Fantasy Premier League

FPL breakout stars: Phil Foden

By The Scout 31 Aug 2020

The Scout on why the Man City midfielder can be a major source of value in 2020/21 FPL

The Scout looks at players expected to progress and make a big impact in 2020/21 Fantasy Premier League.

Phil Foden (MCI) £6.5m

The midfielder appeared to establish himself as a regular towards the end of the previous campaign.

Foden made seven of his nine starts in 2019/20 across Manchester City's final 11 fixtures.

He scored all five of his goals for the season in that period.

That ranked second only to the nine goals of Raheem Sterling (£11.5m) among team-mates and was level with Kevin De Bruyne (£11.5m).

There was certainly a downpour of goals in July! ☔️🔥

⚽️ @XylemInc
🔵 #ManCity | https://t.co/axa0klD5re pic.twitter.com/es6TpRXzcE
— Manchester City (@ManCity) August 26, 2020

Indeed, only four other midfielders in FPL surpassed Foden for goals from Gameweek 29 onwards.

The statistics from that period further highlight Foden's attacking threat.

His 26 shots and nine shots on target both ranked third for Pep Guardiola’s side, while his 18 shots inside the box sat fourth.

Those numbers also fare well when assessed against his early-season displays.

Foden's 2019/20 FPL season

Minutes per	GW1-28	GW29 onwards
Shot	33.1	24.1
Shot in box	66.3	34.8
Shot on target	53.0	69.7
Goal	0.0	125.4

Foden managed only eight shots and four shots in the box in the opening 28 Gameweeks.

His frequency of shots inside the box more or less halved across those time frames, improving from 66.3 minutes to 34.8 minutes.

Foden's versatility could also boost his pitch time in the season ahead.

The 20-year-old offers Guardiola an option in central midfield and out wide as Man City look to rebuild following the departures of David Silva and Leroy Sane.

At a cost of only £6.5m, Foden has the potential to emerge as a major bargain in 2020/21 FPL.