Last summer, two of La Liga’s top 10 scorers of 2011/12 made their way to England’s top-flight. While Michu has already surpassed his Rayo Vallecano tally of 15 goals and earned a place in over 50% of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) teams, Arouna Kone hasn’t quite had the same impact. The Ivorian’s firepower was crucial to surprise-package Levante – mirroring the Spaniard’s 15-goal haul, he helped his side to a sixth place finish and persuaded Roberto Martinez to splash the cash for Wigan:
Initially, Kone’s home performances looked particularly reassuring and suggested the Latics forward was well worth considering as a mid-price Fantasy prospect. With attacking returns in five of his first six starts at the DW, Kone racked up three goals and three assists over those fixtures but since then, he’s drawn blanks in the last five in front of his own fans as Martinez’s men drift back into the drop zone.
Conversely, while his home displays have slumped, Kone’s form on the road has risen remarkably. Striking a rich source of consistency on his travels, he has produced in each of his last four away starts, harvesting four goals and a pair of assists – inclusive are double figure returns against fellow strugglers Villa and Reading. Indeed, his performances have been so pivotal that even after a four-match break for African Cup of Nations duties, he still comfortably remains Wigan’s top scoring player in FPL, with 102 points; while Shaun Maloney is next best on 86 points, Kone’s markedly superior average of 4.2 ppg to 3.3 sums up his importance.
Having also produced a couple of goals and assist in two FA Cup appearances since returning from South Africa last month, the Ivorian is our Latics Watchlist candidate of choice ahead of a crucial run of fixtures. Buoyed by their weekend thrashing of Everton in the FA Cup Sixth Round, Martinez’s men welcome Newcastle and Norwich to the DW next before making their way to QPR.
In addition to a favourable next three fixtures, Wigan also have a double Gameweek on the horizon. The showdown with West Brom, which was due to take place on the weekend of Gameweek 33 but was cancelled due to cup commitments has been shifted to Gameweek 36, affording Martinez’s men a pair of fixtures, with a home game against Swansea also taking place that week.
With trips to West Ham and West Brom and a home clash with Villa also on his agenda between now and the end of the season, a price of 6.5 in FPL could well appeal to those eyeing up an alternative to the likes of Rickie Lambert, Christian Benteke and Romelu Lukaku in the same price bracket. Having produced eight strikes and five assists so far, the Ivorian has played a part in over half the goals Wigan have scored when he’s been on the pitch – clearly, if Martinez is to engineer his seasonal scramble up the table, Kone will be key.
