While it’s not the be-all and end-all, being a penalty-taker can really boost a player’s appeal in Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
Think back to Alexis Mac Allister (£6.0m) last season, with six of his 10 strikes coming from 12 yards.
Our Set-Piece Takers tab keeps track of who we think is on spot-kicks throughout the season.
But there are often some ‘unknowns’ every summer, with first-choice takers leaving clubs and new arrivals threatening to upset the established order.
Here we look at all 20 Premier League teams, picking out who is a nailed-on taker and where it’s “up for grabs now”.
BACKED AFTER MISSES
- Arsenal, Liverpool
The managers of Arsenal and Liverpool backed their respective first choices after misses in 2022/23, with Bukayo Saka (£8.5m) and Mohamed Salah (£12.5m) looking set to continue from 12 yards.
Saka’s failure to score in mid-April prompted Mikel Arteta to say this:
“Yes. If not, I will go on the pitch and throw him the ball and make sure he takes the next one!” – Mikel Arteta on whether Bukayo Saka will remain on penalty-kicks
Salah, meanwhile, had missed twice in succession in Gameweeks 27 and 30 but repaid his manager’s faith by scoring two spot-kicks in Double Gameweek 34.
“Obviously he wanted to stay the penalty taker but we had a normal conversation about it.
“This today was a super penalty, that is really clear, so I think with all the goals Mo scored we cannot just judge it with two missed, to go away from it.
“It was a conversation between two grown-up men.” – Jurgen Klopp on Mohamed Salah after Gameweek 34 of 2022/23
NAILED PENALTY TAKERS BUT…
- Brentford, Tottenham Hotspur
Ivan Toney (£8.0m) and Harry Kane (£12.5m) are the most ‘nailed’ penalty-takers in the division but there are obvious issues to address at Brentford and Tottenham Hotspur.
Toney’s suspension means that he will not kick a ball until January, so Bryan Mbeumo (£6.5m) – who has twice deputised for his banned team-mate already over the last two seasons, including in Gameweek 15 of 2022/23 – will expect to continue in his stead.
Kane remains a Spurs player for now but should he leave, there’s an obvious void to fill from 12 yards. It was, believe it or not, Dele Alli who sat in for Kane when the Lilywhites were last missing their top-scoring talisman, with Son Heung-min‘s (£9.0m) most recent penalty coming in April 2021.
The South Korean has, surprisingly, only scored 58.3% of his career spot-kicks (seven from 12).
James Maddison (£7.5m, six from eight), Richarlison (£7.0m, seven from eight), Dejan Kulusevski (£7.0m three from three) and Pedro Porro (£5.0m, three from three) are among the other Spurs assets with experience in this department.
THE PROBABLE FIRST-CHOICE TAKERS
- Bournemouth, Burnley, Everton, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest, West Ham United
Bruno Fernandes (£8.5m) seems to be the first-choice taker at Manchester United as things stand, although he did relinquish those duties for less high-pressure penalties to Anthony Martial (£6.5m) in Gameweek 10 and to Marcus Rashford (£9.0m) in the FA Cup third round.
Since then, however, he’s taken and scored all four of United’s spot-kicks, the last one coming in the FA Cup final in June. Rashford has been on the pitch on each occasion, the lesser-spotted Martial for none of them.
At West Ham United, Jarrod Bowen’s (£7.0m) early-season misses have shunted him down the pecking order, while first-choice taker Manuel Lanzini – who barely featured anyway – has now left on a free. Said Benrahma (£6.0m) took four of the Hammers’ five Premier League penalties in 2022/23, with Lucas Paqueta (£6.0m) only stepping up in Gameweek 19 when Benrahma was benched.
David Moyes’ post-match comments after West Ham’s UEFA Europa Conference League win over Gent, a match in which Paqueta scored from the spot with Benrahma on the field, further backed the Algerian:
“It probably would have been Said. They must have had a good discussion, because he [Paqueta] scored! I thought he was walking away, because there is a trend at the moment for the person who is not taking it to walk away from the ball. So I had no panic on.” – David Moyes, when asked who he thought was taking West Ham’s penalty against Gent in April
Bournemouth weren’t awarded a single penalty last season but Dominic Solanke (£6.5m) had taken all five in their promotion-winning campaign of 2021/22, while Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£6.0m) returned from injury to score Everton’s Gameweek 34 spot-kick; Demarai Gray (£5.5m) had been deputising in his stead.
Successive misses for Brennan Johnson (£6.0m) at Nottingham Forest seem to have cost the Welshman, with Morgan Gibbs-White (£6.0m) scoring the last two penalties awarded to Steve Cooper’s side.
Alexander Isak (£7.5m) and Callum Wilson (£8.0m) had been sharing penalty-taking responsibilities for Newcastle United, though neither of them had been on the same pitch for a spot-kick until Double Gameweek 36. It was Wilson who then cemented his position at the top of the tree in the two-all draw with Leeds United, scoring twice from 12 yards as Isak looked on.
Jay Rodriguez (£5.5m), who took both of the Burnley penalties he was on the field for in 2022/23, has scored 22 of his 24 career spot-kicks.
The question is now about how much Rodriguez – who turns 34 this month – plays in the season to come. The Clarets will surely bolster their options in attack over the summer, with fellow veteran Ashley Barnes now departed.
BACK OFF, RIYAD
- Manchester City
Erling Haaland (£14.0m) took and scored seven Premier League penalties last season.
It should be straightforward; Pep Guardiola even said in February that Haaland was first in line.
That comment came after Riyad Mahrez (£7.5m) unexpectedly stepped up to score against Aston Villa with Haaland on the pitch.
But then the hat-trick-chasing Ilkay Gundogan missed from 12 yards against Leeds in May.
Guardiola again tried to reiterate that Haaland was his go-to guy but couldn’t help but include Mahrez in the conversation.
“Who knows if Erling takes the penalty and misses? What happens if Riyad takes the penalty and misses?What happens if Ilkay Gundogan takes the penalty and scores? The question is if it’s 2-0, who is the taker? The taker is Erling or Riyad, has to take it. Second point is that is shows how is Erling as a person. He wants to score goals, but at the same time the team, the mates are so important.
“He had chances to score, he didn’t convert but at the same time, he was outstanding. But at 2-0 especially in England, the game never is over. I wanted the taker to take it, they have more routine and specialist. That means if Erling or Riyad take a penalty, he is going to score? Maybe not. Who knows.
“At 2-0, you have to close it. You don’t have to give anything. If you can control you have to control. Saying that, Gundo could have scored, other ones could have missed. It’s not about that. I admire that Gundo wanted to take the responsibility to take the penalty. That is the best value as a player. Normally the taker is the taker, Erling has to take it, he’s the specialist.” – Pep Guardiola after Ilkay Gundogan’s penalty miss
Haaland seems to be Guardiola’s first choice, then, but the Norwegian striker still has to contend with keen-as-mustard team-mates intent on getting involved.
THE SERIAL MISSERS
- Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, Fulham
This chance-wasting trio missed more penalties than they scored as a collective in 2022/23.
| Player | Team | 2022/23 PL penalty record | Career penalty record |
| Watkins | Aston Villa | 1/2 | 4/9 |
| Zaha | C Palace | 0/2 | 7/11 |
| Mitrovic | Fulham | 4/8 | 25/37 |
Aleksandar Mitrovic (£7.5m) made unwanted history by spurning four penalties, the last of which came in Gameweek 38.
Marco Silva sent out mixed signals in his post-match interview.
“It’s a fact [that he has missed four]. Against the facts we cannot talk – nothing more. It’s up to us to keep working with him in this situation and if another one [he] has to take, he’s going to take for sure.
“We are talking about 2-3 months, I have enough time to think about all these situations and prepare with the players.” – Marco Silva after Gameweek 38, when asked if Aleksandar Mitrovic would remain on penalties in 2023/24
Andreas Pereira (£5.5m), who scored a penalty in Mitrovic’s absence last season, will be living in the hope of a promotion up the pecking order.
Wilfried Zaha‘s patchy record from 12 yards is well-documented and, having missed two already in 2022/23, he didn’t step up to take Palace’s penalty against West Ham in late April.
Eberechi Eze (£6.5m) was tasked with the responsibility and scored.
Before we can add penalty-taking duties to Eze’s list of plus points, Roy Hodgson did sound some cautionary words after full-time.
“I think [Zaha’s dead leg] probably did [influence the decision]. I must speak to them, I think he probably did, maybe. Eze’s good, we’ve got some good penalty-takers, Olise’s a good penalty-taker and the penalty-taker at Wolves, had we got one, would have been Luka Milivojevic, so we’re not short of them.
“But I still need to speak to them on Monday and find out what went on between them. I was pleased to see it.” – Roy Hodgson
It’s still uncertain whether Zaha will stay at Selhurst Park for 2023/24.
The penalty-taking void left by Anwar El Ghazi and Danny Ings at Aston Villa hasn’t really been filled, with Ollie Watkins (£8.0m) missing his latest effort in Gameweek 37.
The rest of the Villans’ squad was short of penalty-taking experience but new arrival Youri Tielemans (£6.0m) has plenty of it.
The Belgian’s record from 12 yards had been excellent for Leicester City (7/7) but the campaign just gone saw him miss two successive spot-kicks in league and cup. His overall record is now 24/29.
WHERE IT’S UP FOR GRABS
- Brighton and Hove Albion, Chelsea, Luton Town, Sheffield United, Wolverhampton Wanderers
| Team | 2022/23 taker (season record) | Possible 2023/24 takers (career record) |
| Brighton and Hove Albion | Mac Allister* (6/6) | Gross (11/15), Milner (30/35), Welbeck (3/4), Estupinan (6/6), Enciso (3/3), Ferguson (2/2), Gilmour (9/11) |
| Chelsea | Jorginho* (2/2), Havertz* (1/1) | Nkunku (8/9), Sterling (4/8), Mudryk (5/8), Madueke (6/9), Enzo (5/5), James (1/2) |
| Luton Town | Adebayo (0/1), Woodrow (0/1), Morris (1/1) | Adebayo (7/12), Morris (4/5), Woodrow (16/19) |
| Sheffield United | Norwood (0/1), Brewster (0/1) | Berge (1/1), Norwood (7/9), Brewster (6/9), McBurnie (9/13) |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | Neves* (3/3) | Hwang (7/9), Sarabia (16/16) |
*has now left the club
The departure of Mac Allister from Brighton raises the question: who inherits penalties for the Seagulls?
Pascal Gross (£6.5m) has taken plenty in the past but has missed three of his eight Premier League spot-kicks, while Danny Welbeck (£6.0m) was on target from 12 yards in the EFL Cup in November in the absence of Mac Allister and Gross.
James Milner (£5.0m) has joined from Liverpool and would be an obvious contender in whatever little game-time he is afforded, while Pervis Estupinan (£5.0m) has taken six spot-kicks without failing at various levels for the Ecuador national team.
It’s certainly something to look out for in the pre-season friendlies.
There’s a gap in the market at Chelsea, too.
Christopher Nkunku (£7.5m) is perhaps the favourite given that he stepped up for five penalties for RB Leipzig in league and cup last season but Enzo Fernandez (£5.0m) did have a 100% success rate with the handful of spot-kicks he took for old club River Plate.
Reece James (£5.5m) has limited experience but was in the mix while Graham Potter was at the club.
Elijah Adebayo (£5.0m) had been towards the front of the queue at Luton but has missed three of the seven Championship penalties he has taken over the last two seasons.
Both Adebayo and back-up striker Cauley Woodrow (£4.5m) had missed from 12 yards in 2022/23 before top scorer Carlton Morris (£5.5m) was handed the opportunity in Gameweek 44 of the campaign just gone.
“Eli said to me, ‘Go get your 20th goal, you deserve it.’ I said, ‘Thank you man,’ and he held the ball for me until it was time to take the pen.
“It goes back to what I said earlier about the camaraderie. That’s the type of people that I’m playing with at the moment, it’s a special thing really.” – Carlton Morris on his penalty goal in April
“It’s on the day, you need to be able to feel it and clearly Carlton has. I’ve got no problem with that as we’ve missed a couple recently. We’ve not had loads, but we’ve missed a couple, so I thought it was a really good penalty.” – Luton boss Rob Edwards on Carlton Morris’s penalty
There was misery at Sheffield United, too, with Oliver Norwood (£5.0m) and Rhian Brewster (£5.0m) missing the only two spot-kicks the Blades were awarded.
Manager Paul Heckingbottom suggested Sander Berge (£5.0m) could be next to chance his arm from 12 yards.
“It’s just been long-standing all the time I’ve been here. If Billy [Sharp] was on, he’d have taken it, then Ollie [Norwood] and then Sander next in line. So I think Sander will have his hand up now.” – Paul Heckingbottom on Sheffield United’s penalty takers after Oliver Norwood’s miss in early August
Finally, Wolves have seen Ruben Neves leave for Saudi Arabia and are expected to wave goodbye to Raul Jimenez (£5.5m).
Pablo Sarabia (£5.0m) has a flawless career record from the spot, so could be the heir to the throne at Molineux.
