Burnley, one of last year’s surprise packages in the Premier League? Many had Burnley pencilled in for relegation and I’m not at all surprised if that’s how they’re seen again this season, especially after the departure of Michael Keane to Everton and the, so far, uninspiring signings this summer.

Last season, Burnley gave us some surprising big hitters, so when it comes to your draft teams, you’d be foolish to discard them this season. I’ll start as I always do, with the goalkeepers, but this time around it’s going to be all round praise for one…

Goalkeepers

Tom Heaton! I left it really late to draft a goalkeeper last season and looking back at our draft (we’re a 10 man league I should point out), it was the 11th round and all my shortlisted players had long gone, so I took a punt and brought in Tom Heaton, purely on the basis that he’ll play and what a punt that turned out to be. 127 points and one of the leading point scorers for the majority of the season. He changed my viewpoint on keepers and now I think that a mid-table to lower table keeper isn’t the worst thing in the world. They’ll still claim clean sheets but they will also face more shots on goal and rack up more bonus points for saves.

Courtois at Chelsea finished as the highest scoring keeper last season but Heaton at Burnley only finished 12 points behind him despite there being 14 places between the two teams by the end of the season. Only injury will prevent Tom Heaton being the first-choice keeper again for Burnley but when it comes to drafting, I see him as the 5th or 6th picked keeper and surely gone by the 8th round.

Defenders

It’s going to be an interesting one for the Burnley defence this season. Star player Michael Keane has gone to Everton, so that leaves Ben Mee as the ever present in the centre of defence. Mee had a solid season last year, grabbing a goal and a couple assists, only injury against Man Utd in Week 34 stopped him from playing every league game. Burnley have also wrapped up a deal for Leeds Utd left back Charlie Taylor who could slot straight into the first team ahead of Stephen Ward. Matthew Lowton will still be first choice right back for Burnley, he enjoyed a couple of good spells last season but was never a reliable points taker.

I wouldn’t bother really going in for Burnley defenders when you’re drafting, Mee & Lowton could be worthy 14th or 15th round pick ups but outside that, you’re not looking to be onto many winners this season.

See More: Check out the Arsenal FPL Draft Overview

Midfielders

This is a tough one, Burnley’s midfield is far from great. Last season they didn’t have any stand out players. Football Manager taught me years ago the Steven Defour was going to be an all-time great so I was a bit excited when he signed for Burnley (Football Manager did also teach me that Henri Saivet would be greater than Thierry Henry) but injuries took a hold and while he did grab a goal and a few assists, he never lit the league on fire. Robbie Brady however, was a good January signing for Burnley. Brady started quite strongly as well with a goal and 2 assists in his first 3 games, however, Brady did only add one more assist for the rest of the season after this.

My hope is that Burnley use some of the Michael Keane money to add some more quality to midfield, because right now, I wouldn’t be able to recommend anyone really to pick up. Robbie Brady would probably be your best bet but again, only if you’re looking for latter round picks.

Forwards

This is where it gets interesting for Burnley. Sam Vokes (10 goals, 4 assists), Andre Gray (9 goals, 3 assists) & Ashley Barnes (6 goals, 3 assists) all ended up being really good 2nd/3rd choice pick-ups last season. I play in a 10-man league so finding bargain strikers became a bit of a crap shoot, Burnley however, managed to provide us with 3 of them.

Our eventual league winner last season, drafted last but ended up with Lukaku, Ibrahimovich and Benteke. None of us are quite sure how we let that happen but it did teach us to go in on strikers as soon as possible. Vokes & Gray may well be gone by the 6th round this season while Barnes could be a good pick up if you’re running short on quality.

See More: Check out the Bournemouth FPL Draft Overview

Wildcard

Jon Walters is my pick for a gamble from this Burnley team, even if you just bring him in for Burnley’s games against Liverpool, he’s pretty much guaranteed a goal against them. Burnley parted ways with £3 million for Walters and he did notch up 4 goals and 3 assists for Stoke City last year despite not being a regular starter.

Conclusion

Burnley could very well be struggling again this season and their defence and midfield really don’t offer much when compared to other teams in the league. If you get the chance to grab Tom Heaton then go for it, same can be said for Vokes and Gray up front. None of the players will be seen as first picks in the draft but they could all be vital points scorers.