With Harry Kane (£12.3m) announcing ahead of Gameweek 3 that he will be remaining at Tottenham Hotspur this summer, is now the time to buy the Lilywhites’ players in Fantasy Premier League (FPL)?
It’s been a busy summer in north London. After 72 days of hunting for a new manager, Nuno Espirito Santo’s arrival set in motion the beginnings of a painful rebuild at the club. With key personnel leaving the squad and the situation with Kane uncertain, I had some concerns about both Spurs and their FPL assets ahead of the new season.
But the Lilywhites have partly assuaged those fears, starting the season with two wins and two clean sheets. With Kane back on board and Spurs ranking high on the Season Ticker, maybe now is the time to invest.
For this article, I’ll be turning to the data and graphics available in the Premium Members Area.
The case for the defence
Spurs’ fans were meant to be assured of defensive security in the Jose Mourinho days but that promise was never really fulfilled. The Lilywhites kept just 12 clean sheets during the 2020/21 season and in that time conceded 45 goals.
Spurs defenders quickly fell off the radar in favour of the in-form attacking players but the start of the 2021/22 season has seen a new defensive security, with two clean sheets in the opening two fixtures.
Oliver Skipp‘s (£4.5m) return from loan has had a huge impact on the Spurs unit. Playing alongside Pierre-Emile Hojberg (£5.0m) and a grafting Dele Alli (£6.5m), the 20-year-old midfielder has added a layer of security in front of the backline. So far, Skipp has registered 10 recoveries, two blocks, two clearances and is joint-second across the Spurs team for tackles:
In reality, FPL managers would only look to invest in Skipp as a budget enabler, especially as he is yet to pose any kind of attacking threat. Rather, he instead makes his defensive teammates more attractive options.
Eric Dier (£4.5), Japhat Tanganga (£4.5m) and Sergio Reguilon (£5.0m) could all offer some good potential options over the next two Gameweeks especially.
Above: Heatmaps for Dier, Tanganga and Reguilon in Gameweeks 1/2
Whilst Spurs have conceded the most shots of any Premier League team over the first two Gameweeks (43), only ten of these have been on target. Furthermore, with that many attempts allowed you would expect Spurs to be top of expected goals conceded (xGC) table – however, they sit seventh across the division.
When you look at the type of shots being faced, many of them are low risk, meaning that Spurs are doing a good job of making their opponents take less quality chances and attempt more low-percentage efforts from distance that a solid goalkeeper like Hugo Lloris (£5.5) is likely to save.
Above: Spurs’ shots conceded map (bigger circles = better quality chances)
Lloris, indeed, is currently top for saves across the division with 10.
With Dier available in the game for just £4.5m and with new signing Cristian Romero (£5.0m) still to come in and strengthen the defence, the former could be a good option for the next two matches against Watford in Gameweek 3 and Crystal Palace in Gameweek 4. When you couple the potential for clean sheets in these matches with his aerial threat from set pieces (something seen a lot in pre-season), it could also result in the potential upside with attacking returns.
Attack! Attack! Attack!
Spurs finished fifth across the Premier League for goals scored last season with 62 and were second for big chances scored with 44. They also had the best goal conversation rate in the league with 15.3%.
With confirmation that Kane will be staying at Spurs in 2021/22 and will be “100% focused on helping the team achieve success”, FPL interest in the Spurs attacking options will likely increase over the next few weeks.
I will be staying at Tottenham this summer and will be 100% focused on helping the team achieve success. #COYS
Harry Kane
As a Son Heung-min (£10.0m) owner, I was delighted to hear that Kane is staying put given their fruitful relationship in the 2020/21 season. The England striker was top for both goals and assists across the Spurs team last season, with Son second in both categories.
Together, Kane and Son hold the record for the most prolific partnership in the Premier League, with 14 combinations in the 2020/21 season and 34 across their all-time matches together.
Investing in the pair will cost FPL managers substantially more this season than last and therefore owning both will be difficult. With Romelu Lukaku (£11.5m) competing with Kane to be the premium forward asset of choice, many managers, myself included, may look to Son as a means of saving budget.
According to our Rate My Team tool, Son is right up there with Kane for projected scores over the next six Gameweeks – and thus offers better value:
With the Korean having started the season up top and many in the Spurs fan community expecting to see him play far closer to Kane in 2021/22 (Nuno having deployed narrow wingers to date), he could still be an effective ‘out of position’ forward that we were hoping for. The next few Gameweeks will give us a good view on Spurs and how they set up with Kane back; if you’re not investing in the short term, then the Spurs fixture change in Gameweek 13 looks a good time to jump on.
Above: Our Season Ticker ranks Spurs first for Gameweeks 13-17
For managers looking for a route into the Spurs attack ahead of Gameweek 3 and 4, budget enabler Dele Alli (£6.5m) could potentially be a solid pick. Alli’s record against Gameweek 3 opponents Watford is great. He has never failed to return in a home fixture against the Hornets in the Premier League, registering four goals, one assist, two bonus points, two clean sheets and 27 FPL points in four fixtures.
While he’s admittedly been tasked with more defensive responsibilities under Nuno, Spurs haven’t had much possession in the opening two Gameweeks, with a ball-hogging Manchester City side in town on the opening weekend and a very attack-minded Wolves attempting to claw back an early deficit last weekend. In a home match against Xisco Munoz’s side, Alli will surely get to drift more into ‘the hole’ in his hybrid no. 8/10 role, as we saw in pre-season.
Alli seems to have refound the form that FPL managers and Spurs fans saw when he first arrived at the club. He is a player I am seriously considering ahead of the Gameweek 3 deadline, in a team in upbeat mood following their opening two fixtures and lifted by Kane’s news. Alli feeds on positivity and confidence, and he has that in buckets right now.
