Why Sancho has helped get Palmer back to his best in FPL

The Scout explains why Jadon Sancho’s (£6.4m) introduction to Chelsea's starting XI has helped Cole Palmer (£10.7m) get back to his very best in Fantasy Premier League.

Prior to his bumper 25-point return against Brighton & Hove Albion at the weekend, Palmer’s form was a big concern for his owners in Fantasy.

Over a favourable three-match run against Crystal Palace, AFC Bournemouth and West Ham United in Gameweeks 3-5, he managed just one goal and an assist. 

That led to huge sales in Fantasy, with 1.37million transfers out making the Blues’ star the sixth most-sold midfielder this season.

But Palmer's four goals in Chelsea's 4-2 win over Brighton on Saturday have now made Palmer the No 1 target for managers in Fantasy by some margin.

He has earned over 444,000 transfers in ahead of his home encounter with Nottingham Forest, nearly TWICE that of any other player ahead of Saturday’s 11:00 BST deadline.

Palmer's third goal v Brighton

Aside from his world-class free-kick, one of the standout aspects of Palmer’s performance against Brighton was his runs into space from deeper areas for Chelsea’s first and fourth goals, with Nicolas Jackson (£7.8m) and Sancho supplying the respective assists. 

Sancho now has FOUR assists over the last three Gameweeks, and that form appears to have secured him the role on the left flank, with his back-to-back starts against West Ham and Brighton.

What does Sancho bring to the attack?

Comparing Sancho’s displays over those two starts in Gameweeks 5-6 with Pedro Neto’s (£6.3m) two starts over Gameweeks 3-4 gives a better idea of what the former brings to the Blues' attack. 

Both Sancho and Neto received 34 passes across their two matches and averaged 2.1 minutes per touch.

But that’s where the similarities end, with Sancho clearly preferring to drop deeper to claim possession, as you can see from the heat maps below.

Of the 34 passes each player received across their two starts, only 16 of Sancho’s (or 47 per cent) were in the opponents’ half, compared with the 30 (or 88 per cent) of Neto.

This trend continues in the final third, with Neto again receiving almost twice the number of passes, by 19 to 10.

But Sancho is certainly offering more when it comes to taking on opponents, producing seven successful dribbles to Neto's two in the analysis.

Neto GW3-4 v Sancho GW5-6

While Neto occupies space higher up the pitch, Sancho’s deeper role has influenced Jackson’s position, with the Senegalese centre-forward less advanced at the weekend against Brighton.  

In turn, this team shape is allowing Palmer to occupy more dangerous attacking positions whenever Chelsea get the ball. 

Why Palmer’s potential for goals and assists has improved

The space being afforded to Palmer is making all the difference to his prospects for goals AND assists in Fantasy. 

The underlying attacking statistics show that Palmer’s potential for goals has improved markedly across the last two Gameweeks.

As you can see from the graphics below, he’s had SEVEN shots in the box, compared with a mere two over his first four outings. 

When it comes to big chances – situations where the player is expected to score – the upturn is even greater. Palmer had just one big chance across the first four Gameweeks, but he has had SIX in his last two outings.

Palmer's goal threat, GW1-4 v GW5-6

The data for passing also points to more assists for the Blues’ talisman and highlights a key ingredient that had been sorely missing from his game – through-balls.

Palmer was ranked fourth in the league for through-balls last season, with a total of 27 in his solitary campaign under Mauricio Pochettino.

However, he had made NONE over his opening four appearances under new head coach Enzo Maresca. But with Sancho in the starting line-up over the last two Gameweeks, Palmer has played FIVE through-balls, with Jackson the main player to benefit.

Assessed against his previous displays, Palmer's minutes per key pass have remained more or less identical. But there’s been a major upturn in his frequency of big chances created, quickening from one every 87.8 minutes to an average of 51 minutes over the last two matches.

Palmer's creativity, GW1-4 v GW5-6

While a two-Gameweek spell isn’t enough to make any grand assumptions, the numbers offer every encouragement that Maresca has struck a better balance in his Chelsea attack with Sancho onboard, and Palmer’s prospects in Fantasy are looking all the better for it.