David Silva has always been a reliable performer on the Fantasy scene, yet before now the midfield magician lacked the end product to stand alongside his big-hitting peers. A return of 12 goals and as many assists this season put paid to that, placing him in the top four scorers in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game courtesy of a career-best points haul.
The Statistics
Overshadowed by Yaya Toure’s 20-goal exploits in 2013/14, Silva began the season at a price of just 9.0, far more budget-friendly than the Ivorian’s lofty 11.0 valuation in the FPL game.
The Spaniard made a perfect start to 2014/15, netting in Manchester City’s 2-0 victory over Newcastle United in Gameweek 1, but one goal in City’s eight subsequent match-ups, followed by a six-match injury lay-off, served to knock 0.2 off his starting value.
From Gameweek 17 onwards, Silva returned to firm, notching four goals and one assist in a trio of starts, which triggered an upsurge of investors and a 0.6 increase on his price tag. The Sky Blues chief orchestrator then delivered consistent attacking returns (six goals and nine assists) in the second half of the season, causing his value to rise to a peak of 9.9 in Gameweek 33.
Despite charting tenth with regards to ‘transfers in’ over the course of the season, Silva ended up with the joint-fourth highest total score (191) – alongside the much-vaunted Harry Kane – among the full roster of Premier League players.
Crucially, the former Valencia star enjoyed his most productive season in the final third, notching five more goals than his previous record (seven) last term. A dozen assists now means that Silva has recorded 49 assists across the past four campaigns, highlighting the consistency of his output from year to year – indeed, he’s registered at least 12 assists from 2011/12 onwards. These figures positioned Silva as the third-highest scoring midfielder, behind Alexis Sanchez (16 goals) and Eden Hazard (14), and the joint-second assist-maker, with only Cesc Fabregas (19) managing more.
Impressively, Silva also racked up more bonus points than in previous seasons – his tally of 28 was superior to team-mate Sergio Aguero (27) and bettered by only three players. The little Spaniard’s average of six points per game was inferior only to Aguero (6.5) and Hazard (6.1), despite the fact that, unlike the other two, he didn’t have spot-kick duties to bolster his potential.
The Prospects
Silva’s new-found clinical edge is a boost to Manuel Pellegrini and Fantasy managers alike for the season ahead. Bearing in mind he scored just 21 times in the four years prior to last term, his upturn in output suggests he is set to vie with Hazard and Sanchez for our attentions in the premium midfield bracket next time around.
The fact that Sanchez is set for Copa America duties with Chile this summer – thus potentially placing question marks over his pitch time at the very start of the season – may well affect how we assemble our initial squads and could prove pivotal to Silva’s popularity at the offset.
Manuel Pellegrini’s decision to move to a lone striker system for the final couple of months has also worked in Silva’s favour. With Aguero firing on all cylinders, the Spaniard’s constant source of creativity will be key to the Etihad side as they look to recapture the title. Certainly, with team-mates Jesus Navas, Samir Nasri and James Milner unable to match his output, and Yaya Toure possibly on his way out, Silva looks the prime choice in the centre of the park for a City side that topped the scoring charts for the fourth successive campaign last time out.
Ultimately, though, Silva’s prospects hinge on his ability to steer clear of injury. Whilst the likes of Hazard and Sanchez seem made of sterner stuff, the Spaniard’s propensity for picking up hamstring niggles have tended to frustrate Fantasy managers in years gone by. Having missed just six of City’s league matches last time out, though, there’s a hope that he can finally remain out of the treatment room and step up his claim for an automatic place in our five-man midfields in the upcoming campaign.
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