FPL promoted teams: £5.5m Hutchinson a potential star

We’re looking at Ipswich Town’s midfielders and forwards from a Fantasy Premier League (FPL) perspective in this latest article from our Promoted series.

A profile of manager Kieran McKenna and a round-up of Ipswich’s defenders preceded this piece.

We’ve got insight from Ivan Fisher, aka FPL Reuser on X, to provide a fan’s view.

The stats in this piece are taken from WhoScored and FotMob.

WHAT IS IPSWICH’S GOAL-SCORING POTENTIAL IN FPL?

Ipswich arrive in the Premier League having scored 92 goals last season, the highest tally in the division and three more than champions Leicester City.

They weren’t afraid to pull the trigger, either, racking up 719 shots, another league-high.

At home, they were especially prolific, averaging 2.5 goals per game. That figure dropped to 1.4 on the road, as Kieran McKenna opted for a more controlled approach away from Portman Road.

That said, back-to-back promotions were achieved by playing a dynamic, exciting brand of attacking football. Expect that to continue in the Premier League, even if they do have to temper it in slightly.

“193 league goals scored across the last two seasons and a commitment to attacking football says ‘absolutely’. During back-to-back promotions, Ipswich outscored every team across both campaigns.

“Notably, last season’s tally of 92 Championship goals included only three penalties. In contrast, 13 of champions Leicester’s 89 goals came from the penalty spot.” – FPL Reuser

Corners and free-kicks will also be important for Ipswich.

They scored 19 goals from set-pieces in 2023/24, which was second only to Cardiff City, showing they can attack opponents in various ways.

PLAYER-BY-PLAYER

2023/24: APPS, GOALS AND ASSISTS

*was on loan, has now returned to parent club
**has now left Ipswich

OMARI HUTCHINSON

Ipswich don’t have one main goalscorer. They like to spread goals out evenly in the team, so choosing a standout attacker for FPL isn’t straightforward. That said, if we had to pick one, it would be Omari Hutchinson (£5.5m).

The 20-year-old, who spent the 2023/24 season on loan from Chelsea, started slowly, scoring just once in his first 17 Championship matches. However, his form and output picked up drastically from February onwards, with eight goals and three assists arriving in 17 appearances.

No surprise, then, that Hutchinson has since joined Ipswich permanently for a club record fee, believed to be worth £20m plus £2.5m in add-ons.

Equally at home on either flank or in a no 10 role, McKenna uses Hutchinson in various attacking midfield positions, often to target specific opposition weaknesses.

“Omari Hutchinson produced 10 goals and five assists last season – many of which came during the second half of the campaign. He demonstrated incredible progression under McKenna as a young loanee from Chelsea, evolving from a lightweight, 19-year old flair option off the bench into reportedly “one of the best pressers” that McKenna has ever seen, and then completing his metamorphosis into one of the most exciting and consistent performers in the Championship.

“Able to play LAM, CAM or RAM, he ended the season as our star player, playing nearly every minute of a difficult run-in and scoring a host of spectacular and vital goals in key matches – earning the moniker “Omari Clutchinson”. When asked what McKenna would like for his birthday at the after-season awards ceremony, McKenna stated “Omari” – and a few months and about £20m later, he received his present. The overall feeling from fans is that under McKenna’s development, we have invested in a potential future superstar.” – FPL Reuser

Statistically, Hutchinson outperformed his expected goals (xG) of 5.84 last season.

There were some middling underlying stats in other areas (see below), which makes him anything but a safe bet in FPL, but he is a player on the up with undoubted quality.

Rotation might be an issue across the entire front four, however.

“… rotation across the four attacking positions is perfectly possible. And even then, starters in this position may only be guaranteed 65-70 minutes before tactical substitutions are employed – often to devastating effect.” – FPL Reuser

CONOR CHAPLIN

Conor Chaplin (£5.5m) is one of Ipswich’s key attacking threats.

The 27-year-old racked up 21 goal contributions in 2023/24, with 13 goals and eight assists.

He also averaged the third-highest shots per game in the Championship (3.1), whilst combining very well with Leif Davis (£4.5m) from his attacking midfield role.

Above: Conor Chaplin’s touch heatmap 2023/24, via SofaScore

If Chaplin plays the majority of games next season, you can see him doing well, but that isn’t a given as Ivan explains below.

“Ipswich’s top scorer in each of the last two seasons (joint-top last season with 13, plus 26 goals in League One the season before). Until recently Chaplin has been one of the first names on the teamsheet as the central number 10 and arguably Ipswich’s primary attacking threat.

“It is worth noting however, that towards the busy end of last season, Omari Hutchinson did start in this position on occasion, to very good effect, and that Chaplin’s threat did become less potent during the months that lone forward George Hirst was injured. 

“Nonetheless, Chaplin remains a fan favourite, a clinical finisher, and somewhat remarkably for a 5′ 6″ attacking midfielder, a threat on the end of Leif Davis’s precision set-piece delivery.” – FPL Reuser

OTHER OPTIONS

Nathan Broadhead (£5.0m), Wes Burns (£5.0m) and George Hirst (£5.5m) were the only other Ipswich players to reach 10 attacking returns in 2023/24.

Broadhead and Burns are assets out wide.

Broadhead was Ipswich’s joint top-goalscorer last season, level with Chaplin on 13, but there are question marks over whether he has the quality to be a Premier League starter. The 26-year-old averaged 2.0 shots/1.1 key passes per game in the 2023/24 Championship.

The same applies to Burns, who is not especially prolific with goalscoring or providing assists, with six and four respectively.

As for Hirst, he personifies McKenna’s lone striker profile. Comfortable with his back to goal, he also possesses aerial ability and a bit of pace to run in behind opposition defences. It may be others that benefit from his qualities in FPL, however.

“It is worth noting that the role of the lone forward in McKenna’s preferred set-up is not necessarily to be a prolific goalscorer or poacher. Rather, a tall, powerful, mobile forward is preferred, whose disruptive role is to press from the front, drag the defence out of shape and create space for the three attacking midfielders behind him. Goals are therefore often distributed relatively evenly between the front 4 positions.” – FPL Reuser

Hirst will compete with new signing Liam Delap (£5.5m) for the number nine role, though Delap could potentially play in a wider position too.

He’s previously made two appearances for Manchester City in the Premier League and spent last season on loan at Hull City, scoring eight goals in 26 starts. He often got into good positions in the box, but there are obviously parts of his game he still needs to develop.

“Liam Delap has arrived from Manchester City for £15m, having spent last season on loan at Hull, where he scored eight goals and provided two assists. Having missed a significant portion of last season through injury, he is a strong, powerful and mobile dribbler and shooter, who at the age of 21 has great potential for development under McKenna (indicated by City insisting on a buy-back clause). He should be well-suited to compete with George Hirst for the lone forward role, and potentially also on the right wing as competition for Wes Burns.” – FPL Reuser

Elsewhere, captain Sam Morsy (£5.0m) and Massimo Luongo (£4.5m), aged 32 and 31 respectively, sit in deeper central midfield roles but might need younger legs alongside them.

Morsy, an Egypt international, has been excellent during his three-year spell at Portman Road, but due to the nature of his role, picks up a lot of yellow cards. And with Hutchinson and Chaplin available for just £0.5m more, it’s unlikely he’ll make much of an impact.

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