With four assists in the last five Gameweeks, Manchester United's Zlatan Ibrahimovic (£11.6m) has added a new dimension to his appeal as a leading Fantasy Premier League asset.
This recent improvement is reflected in the Creativity component of the ICT Index, which can be used to measure a player's potential to provide assists - showing a marked increase during this spell.
Ibrahimovic has averaged a Creativity score of 38 over his last five outings, compared to 27 prior to Gameweek 16.
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That surge has elevated the Swede to the top of the Index rankings for Creativity among FPL forwards, with a total of 548.8 over the season.
Ibrahimovic has created 36 chances for team-mates, more than any other forward, providing 2.4 scoring opportunities per match since Gameweek 16; he was producing an average of 1.4 previously.
PLAYER | TEAM | MINS | ICT CREATIVITY |
Ibrahimovic | MUN | 1710 | 548.8 |
Costa | CHE | 1676 | 420.0 |
Lukaku | EVE | 1646 | 394.9 |
Rooney | MUN | 814 | 373.8 |
Deeney | WAT | 1702 | 343.7 |
Barrow | SWA | 1145 | 332.7 |
Kane | TOT | 1264 | 290.3 |
Llorente | SWA | 1203 | 290.2 |
C Benteke | CRY | 1544 | 254.6 |
Negredo | MID | 1592 | 251.3 |
Tied on 123 FPL points with the Man Utd striker and matching him on five assists, Chelsea's Diego Costa (£10.7m) ranks second behind Ibrahimovic for ICT Creativity, on 420.0.
Nonetheless, the Spain international appears to have developed this area of his game.
Costa is scoring 22 Creativity per appearance this season with 1.5 chances created per match, compared with 18 and 1.1 in the 2015/16 campaign.
Wayne Rooney (£8.6m) is the other forward currently residing on five FPL assists.
Limited to eight starts, the Man Utd captain has scored Creativity at a faster rate than any other forward, registering 373.8 over 814 minutes of pitch time.
As one of Manchester United's designated set-piece takers, Rooney has supplied 70 crosses this season with 31 of those attempts arriving from corner kicks.
Everton's Romelu Lukaku (£9.5m) betters Rooney's Creativity tally over the season with a haul of 394.9.
Supplier of seven FPL assists in 2015/16, the Belgian has turned provider on four occasions this time around, creating an average of 1.4 chances per match down from 1.5 last season.
In contrast, Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane (£10.9m) has shown signs of improving his assist potential, with both Dele Alli (£8.5m) and Christian Eriksen (£8.6m) upping their goal output in recent matches.
Recording just three FPL assists from 38 starts in 2015/16, Kane has so far earned two from his 15 appearances this time around.
His ICT Creativity is up from 18 per match to 19, while he's laying on an average of 1.5 chances for team-mates per match compared with 1.1 last term.