The Fantasy Football Scout end-of-season awards are up and running, with the polls for best goalkeeper, defenders and midfielders now joined by the forwards.
All four are now open for voting on the sidebar of the homepage, with the forwards poll also included below.
We have assessed the key candidates in each position in four separate articles, with our summary of the leading goalkeepers, defenders and midfielders now followed by this piece on the stand-out forwards.
Overall score, points per match and value in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) were all factors we considered when compiling this shortlist – the rest we’ll leave up to you.
You’re allowed up to three votes for this poll, with the top name definitely making our Team of the Season at the very least; as many as two others could also make the cut and that too will be your call after a run-off vote.
This poll here will be live until Friday at 23:59 BST.
In truth, it’s been a dismal year for forwards in FPL and it was a stretch to name as many candidates as we did below.
Where there were midfielders with legitimate shouts for inclusion who didn’t make our shortlist, a few of the forwards listed here wouldn’t have got a look-in in most other seasons.
2021/22 CANDIDATES
HARRY KANE
- Points: 192
- Points per match: 5.2
- Start cost: £12.5m
- End cost: £12.5m
The past season has been a notoriously bad one for forwards. Only two appear among the highest 30 points-scorers and, for a while, even Harry Kane was struggling. In fact, after making his first start in Gameweek 3, the next 12 outings saw him blank 11 times.
It took until Gameweek 18 for his second goal to arrive, from which point he netted on 16 occasions and set up ten other goals during 24 matches. The arrival of Antonio Conte reinvigorated Kane and made him the one forward that FPL managers could rely upon.
In the Conte era, which started in Gameweek 11, he recorded at least 45 more points than any other forward.
However, the problem was that teammate Son Heung-min was still outscoring him. Affording Son, Kane, Mohamed Salah and premium defenders was extremely difficult, so the South Korean star’s 258 points for a cheaper price took priority for many.
CRISTIANO RONALDO
- Points: 159
- Points per match: 5.3
- Start cost: £12.5m
- End cost: £12.2m
Some may be surprised to see Cristiano Ronaldo rank so highly amongst forwards. Only Kane scored more points, yet the 37-year-old has seemingly been left out of FPL discussions for a while. He arrived in Gameweek 4 with a brace against Newcastle United, the first of six double-digit hauls.
Goals came at a steady rate until missing the Gameweek 22 trip to Aston Villa. After that, Ronaldo scored once in seven matches, before alternating between non-appearances and hat-tricks.
He even averaged more points per game (5.3) than Kane (5.2) this season, with a tally of 18 goals all the more commendable when we consider the dross he was playing with.
Assuming he stays under new boss Erik ten Hag, it will be interesting to see if Ronaldo excels when surrounded with new ideas and a potentially vibrant team.
JAMIE VARDY
- Points: 133
- Points per match: 5.3
- Start cost: £10.5m
- End cost: £10.3m
Already labelled as FPL royalty, Jamie Vardy ended the season with 15 goals from just 25 appearances. The previous six campaigns brought 113 strikes but, this time, Vardy’s year was plagued by hamstring and knee injuries that saw him start just once between Gameweeks 22 and 36.
Impressively, he hadn’t lost a step upon his return. Five goals and an assist during the season’s final four matches ensured he ranked top for all forwards in terms of points per start (5.9).
Seven goals in the first eight Gameweeks of 2020/21 had got him off to a flyer.
And he was a reliable bet against the ‘also-rans’ of the division, with all 18 of his attacking returns coming against sides outside of the top five.
IVAN TONEY
- Points: 139
- Points per match: 4.2
- Start cost: £6.5m
- End cost: £6.9m
Each season usually sees one promoted forward being heavily-discussed amongst the FPL community. Whether it’s Patrick Bamford, Callum Wilson or Aleksandar Mitrovic, there is always hope that one reasonably-priced new face can enable a strong squad elsewhere.
Ivan Toney scored 31 goals in the 2020/21 Championship season, so over two million managers entered the opening weekend with him. Almost inevitably, a series of blanks and just two goals arrived during the first 11 outings.
As the season progressed, Toney adapted to the Premier League and delivered seven goals in a run of four games in the spring.
He benefitted hugely from Christian Eriksen’s arrival, which inspired a hat-trick against Norwich City followed by a brace against Burnley.
A points-per-match average of 4.2 was also not bettered among sub-£8.5m forwards.
EMMANUEL DENNIS
- Points: 134
- Points per match: 4.1
- Start cost: £5.0m
- End cost: £5.8m
Newly-promoted Watford had their own FPL star – at least for the first half of the season.
Emmanuel Dennis was signed in the summer from Club Brugge, with a £5.0m FPL price tag that matched low expectations. He quickly produced a 12-point return on the opening day and – by Gameweek 20 – was on eight goals and six assists.
Over 3.5 million managers owned Dennis at his irresistible price, until things went off the rails in Double Gameweek 23. Captained by 1.2 million, he was sent off in the first match and ended the round on negative points.
From that point, only two more goals were scored, but 17 attacking returns from such a bargain-bin starting price really was an excellent contribution.
TEEMU PUKKI
- Points: 142
- Points per match: 3.8
- Start cost: £6.0m
- End cost: £6.1m
Slightly going under the radar was Teemu Pukki, who finished as the third highest-scoring forward yet spent most of the campaign in under 500,000 teams.
When using final prices to calculate seasonal value (aka points per million), Pukki is the best-performing forward.
Reliability of starts was still a big part in why he finished so highly, with around half of his total coming from mere appearance points.
But in this annus horribilis for strikers, 11 goals and three assists (just like in 2019/20) for just £6.0m was actually pretty decent.
MICHAIL ANTONIO
- Points: 140
- Points per match: 3.9
- Start cost: £7.5m
- End cost: £7.3m
The speed in which Michail Antonio went from hero to zero was quite remarkable. His first three matches brought in four goals, four assists, 40 points and over 2.6 million purchases heading into Gameweek 4.
Subsequently sent off at Southampton, he missed the next match through suspension, scored twice in the next four games and then suddenly forgot how to.
From Gameweeks 10 to 35, just two goals arrived.
He finished the campaign with a bit of a flourish, at least, and in the end he was among only three forwards (Kane and Ronaldo the others) to deliver at least 20 attacking returns across 2021/22.
OLLIE WATKINS
- Points: 131
- Points per match: 3.7
- Start cost: £7.5m
- End cost: £7.5m
Matching the 11 goals and three assists of Pukki is Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins. His returns came at a consistent rate, whilst only once recording a double-digit score.
One of the handful of strikers whose inclusion in this poll is debatable, his drip-feed of points meant that he at least delivered returns in 13 different matches – only Kane and Antonio did better than that of the players in this poll.
RICHARLISON
- Points: 125
- Points per match: 4.2
- Start cost: £7.5m
- End cost: £7.6m
In truth, Richarlison only squeaked into this poll thanks to his exploits in the final weeks of the season. Until Gameweek 31, the Brazilian was only on four goals and three assists.
Yet, as Everton woke up and ground their way to survival, Richarlison led the escape. Between Gameweeks 31 and 37, no player had more goal attempts (37), shots on target (15), penalty area touches (72) or expected goals (6.49).
Nine attacking returns arrived during this period, three of which helped contribute to a big haul for owners in Double Gameweek 37.
Only the premium trio at the top of this piece could better his points-per-match average (4.2) among forwards in this article.
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