Joshua King (£6.5m) scored his first goal of pre-season on Friday ahead of a campaign that could see him return to his best.
He was a revelation in 2016/17 when, classified as a midfielder, he registered 16 goals, three assists and 178 points while operating as Bournemouth’s centre-forward.
His follow up to that was disappointing by comparison. Shifted to a forward on Fantasy Premier League, the Norwegian international scored half-as many goals, provided three assists and amassed a total score of just 110 points.
However, some underlying data from the second-half of the season suggest an improvement in his fortunes in 2018/19.
CHERRY ON TOP
We may have recently revealed the goal threat of Ryan Fraser (£5.5m) and the injured Junior Stanislas (£6.0m), but it does appear that King was unlucky not to score more often in 2017/18. No Bournemouth player registered more touches in the box than King (140) and none of his team-mates had more shots there either (1.2 per game). His 21 shots on target was also a club-high, while only Fraser (16.7) had a better goal conversion rate than him (15.7). Furthermore, King scored more big chances than anyone else at the club (six), even though Callum Wilson (£6.0m) was presented with more of them. Last time around King was still the joint-top scorer with eight goals, but he could easily improve on that in the upcoming season.
CREATIVE STREAK
While the cheaper Wilson matched King’s goal tally in 2017/18, where the Norwegian has the advantage over his colleague was creativity, which could well justify spending an extra £0.5m on him this season. King created 38 chances last term, which ranked second among the Cherries, behind only Fraser and, crucially, double that of Wilson. It is no surprise then that King registered twice as many assists as his English colleague, with just Andrew Surman (£5.0m) and Jordon Ibe (£5.5m) putting up more.
END OF SEASON FORM
King did not start 2017/18 particularly well but was one of the many players who performed much bette in the second-half of the campaign. Between Gameweek 1 and 19, King was involved in just 23 percent of Bournemouth’s goals. From Gameweek 20 until the end of the season, he was involved 50 percent of the time. Considering the Cherries’ appealing early fixtures, especially at home, King could establish himself as an important figure in the opening 10 fixtures. A trip to Chelsea in Gameweek 4 looks the hardest, although the Cherries were still 3-0 winners there last time, while Cardiff, Everton, Leicester, Crystal Palace and Southampton will all visit the Vitality Stadium in the early months.
SELECTION ADVANTAGE
King could start the 2018/19 campaign as the first-choice centre-forward at Bournemouth, although it’s early days yet. So far, King has been involved in all three of the Cherries’ pre-season matches, featuring from the beginning on two occasions. Meanwhile Jermain Defoe (£6.0m) has two starts, three appearances and a goal too, but Wilson has featured just once. Furthermore, King racked up more starts that any other Bournemouth forward in 2017/18 (27).
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