Great Expectations – Wahbi Khazri

Arriving on Wearside with a reputation as an attacking midfield player who had the potential to deliver both goals and assists, it’s fair to say Wahbi Khazri failed to live up to expectations following his winter transfer from Bordeaux.

The Tunisia international only registered two goals and a pair of assists in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) in 14 appearances as Sunderland relied mainly on Jermain Defoe’s output to beat the drop.

Having shown glimpses of his potential, including a stunning volley against Chelsea in Gameweek 37, Khazri may be able to kick on next season as part of a Black Cats outfit that should start the new campaign in more confident mood after making significant strides under Sam Allardyce’s stewardship last time out.

Key Factors

• Khazri is, first and foremost, a creator of goals, but he also has the ability to provide a decent goal threat. Notably, the Tunisian created a chance every 41.3 minutes – faster than any other player in the Sunderland ranks last season. That rate was also better than the likes of Swansea’s Gylfi Sigurdsson (48.8), Crystal Palace’s Yohan Cabaye (49) and Stoke’s Marko Arnautovic (63.2) between Gameweeks 24 and 38, players who, like Khazri, have strong involvement in set-pieces, but interestingly are very likely to set us back more than the Sunderland man in FPL next season. While Khazri averaged a chance every 46.4 minutes, inferior to the three aforementioned players, he did outperform big names such as Man United’s Juan Mata (52.7), Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil (60.9) and Chelsea’s Eden Hazard (64.9) over the same period following his arrival in England.

• As already touched upon, set-pieces are crucial to Khazri’s appeal. The Tunisian totalled 57 corners in his 14 appearances for the Black Cats, while he also registered eight goal attempts from set-plays. Significantly, Khazri will enjoy his first pre-season with Sunderland, which will undoubtedly give Sam Allardyce, a manager renowned for his attention to detail, time to work on further exploiting Khazri’s undoubted quality from dead-ball situations.

• Allardyce’s impact on Sunderland also looks promising as they look to avoid yet another season battling the drop. The Wearsiders had earned just three points in eight matches prior to Big Sam’s arrival but ended the campaign on a run of just two losses in the final 14 Gameweeks. With transfer targets such as West Ham’s Diafra Sakho eyed up, the Black Cats look to have the finances and ambition to kick on next season and the promise of adding further quality to the forward line in particular should in itself boost the Fantasy prospects of Khazri.

• The former Bordeaux midfielder was predominantly used on the left of midfield in a 4-1-4-1 formation favoured by Allardyce, having to play a disciplined role in front of left-back Patrick van Aanholt. Should Big Sam look to experiment with different systems such as a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3, Khazri could offer even more of an attacking threat for the Black Cats. Sunderland won’t start the season under the pressure they faced when the Tunisian arrived on Wearside, and that could also afford Khazri further freedom to showcase his talents.

• Khazri was priced at 6.0 in FPL last season, and his valuation is unlikely to rise significantly ahead of the new campaign. Given his potential to progress as he fully acclimatises to English football, this could represent terrific value. Sunderland scored 48 goals last season, up considerably on the 31 they managed during the 2014/15 campaign, and the Tunisian midfielder could emerge as an interesting mid-price option should the Black Cats be able to build on their strong finish to the 2015/16 season.

• Looking at the fixture list, Allardyce’s side have four decent home encounters in the first seven Gameweeks, as Middlesbrough, Everton, Palace and West Brom pay visit. Whilst trips to City, Southampton and Spurs lessen the appeal of Sunderland’s attackers, it’s worth bearing in mind that they scored in all three corresponding matches last year. Indeed, despite winning just three away fixtures in 2015/16, the Wearsiders were surprisingly prolific on the road – they netted 25 times on their travels last term, a tally bettered by only six other sides, and only failed to score in two of their 12 away matches under Allardyce.