The Burning Question – When Do We Move For Kane?

He could have missed the World Cup, he should have missed a fair chunk of Spurs’ run-in, but instead, Harry Kane’s ankle injury has kept him out of precisely zero league matches.

Limping off just 33 minutes into Gameweek 30’s 4-1 win at Bournemouth prompted sales by more than 1.3 million of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers and a 0.2 drop in value.

But he’s very much back now and could well start Gameweek 33’s trip to Stoke City, with a Double Gameweek involving Man City and Brighton to follow straight afterwards.

Do we go all in and get Kane back straight away? Or do we dare hold off until after Spurs’ blank Gameweek 35 when their schedule (WAT wba NEW LEI), which includes a Double Gameweek 37, makes him almost impossible to resist?

We’ve assembled a panel of Fantasy Premier League experts – last season’s winner Ben Crabtree, runner-up Uwais Ahmed, Career Hall of Fame top guns Jay Egersdorff and Peter Kouwenberg and Fantasy Football Scout regular Matt Kearney (aka Bowstring the Carp) – currently 15th in the world – to address the latest Burning Question: When do we move for Harry Kane?

Jay Says…

My Harry Kane-free post-Gameweek 32 Wildcard squad looks balanced, with plenty of quality and flexibility across all 15 players.

The addition of the Spurs striker will require disturbing this balance, and I must say it’s tempting to ignore him completely.

But as I painfully experienced over Christmas when he bagged consecutive hat tricks in Gameweeks 19 and 20, going without Kane can have a detrimental effect.

He is one of the few FPL players capable of delivering consistent double-digit hauls, so his two Double Gameweeks and favourable final four fixtures mean it appears that going without him is just too big a risk.

Once bitten, twice shy as the saying goes…

There are two factors we need to consider in bringing Kane back into our squads: ‘When’ and ‘How’ we bring him in.

It makes sense to me to ride out Gameweek 33, if only to make sure he’s back up to fitness and regains his starting place.

That would also allow me to carry a free transfer into Gameweek 34 that would satisfy the ‘How’ part of the conundrum because it would alleviate the need for a -4 points hit to get him.

As per the rules, those like me with a Free Hit (which looks best for deployment in Gameweek 35) are unable to carry any free transfers, meaning any strategy to carry a transfer to Gameweek 36 and beyond is forced back to the drawing board.

In my option, this means the best ‘When’ is Gameweek 34 and the ‘How’ is by carrying a transfer from Gameweek 33.

Matt Says…

With the business end of the campaign well and truly upon us, the dilemma of jumping back on Harry Kane early is certainly one of season-changing proportions.

For me, there is no straightforward answer to this.

I think the decision heavily relies on the situation of each team and, in particular, what chip strategy they are hoping to employ for the final stretch.

Many have already Wildcarded and now face the task of juggling the team to accommodate Kane after his unexpected return to fitness. A lot of managers may be tempted to take a hit to bring the striker in straight away, but I would advise against it.

Taking a hit directly after Wildcarding is never a good strategy in my opinion, and I for one am happy to go without Kane this week.

For those currently on a Wildcard, I think there is a case for bringing him in now, as any attempt to do so next week will likely involve a hit, and there may be more pressing issues to address with that free transfer.

Personally, I will be avoiding Kane until I use Free Hit in Gameweek 34.

His Double Gameweek includes a home game against Man City and an away trip to Brighton. I am a bit dubious about Kane starting the second match, with an important FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United four days later.

Despite this scepticism, the sheer number of people who will have Kane in Gameweek 34 is enough to force my hand and protect myself from the potential damage he could inflict.

With a blank in Gameweek 35, I am happy to wait until the next round of fixtures to permanently include him in my squad.

Ben Says…

Leaving your Wildcard for as late as possible is often the best way for reasons just like this.

If you lack the Wildcard, you’re left with another tricky Kane dilemma.

A poor Stoke City team who could crumble, a Man City team that could still be more focused on the Champions League – although they’re going to have to do that the hard way after Wednesday night’s result – and an okayish Brighton look like good fixtures for Kane to close on Mohamed Salah’s ludicrous goals total.

This is what’s waiting for you if you’re Wildcarding or transferring Kane in now.

But it could be difficult for some and I’d say it’s worth a -4 poits hit – but not more than that – if you already have a good captain for Gameweek 33.

The extra element turning headaches in to migraines is for managers who planned to trade Romelu Lukaku to Kane.

Lukaku’s solid form, his history of going on scoring streaks and good Gameweek 34 fixtures (WBA bou) make it a potentially painful decision.

I’d make the transfer if I were chasing and knew my rival wasn’t getting Kane. Otherwise, I’d look at ways to own both.

The other option, by choice or not, is to wait until Gameweek 36, giving you time to squeeze something from a few players to enable the lavish upgrade.

If you still have your Triple Captain chip in your back pocket, then Gameweek 36 is your deadline.

But with Spurs playing Watford at home in Gameweek 36, owning Kane by then has to be your aim either way.

Personally, I’m having Wildcard fun this week, and both Lukaku and Kane are the top guests.

Anyone Wildcarding now need not wait any longer for Kane, as there will no doubt be other transfers to make in a week or two.

Peter Says…

As one of those unfortunates who discarded Harry Kane just in time for his hat-tricks in Gameweeks 19 and 20, I know the risk of going without the double Golden Boot winner for a single minute.

Yet I still don’t regard the Spurs man as indispensable, in the short term at least.

Much will depend on your team structure and chip situation.

With a Gameweek 34 Bench Boost in mind, my squad has no room for 3.9 passengers, and my current strike force comes in at barely 24.0.

Like many, I won’t be dropping Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for Arsenal’s Gameweek 33 meet with Southampton, and I’m happy to retain the services of Jamie Vardy as he ticks over with six goals in his last eight Gameweeks.

Indeed, “ticking over” is a phrase which could also apply to Kane, who also has six goals in his last eight starts and has only recorded one double-figure FPL haul since that horrible/wonderful Christmas bonanza.

Vardy’s 42 points over that period compare favourably to Kane’s 46 0, and with around 4.0 left over.

I’m not pretending Kane’s return isn’t a potential game changer – assuming he has fully overcome his injury – and those playing their Wildcard this week who have enough funds are advised to enjoy the Aubameyang-Kane show this week, before the Arsenal striker makes way for Romelu Lukaku or Vardy’s double.

However, I’ll be holding firm for at least another week before weighing up whether I fancy Lukaku’s form and fixtures over Kane’s selfishness and ruthlessness, with Aubameyang the fall guy.

On balance, I probably favour Lukaku against Championship wannabes West Brom and a Bournemouth side who have just one clean sheet since Gameweek 13.

But I would then need to take a hit to further upgrade Lukaku to Kane in time for Gameweek 36, so I envy those managers who are in a position to field both the big guns for the Double Gameweek.

The short answer for me, therefore, is that Kane comes in for Gameweek 34 at the very earliest, or Gameweek 36 for sure, but mainly because my team structure has left me with little wriggle room.

Uwais Says…

The key consideration here may be what chips you have available.

The more chips you have, the greater your flexibility.

For those who have used their Wildcard in Gameweek 32 to bank a free transfer in Gameweek 33, a kind fixture away to relegation-threatened Stoke really tests that strategy.

A morale-boosting victory over Chelsea will have buoyed Spurs and Kane looked very sprightly in his 15-minute cameo.

But if you move on him now, who are you shifting out from your team?

It may be Lukaku, who has a tough fixture against the champions-elect in Man City in Gameweek 33. But this has its own pitfalls.

If you remove Lukaku, what are your plans for him in Gameweek 34 when he has, arguably, a more attractive double than Kane?

Also, Pep Guardiola has already said that his team selection for the Manchester derby will be with the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final in mind.

Even after Wednesday’s 3-0 loss to Liverpool, this may open up the possibilities for Lukaku to flourish.

If you are looking at removing Aubameyang to bring in Kane this week, are you convinced that Kane will out-perform him when the Arsenal striker lines up, at home, to an out-of-form Southampton? I’m not.

Assuming you have a well-balanced team for this Gameweek, I am not sure there is huge merit in moving on him early.

I would not necessarily want to go into Gameweek 33 with no Spurs coverage at all, but with Son Heung-min, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen all showing signs of life, I just wonder whether, for now, covering their assets through midfield is a more funds-friendly option and easier to implement.

There is no doubt, though, that Kane falls into the category where if you do not have him in your squad, you are downright fearful of the explosive returns he could throw back in your face, so it won’t be surprising to see FPL managers move on him early.

For those who have used their Wildcard but not their Free Hit, they need to optimise their squads by killing as many birds with as few stones as possible.

The fact is that there are teams – Spurs included – who have multiple Double Gameweeks and for these FPL managers it makes sense to bring in Kane for Double Gameweek 34, using their Free Hit chip for the week after and then have Kane back for attractive fixtures in Gameweek 36 and Double Gameweek 37.