Last season Tottenham’s Harry Kane, QPR’s Charlie Austin and Burnley’s Danny Ings made a mockery of their lowly price tags to produce the kind of Fantasy returns expected of premium priced forwards. This season Watford’s Troy Deeney and Bournemouth’s Callum Wilson are amongst the latest crop of cut price forwards looking to make their mark on the Premier League.

With this in mind we ask the Burning Question: Can the budget strikers step up again this season?

Jonty says…
For every Charlie Austin there is a Sylvan Ebanks Blake, making the search for a quality budget striker a tricky task each year. While QPR’s cut price striker bagged 18 goals in his first Premier League season, the similarly priced Ebanks Blake managed just two goals for Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2009 in the Premier League, the year after his impressive 25 Championship goals helped win them promotion.

The easy answer to whether one or two budget strikers can step up is yes. There will always be a Charlie Austin each season to emerge either with an existing Premier League side or a promoted side. Bojan Krjic could easily be that man for Stoke, Troy Deeney also holds promise for Watford. But my advice to those looking to draft in either of these or Bournemouth’s Callum Wilson is brace yourself for disappointment and be prepared to ditch them quickly if they let you down. And please, please, please be aware that Harry Kane’s heroics last season on a budget were a one off that is unlikely ever to be repeated.

D1sable says…
Last season was certainly a rarity in terms of budget strikers, with Danny Ings, Charlie Austin, Harry Kane surpassing most expectations. But we have seen similar trends before.

Of the current crop West Ham’s Diafra Sakho has the platform to hit the ground running and so is an early contender – he has good fixtures and will likely be a lone frontman for a more attack minded West Ham this time around. Given he managed nine goals last term in an injury ravaged season there is clear potential.

Troy Deeney is the other option that stands out to me, he has the hint of a Charlie Austin about him. He’s nailed on, takes penalties, has a similar physique and has scored goals wherever he’s been. Surely Watford will be relying on him continuing that trend to stay in the league and I expect a fair few Fantasy managers will be too.

I certainly envisage both these options finding their way into my team at some point in the season, for better or worse.

Applebonkers says…
I don’t really envisage any real new budget stars this season, those who will have remarkable bursts like Sakho’s start, Kane’s emergence or Austin’s goal every other game record. Instead I think it will be the season of the ‘second-seasons.’ For example how the likes of Sakho, Diouf, Vardy, Berahino, Bojan and yes even Brown Ideye can push on.

I love Deeney, he’s come an awful long way since once going 30 matches without a goal when he first joined, but also don’t think he has too much left in him in terms of progression. On top of that I don’t think he’ll enjoy as much freedom under the new manager as he’s been used to for a few seasons now. This is what interests me more about Callum Wilson, he has more progression left in him and has maintained the same ultra-positive manager as last season.

Surprises come every season, one of the beauties of this game, but it’s the second season strikers I’m backing to fly the flag this time around.

Andy says…
As a romantic Fantasy Manager at heart I certainly hope that they can.

Everyone is going to have an Eden Hazard or [insert super popular high scoring player] in their Fantasy team and revel in their goals only to realise the gains you made by selecting them are slim to naught.

In the past, being able to pick Andy Carroll at Newcastle for a bag of rope, Darren Bent for a shilling and, more recently, Harry Kane emerging out of nowhere as a Fantasy heavyweight for the price of a button and a piece of string is always so much more exciting and rewarding.

I certainly hope we’ll have options once again score mountains from molehill level prices. Even if they’re at Leonardo Ulloa and not Charlie Austin levels then a relatively cheap striker -be it Diafra Sakho, Troy Deeney or the aforementioned Ulloa – can be a wonderful member of any squad if managed correctly.

Fantasy Managers will just need to be patient and measure their expectations. If you pick Bojan for your Fantasy team he’s not going to score as many goals or points as Diego Costa or Sergio Aguero, plain and simple. He could however net you a handy amount of goals for a relatively tidy sum. Or do nothing. These players could definitely do nothing.

Given that I’m looking like starting my Fantasy season off with a £4.5m bargain basement man as well as another modest striking option I’ll be hoping the budget strikers can step up and keep me afloat.

Mark says…
As Jonty says above, I think we can rule out another Harry Kane scenario. Despite that, the optimist in me (he’s in there somewhere) looks at Callum Wilson and sees a 12-15 goal return. I’m certainly backing him over Troy Deeney, mainly because I think the outlook of both Bournemouth and Watford will vary so much.

While I expect Deeney to provide the goal-getting influence for Quique Sánchez Flores’ side, I worry that they will start slowly and follow the traditional path for a promoted side – keep things tight and try to nick something on the break.

I’m hoping Eddie Howe remains consistent and continues to put out a Bournemouth side that looks to compete with the big boys in terms of possession and values scoring goals and winning matches above survival instincts. If that’s the case, Wilson could emerge as the key budget option up top.

Elsewhere we could see Rickie Lambert or even Emmanuel Adebayor tempt investment, although I’m also holding out hope that Jamie Vardy and Leonardo Ulloa step up under Claudio Ranieri. As for Bojan – yes, he has the quality but I question whether he’s a 10-goal striker or robust enough to stand up to a 35+ match campaign.

For me, I’m pinning hopes on Bournemouth and Wilson but expecting to be forced to hunt out Diafra Sakho and maybe Bafe Gomis in the 6.5+ market.