At the end of last week Blackburn boss Steve Kean took several days out of his summer schedule to fly to Canada prior to the pre-season tour of Austria. The future of David “Junior” Hoilett was the cause of the diversion; with Hoilett out of contract at Ewood at the end of the coming season, Kean wasted no time in taking the initiative with contract discussions as the Premier League elite begin to wake up to the attacker’s talents.
Hoilett was unquestionably the big plus to come out of Kean’s first season in charge of the club. At times, he was a saving grace – popping up with priceless goals that ultimately helped to preserve Blackburn’s tenuous grip on Premier League survival.
In Fantasy terms Hoilett emerged as an unlikely source of points within a less than profitable Rovers squad. Five goals, an assist and 10 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Bonus points were a decent return for a player valued at just 4.5 in the initial player list, a price that dropped to just 4.0 at the tail-end of the season – a period which saw Hoilett come to the fore.
Having been frustrated at first-team opportunities up until Christmas, Hoilett’s pace and trickery was unleashed by the turn of the year and his influence on Rovers grew significantly. Classed as a forward in some Fantasy games, most notably the FPL, Hoilett’s potential was somewhat hindered but, despite a role on the Rovers flanks, his goal tally began to justify that classification. By the end of the season Hoilett has claimed the mantle as Blackburn’s key attacking talent and ensured that Kean would pull out all the stops to ensnare him on a new long-term contract.
Certainly the signs are good for Kean and Rovers – Hoilett has expressed his desire to remain at the club and that might just be great news for Fantasy managers who may well turn to his attacking talent again this season.
“I am happy at Blackburn Rovers playing for them consistently and of course I would be prepared to sign a new contract…I just kept focused, listened to family and friends and when I got my shot I had to take it. I had to work hard and capitalise on every opportunity I got. I did that and showed a consistent performance to keep myself in the side.”
Key Factors
- Hoilett’s five league goals last season were fetched from just 11 appearances from gameweek 24 onwards. During that spell Hoilett also earned 9 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Bonus Points to emerge as a very credible budget target for the season run-in. A strong end to the season would suggest that Hoilett is capable of hitting the ground running this term.
- Those Bonus Points were no fluke. The Opta statistics available to our Members indicate that his influence on Blackburn’s overall attacking threat were significant. Hoilett’s statistics for “Successful Dribbles”, “Key Passes” and average shots per game were easily the most impressive on show within the Rovers squad. That would indicate that Hoilett is likely to keep earning strong Bonus returns should he remain at Ewood.
- The FPL will be thinking long and hard about Hoilett’s classification this season. There’s every chance that he will be reverted to a midfielder which would surely guarantee greater consideration from Fantasy managers. As a low-to-mid price midfield option, Hoilett would be a very worthy target. If he should remain a forward, Hoilett’s price would have to remain in the budget bracket to encourage investment.
- Steve Kean must surely look to extend Blackburn’s attacking options in the Summer. While this could take some of the responsibility from Hoilett in terms of goals, it could also aid his development and certainly increase his potential for assists should he be played in tandem with a regular goal threat.
