fantasy premier league new players to pick – Sunderland’s Jeremain Lens

Fantasy Premier League, New player profiles, Preseason

Jeremain Lens is a 1.78m (5 foot 10 inches) 27 year old winger/forward experienced Dutch International who has signed for Sunderland from Dinamo Kiev for £8m.  We look at his stats and FPL prospects.  Interestingly he’s been classified as a midfielder in FPL and is priced in FPL at £6.5m.

fantasy premier league new players to pick – Sunderland’s Jeremain Lens

Jeremain Lens   
 SeasonTeamGames goals/assts Mins per Goal/Asst 
 2014/15 D Kiev215/10105 mins
 2013/14 D Kiev285/4201 mins
 2012/13 PSV3015/1196 mins
 Totals7925/25118 mins
UCLAll5  114 mins
EuropaAll4812/8174 mins
Holland All308 goals

Here’s the stats of some comparably priced players although read the caveats below:

Comparable players 14/15   
 Playermatchesgoals/assts Mins per G/A 
 Wickham (SUN)365/1461 mins
 Defoe (SUN)174/1290 mins
 Johnson (SUN) 324/2347 mins
 Larsson (SUN) 363/3509 mins
 Bolasie (CPL) 344/11185 mins
 Deulofeu (EVE) 171/6111 mins
 Walters (STK) 328/4202 mins
 Ritchie (BOU)4615/17116 mins

So his stats are very good considering that the last 2 seasons he’s played left wing.  The 12/13 season for PSV mixed between winger and centre forward and produced some excellent stats.  So thats a very good start

Before I look at the comparable player stats.  Defoe and Wickham are forwards but as you will see below could play in comparable positions.  Certainly compared to his team mates Wickham and Defoe Lens stats are far superior.  Larsson and Johnson are Sunderland midfielders although Johnson is the comparable type of player and position. All 4 Sunderland players have terrible stats.   Only Burnley scored less goals last season than Sunderland. Most of the season Sunderland was managed by Poyet who was a naturally defensive coach.  Advocaat should play a more attractive brand.

As for the other players Deulofeu’s stats were with Sevilla and Ritchie with Bournemouth in the Championship.   Certainly Lens’ stats compare well with  every other player who will be of comparable price and especially with the premier league players stats of last season.  The fact that he scores and assists is especially attractive as it increases his consistency potential.  Obviously there is a difficulty with comparable leagues and an adjustment period which goes with every new player coming into the premier league.  The 2 leagues he has come from especially so.

His FPL prospects

I don’t like padding these articles with quotes but there are some quite interesting ones which describe the type of player he is.  Here’s what Advocaat said

“We have signed an international player and I am delighted to welcome him to Sunderland. He is a very well-known player in Europe and has played over 30 games for the Dutch national side, which shows his calibre.

“I have worked with him twice already, at PSV and AZ, so I know him well; he is fast and he has scored goals everywhere he has played so that will help the team.”

Here’s the Sporting Director of Sunderland

“We’re absolutely delighted to sign a player of Jeremain’s quality, who has Champions League experience and is a regular for Holland, one of the world’s strongest national teams.

“He’s a direct and quick player with or without the ball and those characteristics are something we’ve been lacking as a side.”

And from Lens himself

“I’m very happy to be a Sunderland player. I think it is a good club and it is a great step for me to play in the Barclays Premier League. I followed the team last season following the arrival of Dick Advocaat and we have a good team, so as I said I’m really happy to be here.”

“I’ve played for the Dutch national team and played a lot of games in Europe, but the Barclays Premier League is the main test so it will be really good to play some games here. I can play on the left wing, on the right wing and also as a forward, my qualities are that I’m fast, I can score goals and I can create chances so I’m hope that the supporters will see a lot of my qualities this season. I watched the derby against Newcastle United and the supporters were really amazing, so I’ve got a good impression of the fans and I hope they support us in the same way during the new season.”

Gametime wise it’s hard to see that he won’t be fairly secure in the lineup.  Such an experienced international who’s known and obviously trusted by the manager should play.

Position wise the last 2 seasons he’s played as a left winger.  The season before that in PSV it was a season split between being a winger and a centre forward where his stats were fantastic.  Advocaat pretty much played 4-3-2-1/4-2-3-1 ending the season with Danny Graham of all people leading the line.  Wickham and Defoe played behind him and wider in 4-3-2-1.  Johnson is the natural player to slot into the 3 when it becomes 4-2-3-1 although his court case could impinge on gametime.  Lens it seems will slot into the 3 or the 2 behind the striker.  I guess there’s a small chance he could lead the line but I would be surprised. Pre-season will tell.

Here’s his first 6 fixtures:

Leicester (A)
Norwich (H)
Swansea (H)
Aston Villa (A)
Spurs (H)
Bournemouth (A)

The fixtures to be honest couldn’t be much better.  I’ve rated them as having the best fixtures over the first 6 games and 3rd best over the first 3.

Here’s their pre-season schedule to come:

18 July v Pachuca (Bonney Field, Sacramento), 3.30am
22 July v Toronto (BMO Field, Toronto), midnight
29 July v Doncaster Rovers (Keepmoat Stadium) 7.45pm
1 August v Hannover (HDI Arena) 4pm

Certainly for stats, experience, gametime and position he looks a good prospect.  The questions are about adjustment to the premier league from 2 less demanding leagues and about whether Sunderland can make enough chances overall for him to score and assist.

Summary

  • Categorised as a midfielder in FPL at £6.5m
  • A winger or forward.  Very experienced international.  Gametime should be secure
  • Great stats although from 2 inferior leagues.  Usual adjustment risk
  • How many goals will Sunderland score another risk
  • Should play in the 3 or 2 behind the striker in 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-2-1
  • Great fixtures to start

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fantasy premier league league code: 68300-19117

Picture from Freepik.com.  Stats from transfermrkt.com

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