensconced at Eastlands…
Despite competition for starts up front (which seems likely to increase given City’s recent Eto enquiry), the lack of European football next term should offer us 32+ starts for Santa Cruz. The picture could change should Hughes grab Eto, Tevez or an alternative, although it seems likely that Santa Cruz will fulfill the target man role in the City attack. That should secure his regular presence on the team sheet with little challenge from the bench.
With starts and a ready supply of service from the wings, Santa Cruz should be good for 15+ goals in a City side that seems likely to maintain an attacking flair given the likely ingredients of their eleven. When you add new-found creativity from fellow summer signing Gareth Barry, to the potent creative threats of Robinho, Wright-Phillips, Bellamy and Ireland, there’s every reason to expect that City will outscore last season’s impressive goal tally of 58. If they can achieve that, there’s little doubt that Santa Cruz will be positioned for heavy fantasy profits.
His price point will be a key point of interest. Coming off the back of a hugely successful first season, Santa Cruz’s fantasy potential was hamstrung by an inflated value last term. This time around it will be interesting to see how the various fantasy games rank him in the pecking order. His move to City should see his price hold steady at a mid-to-high level but last season’s stats, coupled with City’s expanding list of talent, could well see a minor drop in some of the games.
A definite name on the pre-season shortlist, Santa Cruz needs monitoring in pre-season to assess his role, City’s formation and to see just how quickly he adapts to their pattern of play. If he starts the season injury free and with form, he could well be a key initial signing for our fantasy lineups.