Wayne Rooney continues his remarkable revival as a Fantasy asset with a double-figure return as Everton eventually overwhelm a struggling Swansea City at Goodison Park.
It is ironic in a season where stuttering forwards are failing Fantasy managers that it takes a legendary striker deployed in midfield to set the standard. But a revived Wayne Rooney is currently doing just that.
Despite a first-half penalty miss, he still mustered a 13-point return – a second double-digit tally of the campaign.
From a No 6 role, Rooney supplied the pass for Gylfi Sigurdsson’s sublime second-half strike, before converting a second penalty after full-back Jonjoe Kenny was felled.
That rewarded the 271,000 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers who invested prior to Gameweek 18, while 150,000 (2.7%) boasted a healthy profit from Rooney as their captain.
He has now produced six goals and three assists from his last five Gameweeks, against a backdrop where premium forward options have struggled to sustain consistent form to justify their price tags.
Indeed, in terms of points per million (12.1), Rooney is now the top-rated FPL forward and all from a deeper role in midfield.
Post-match, a buoyant Rooney enthused on his new role and it’s capacity to deliver influence matches…
“It’s the right position for me at this stage of my career. I can pick my moments when to get in the box and to stay out and help us control the game. It’s certainly a position I know I can play, score goals and create goals and I’ve been lucky enough to do that in the recent weeks.”
Managers have been quick to react to Rooney’s current trajectory, with over 80,000 making a move for the “forward” ahead of Gameweek 19 – making him the third most popular signing.
However, the schedule is now more punishing for the veteran, with Chelsea the next opponent and visitors to Goodison Park.
While away trips to Bournemouth and West Brom then follow, it remains to be seen if Rooney will play those back-to-back matches – three outings in seven days may be beyond his legs. Following that, Everton face Manchester United (h) and Spurs (a).
Calvert-Lewin plays his part
Dominic Calvert-Lewin may well be more assured of minutes over the festive period, with the 20-year-old remaining integral to Everton’s attack.
Leading the line, his pace and physical presence troubled Swansea throughout and he profited from Rooney’s missed penalty to tuck home a rebound – his third goal of the season.
Calvert-Lewin went into Gameweek 18 as the budget striker of choice, backed by over 80,000 new owners.
His first-half strike means that he has now provided owners with two goals and three assists from his last six Gameweeks. That’s a strong return for a 5.4 option, helping him sit second to Rooney for points per million among forwards (11.5).
Five shots on goal, four from inside the box, are also encouraging numbers from a cut-price striker who is perhaps providing the strongest reason to overlook Rooney at this time.
Sigurdsson in midfield is, of course, another consideration.
His long-range effort again suggested that the Icelander was edging back to his best and three goals and two assists from seven Gameweeks is encouraging.
However, given the value offered by Everton’s two forwards and the competition in our midfields, Sigurdsson is unlikely to make an impression on squads just yet.
Giving up penalties to Rooney – a situation that is unlikely to change – remains a major blow to his stock.
Everton breached but Kenny still profits
The Toffees backline has also represented value in recent Gameweeks, as they went into Monday’s contest on the back of three successive clean sheets.
Jordan Pickford and Jonjoe Kenny were under scrutiny as potential targets, with the latter still emerging with points despite Everton conceding a sloppy first-half goal.
Kenny’s raids forward provide back-up to his defensive potential and that proved a factor as he was brought down for Everton’s second penalty.
Still priced at 4.4, the 20-year-old remains a viable option, though given the aforementioned schedule, he surely requires a rotation partner over this spell.
The potential return of Seamus Coleman will also threaten his starts in the New Year. Kenny may well be a short-lived Christmas investment, then.
Bony blow for Swans
Swansea City’s night on Merseyside whimpered out after early promise delivered via Leroy Fer’s goal. Meanwhile, the early injury to Wilfried Bony – apparently after just 47 seconds – delivered another potentially damaging blow to their survival hopes.
Post-match manager Paul Clement gave us this update on the striker’s prognosis…
Seemingly set to miss the Gameweek 19 clash with Crystal Palace, that would bring Tammy Abraham back into the picture for that encounter.
The Chelsea loanee was benched for a third successive match on Monday.
In truth, neither Bony nor Abraham offer much encouragement as assets at present, with Swansea remaining bereft of creativity to feed either striker and Clement seemingly rejecting the idea of pairing both in attack.
