While he may not have been one of the marquee names who made their way to these shores during the close season, the performances of Peter Odemwingie so far have certainly suggested West Brom may well have pulled off one of the most inspired signings of the summer.
On the pitch -and in Fantasy terms- Odemwingie’s impact has been nothing short of immense, and if he maintains his current level of performance, the Baggies look pretty much a certainty to beat the drop come the end of the season.
So far he’s played five league games, grabbing three goals and one assist. What’s most impressive is this total hasn’t been one huge haul combined with a few blanks; there has been just one league game so far where Odemwingie hasn’t either scored or assisted for Roberto di Matteo’s side.
In addition, he has already been awarded 9 Bonus Points in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game, an amount level with Dimitar Berbatov and second overall only to Didier Drogba, on eleven points, though these two have played a game more. Odemwingie sits on 33 points, with his gameweek scores reading (9,2,8,5,9).
What’s most impressive is that Odemwingie is not on set-piece or penalty duties, and plays as a lone front man, with West Brom utilising his pace and agility on the break to scintillating effect. There is an intelligence to his play and coolness in front of goal that most promoted teams in the past have lacked, and with a home record that has seen them take seven points from a possible nine already, Di Matteo’s side look capable of upsetting the odds time and again this season.
Priced at just £5.1m, Odemwingie is rivalling Andy Carroll as the cut-price bargain Fantasy option in terms of points scored, but so far this doesn’t reflect in ownership; despite neither scoring or assisting in three of his six league games so far, Carroll has been acquired by 39% of FPL managers compared to Odemwingie’s meagre 3%.
With (BOL, mun, FUL, blp, MCY) up next for the Baggies, Odemwingie should continue to shine and, as his goal and maximum 3 Bonus Points at Arsenal last week showed, he is more than capable of plundering the FPL points, regardless of the quality of opponent.