Fantasy Premier League managers should be on alert to the potential offered by Nick Pope (£4.5m).
The Burnley goalkeeper's performances in replacing Tom Heaton (£4.9m) are being recognised in the Bonus Points System (BPS).
Pope replaced his captain after 36 minutes against Crystal Palace in Gameweek 4 after Heaton's shoulder injury.
He has since earned 113 in the BPS at a rate of a point every 3.66 minutes.
That is more frequent than any other goalkeeper, ahead of David De Gea (£5.6m), who ranks second with a BPS point every 3.77 minutes.
Significantly, Pope's rate surpasses that achieved by Heaton last season.
The Clarets No 1 gained 21 bonus points in 2016/17, a record for FPL goalkeepers, and ended the season as the top-scoring goalkeeper on 149 points.
But he earned a BPS point every 4.2 minutes during that campaign.
Saves and recoveries, where a player gains possession of the ball when it has gone loose, are the key metrics for goalkeepers in the BPS.
Pope is excelling in both areas.
Despite conceding, he earned a single bonus point in Saturday’s draw with West Ham United after 12 saves and five recoveries.
He has made a save every 18.8 minutes, more frequently than any other goalkeeper.
The same applies to recoveries, with Pope recording one every 7.0 minutes.
Pope v Heaton
| Heaton 2016/17 | Pope 2017/18 | |
|---|---|---|
| Minutes per BPS | 4.2 | 3.66 |
| Minutes per save | 22.1 | 18.8 |
| Minutes per recovery | 8.8 | 7.0 |
Again this is outperforming Heaton’s record-breaking 2016/17 campaign.
Pope will be expected to make way on his skipper's return but until then he can be a successor to Heaton's FPL crown.
