The Scout's watchlist of premium forwards continues.
Romelu Lukaku (Man Utd) £11.5m
Romelu Lukaku’s (£11.5m) move to Manchester United has led to a boom in his Fantasy Premier League popularity.
The summer signing is the top-owned player and is included in 48.0% of squads.
Lukaku delivered 25 goals and six assists for Everton last season, claiming a career-high FPL tally of 221 points.
Only Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane (£12.5m and 224 points) managed more among forwards.
Lukaku has made an immediate impact for the Red Devils over the summer, scoring the winner in a 2-1 victory over Real Salt Lake.
He followed that up with a superb opener in a 2-0 triumph over Manchester City.
Statistics show that he has become even more lethal.
Lukaku netted 22.7% of his shots last season, a significant improvement on his 15.3% goal conversion rate in 2015/16.
That was also far superior to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who converted only 14.8% of his shots as Man Utd’s lone striker.
Lukaku improvement
| 2015/16 | 2016/17 | |
|---|---|---|
| Shot accuracy | 39.8 | 48.2 |
| Goal conversion | 15.3 | 22.7 |
| Goal involvement | 45.5 | 50.8 |
Lukaku’s ability to tuck away "big chances" is vital to his Fantasy potential.
He converted 18 of these last season, joint-top with Kane.
This eye for goal could also earn him penalty duties for the Red Devils.
In addition, the Belgian brings creativity to manager Jose Mourinho’s frontline.
He was ranked joint-top along with Ibrahimovic for key passes among FPL frontmen in 2016/17, supplying 45.
And the opening schedule offers further encouragement for his chances of settling quickly at Old Trafford.
According to the Fixture Difficulty Rankings (FDR), Man Utd’s opening four matches score just two.
Those fixtures, coupled with pre-season form and high ownership, make Lukaku a complete package who is both difficult and dangerous to ignore.