Our Fantasy EPL 21/22 Draft Kit promises to be the most comprehensive set of pre-season Draft Premier League articles ever produced! A key component of our Draft Kit will be the Team Preview articles which analyze key assets to sit alongside our all-important Draft Rankings. This article delves into the Best Fantrax Fantasy EPL Players from Chelsea!
Check out our 21/22 Draft Kit for all the pre-season information you would ever need. Draft Rankings, Team Previews, Strategy, Draft 101. We've got it all!!!
Chelsea Best Fantasy Players
As noted above, these are the Best Chelsea Players for the Fantrax Fantasy EPL platform. We analyze the Blues' top four prospects ahead of the new season, with an estimated draft pick for each player.
Mason Mount
Position: Midfielder
20/21 Points: 448 (6th Overall)
20/21 Points Per Start: 12.44
Recommended Draft Pick: 6-10 (12 Team League: Round 1. Absolute steal beyond pick 10)
Overview: Possibly Chelsea's only bonafide first round pick, Mount is the star Blues have been waiting for since Lampard.
Becoming a regular for Frank Lampard in the 2019-2020 season, Mason Mount is a Cobham Academy graduate that by all metrics and accounts elevated his game to an elite caliber in the 2020-2021 season for both Lampard and then Tuchel. In Fantrax, he increased his season output from 334 points and 9 points per game in 32 starts to 448 points in the same amount of starts.
What is more impressive is how Mount has increased his output. In 2019, Mount had 7 goals and 6 fantasy assists and in the following season mirrored that output with 6 goals and 7 assists - no difference really. Yet in the 2020-2021 season, Mount increased his total key passes by 35, his tackles won by 18, and his interceptions by 15. He also improved as a dribbler with 43 successful take-ons and 41 dispossessions compared to this previous year where he had 40 and 53(!) respectively. This increase in Fantrax ghost points is a clear marker of a player that affects the game every time he steps on the pitch.
His role in the team under Lampard varied from an attacking #6 to an attacking #10. Under Tuchel for the second half of the season, he played in several forward positions as inner channel winger and false #9. In both manager campaigns, Mount was frequently given the responsibility of set pieces and even took a penalty kick for Tuchel's team. At the time of writing this piece, Mount has generated 3.46 shot-creating actions per 90 in four starts for England in Euro 2020, only bested by his compatriot Jack Grealish with 4.09.
Here are the concrete reasons why Mount will maintain his position as a Top 10 Overall asset for the new year:
Health - He's had two consecutive seasons of 2800+ EPL minutes played in a period where soft tissue injuries are more prevalent than ever. At 22 years of age, he appears to have super-athletic regenerative ability and is rarely a candidate for prolonged rest and rotation in this current squad.
Role - Nothing indicates that Mount will have less creative responsibility. The unknown hierarchy of penalty duty does put him down a peg from other elite players in his tier, but he will compensate with immense volume of corners, dead balls, and open play key passes.
xG and xA - One of the primary pitfalls for Chelsea in the last two season (who am I kidding, last decade) has a been a lack of clinical finishing and an ability to rout out poor lower table teams. I anticipate the Chelsea High Powers (and Tuchel) are aware of this team trait and will aggressively target reinforcements at central striker. This can only bode well for Mount who should see double digit assists if such talent arrives.
Kai Havertz
Position: Midfielder
20/21 Points: 183 (137th)
20/21 Points Per Start: 9.2
Recommended Draft Pick: 25-45 (12 Team League: 2nd Round Reach, 3rd/4th Round Value)
Overview: Can he carry over his excellent performance at the end of the season and the EUROs to fulfill his potential? Yessir!
This is why you click on our articles (and hopefully subscribe!). If you look at overall player points for the previous season, you have to click to the 4th page of players to find Kai Havertz alongside names like Leander Dendoncker, Anthony Martial, and Said Benrahma. More to the point, casual draft room managers sorting by last season's points will hardly notice him until the 7th round or later. Yet anyone tuned into the world of football knows though that Kai Havertz - not Timo Werner - was the premium club-shifting signing Chelsea made last summer, and his ADP should reflect this. And to really hammer home the point, mock drafts being run through the Inner Circle already are seeing him taking in the 2nd round with an ADP of 15. Why?
I ask you the reader to forget roughly 6 months of Premier League games when it comes to Kai Havertz. Kai, in truth, was plagued by an unflattering system, COVID setbacks, and the cliche (yet oft true) adjustment period that comes with entering the English Premier League. My recommended ADP is based on: EPL appearances from March to May of 2021, his performance in the Champions League final against Manchester City, and his output through the EURO 2020 tournament. From March to May, Kai had 6 EPL starts where he amassed 94 points (51% of his total) with a 15.7 points per start average. He continued this form into the summer EURO 2020 tournament by generating 3.3 npxG+xA (npxG meaning non-penalty expected goals) which was good for 3rd overall (!!!) in the tournament. Had Germany made it deeper into the tournament, many had him odds-on to win EURO 2020 young player of the tournament.
Stylistic, Kai Havertz is in ways antithesis to his teammate Mason Mount. Where Mason is energetic, pacey, and vibrantly aggressive, Kai often appears wistful, lethargic, and even uncaring - somewhat Ozil-esque. Do not be fooled though. Kai Havertz is more Dimitar Berbatov than Mesut Ozil, and I do not say that lightly. His ability to make cool, composed finishes in and around the 6-yard box is a characteristic that will carry him for many years. From a Fantrax perspective, I aspect his output to be somewhat volatile in the same way prime Dele Alli's output was. He is the quintessential risk/reward Chelsea selection. I think many will be kicking themselves for undervaluing him.
Ben Chilwell
Position: Defender
20/21 Points: 294.25 (50th Overall, 12th among Defenders)
20/21 Points Per Start: 10.9
Recommended Draft Pick: 50-70 ( 12 Team League: Round 4/5 Reach, Round 6+ Value)
Overview: The highest-ranked Chelsea defender is due for a lights-out year. And you can get him at a knock-down price.
Chelsea have a slew of defenders in their roster, but none of them has the attacking upside that Ben Chilwell has. He was 3rd for total FPts amongst all Chelsea players last season. Operating as left back for Frank and than left wingback for Tuchel, he was often charged with finishing attacking plays on the far left post after extensive build up down the right side where Mount, Azpi, James, and Hudson-Odoi operated. His distribution of performances mirrored Chelsea - with a strong October/November streak followed by a woeful December/January and then a recovered string of good play through Tuchel's reign.
As a Chelsea diehard, there are some narratives you need to consider that place him comfortably as the best Chelsea defender asset and one of the top Chelsea assets period. First, he won the left wingback position from Marcos Alonso over time. Alonso appeared to be favored in the games immediately following the managerial change, but as the season played on it became evident that Chilwell was superior and preferred by the coach. Moreover, Alonso appears to be on the transfer block with several Italian clubs keen to acquire his unique skillset. Additionally, it's not clearly known how Tuchel will set up the Chelsea team with a full offseason of preparation, which only improves Chilwell's stability since he operated as a left fullback for Leicester and Lampard's Chelsea.
As is the case with all Fantrax-value discussions (at least for this year's default format), key passes reign. In the 9 starts Chilwell made under Tuchel, he amassed 13 key passes. He also is capable of some adept finishing, highlighted in an amazing Champions League Quarterfinals goal shown below. What we see here is a clear direction from Tuchel to drive and overlap with the Chelsea forwards as the outside left wing threat. Expect this continue in the new season.
Video may be geo-locked in some countries.
Chelsea's New Signing Central Striker
Position: Forward
20/21 Points: N/A
20/21 Points Per Start: N/A
Recommended Draft Pick: TBD (Case 1: Pick 10-20, Case 2: Pick 30-40)
Overview: As I rolled up my sleeves for this article, I wasn't sure if this type of hypothetical recommendation would be kosher with the rest of our Draft Society Writers. Ryan has set the precedent with his Arsenal Best Article, and I'll be damned if I let an Arsenal supporter out-write me.
As with every offseason, Chelsea are saturated in wildly speculative transfer rumors. The beauty about rumors though is that there is usually some grain of truth to be found at their core. Whether the article you're reading mentions Haaland, Lukaku, Kane, or even Ivan Toney(?!), the truth grain is that Tuchel and company are scouring the market for a true world-class, cornerstone striker to lead the line in what will be a tightly contested Premier League title fight. Timo Werner is neither winger, nor classic central striker. Kai Havertz is young and evolving. Giroud has moved on. Tammy is divisive at best. Last season, Chelsea's top goal scorer at 7 goals was Jorginho due to his penalty-taking prowess, and that simply will not cut mustard this time around.
As such, the Chelsea talent acquisition net has been cast far and wide. Who Chelsea ultimately sign greatly impacts where I would recommend drafting said player. The need is all the same though, so that future signing will be tasked with a heavy volume of minutes with a clear expectation of carrying the team for goals scored. Chelsea ranked third behind Liverpool and Manchester City for npxG+xA. The team has a core of creative players that are desperate for a clinical player to find in the 18 yard box. Luckily for you the manager and drafter, choosing the Chelsea striker will be easily correlated to their transfer fee and previous league performance. Lukaku, Kane, Haaland are first round talents. Anyone else requires some nuance but will likely be value in Round 3 and beyond given the state of Chelsea's current attacking roster.
Check out The Draft Society's 21/22 Draft Kit for all the draft prep you would ever need! Draft Rankings, Team Previews, Strategy, Draft 101, and so much more!!
For all the latest from Murph, follow @Chelseablues24x on Twitter!
And for more in-depth and exclusive resources, become a member of The Inner Circle.
