FPL New Faces 2025/26

FPL New Faces 2025/26

This season’s transfer window has been long and crazy, or at least at it feels that way to us! Given we have the attention span of a small fish, we thought it helpful to try and summarise a few of these new additions, if nothing else, so we can look at this again come Friday when we’ve forgotten all about it!

Mind you, we won’t spend too much time on Wirtz or the likes of his famous peers, as they have seen plenty coverage already, but hopefully this will provide you with a few nifty notes for the new faces to the Premier League.

So let’s get to it, we’ll go about it from the back to the front and cover some of the arrivals in the league.

Goalkeepers

Lucas Perri (4.5, Leeds)

The 27-year-old Brazilian has joined Leeds from Lyon, and has received the numero uno shirt. He is expected to be the starting keeper ahead of Meslier – you may remember him from past seasons – and Darlow. Perri managed 10 CS – 33 games, ~30% CS – and faced 160 shots on target with a 74% save percentage, which was in the top 75% performance bracket for Ligue 1. As such, he is probably an okay shot-stopper and playing for Leeds… well, he might need to be.

Defenders

Adrien Truffert (4.5, Bournemouth)

The 23-year-old Frenchman signed from Rennes, where he’s spent his entire senior career. He is Bournemouth’s replacement for Kerkez and can play as left-back, left wingback/mid/winger, well anything up the left side of the pitch. Last season he had 2G/2A and 11 clean sheets across 33 games in the league. The seasons before he had 1G/2A and 6A, respectively.

His playing style with Rennes saw him contribute with a lot of shot-creating actions, progressive carries and passes as well as an okay defensive record. As such, it seems a continuity of their play from last year and after his first game vs. Liverpool the fixtures look alright – could be a good value pick.

Malick Diouf (4.5, West Ham)

The 20-year-old Senegalese joined from Slava Prague where he’s played more advanced roles of wing back and midfielder on the left side registering 7G/2A across 27 games in the Czech Liga last year. He’s been getting a lot of pre-season minutes at left back and has plenty fans, well FPL fans in particular, very pleased with his ability to go forward and put in crosses and passes. West Ham said it best themselves; “Diouf combines several outstanding qualities required from a lateral defender but none stand out more so than his ability to contribute in the final third, not just as a generator of chances but also as a finisher… [and] …His delivery off his left foot is evocative of the best days of Aaron Cresswell as he is able to hit a moving ball travelling at speed like a free-kick. The power he is able to generate, alongside a healthy dose of devilish whip, enables him to avoid the first man with consistency whilst landing balls right in between the opposition centre-backs.”

Oh, and did we mention his opening fixture? Have a look. (Just don’t look too much at the ones after that…)

Maxim De Cuyper (4.5, Brighton)

The 24 year old is an exciting new addition to Brighton’s squad and a potential hidden gem for FPL managers. The Belgian left-back arrives from Club Brugge, where he built a reputation as one of the league’s most creative defenders. Last season, he produced 3 goals and 6 assists in the Belgian Pro League, having also led all defenders in chance creation with 90 key passes. He was also third among all defenders for goal involvements across the top 10 European leagues. Comfortable on set pieces and penalties, De Cuyper offers multiple attacking routes to points, making him more than just a defensive asset.

Brighton’s possession-based style under Fabian Hürzeler should suit his forward-thinking approach, though adapting to the Premier League’s defensive demands will be a key challenge. If he secures a starting role—especially in a wing-back system—he could deliver strong returns at a potentially budget-friendly price. His ability to create, score, and contribute from dead-ball situations gives him the profile of an FPL differential worth monitoring closely during pre-season. For managers seeking an attacking defender with breakout potential, De Cuyper may be one to jump on early.

Midfielders

Evann Guessand (6.5, Villa)

The Villains’ new man from France, and what a lad! Evann comes to Birmingham on the back of a breakout season in French Ligue 1 from OCG Nice – mind you, he did well in 23/24 too. He’s played mostly on the right-wing cutting inside to attack and as a striker but can play the CAM and LW position too. In fact, he’s played the role of secondary striker or strike partner through the CAM positions quite a few times last season and we would not be surprised to see him play in a similar role for Villa.

He is still new to the team and will need to settle in with the team and league, but in time we would expect to see him become a regular. Stats-wise he managed 12G/8A from 33 games and non-pen xGI/90 of ~0.50 in Ligue 1 which makes him one to watch, at least we think so.

Martin Zubimendi (5.5, Arsenal)

Granted this one doesn’t feel new as it was confirmed early on. Martin joins from La Liga where he has had a nice career with Real Sociedad. Defensive and central midfielder and has an impressive playmaking ability on top of his impressive defensive skills and work rate.

We expect him to start a lot of games and at his price can become a good value pick with the combination of the new defensive contributions and the odd assist (most recently to Gyökeres’ goal). The Gunners said it well themselves; “Once the ball needs recovering, he loves getting involved in duels, competing in 282 of them across his 36 league appearances last term, and boasting a 58% success rate, with that rising to 62% in the air despite being 5’11 – the fourth highest in the division. Only one player in La Liga managed to win back possession in the middle third during 2024/25 [more] than our new man, who also averaged 1.3 interceptions and 2.2 tackles a game per 90 minutes in Spain’s top-flight last term, adding to his ability to start moves off and initiate counter-attacks.”

Anton Stach (5.0, Leeds)

A new midfield general has come to Leeds this season and he is a giant one. The 6’4 German could be a decent budget enabler. He loves a long shot and even scored versus AC Milan in the last preseason friendly. He has also been taking the corners and a few set pieces for his new side so there is plenty of opportunities for him to grab an assist.

Not only does he have an eye for goal but he should be a DEFCON monster in the league this year so he has joined FPL at the perfect time. His stats in the Bundesliga for the last two seasons see him finish in the top four for Interceptions (1st), Tackles (4th), Possession Won (3rd) and Duels Won (4th). This should mean the midfielder should have plenty opportunities to get DEFCON points as Leeds will likely be doing a lot of defending in their return to the top flight.

Simon Adingra (5.5, Sunderland)

We are kind of cheating a bit here as Adingra is not really a new face to the Premier League but having been largely a bit part player for Brighton he has left the South Coast for Sunderland. We are all kind of wondering who would want to do that but for the 23 year old this could be just the move he needs to kickstart his Premier League career. He should be a mainstay on the left for the Black Cats and could become a talisman for them in their bid to avoid the drop.

He has 12 goal contributions across 37 Brighton appearances in the league which is 1 every 3 appearances. If he can build on this with consistent minutes and being the main guy then he could be a brilliant option. At his price point, this is reasonable punt for the opening fixtures where he has West Ham at home, Burnley and then a Frankless Brentford. He could be a shrewd pick for your team if you are looking for cheap enabler while we eye test everyone.

Jhon Arias (5.5, Wolves)

The Columbian national player joined Wolves from Fluminense, where he’s spent the past few years. His league output was 1G/4A from 12 games and 7G/3A & 7G/A the prior two seasons. During his time in the Brazilian league he’s averaged about 12 goal contributions per season and 0.32xGI per90 mins.
He’s been signed to play in the attacking midfield, replacing Cunha, and is expected by many to share corners and free-kicks with Bellegarde. At Fluminense, Arias also took penalties but it remains unclear if he will be taking that duty with him at Wolves.

From what we have picked up he’s well-regarded playmaking wise, likes to take dribbles and touches in final third but is otherwise not as attacking as Cunha and we certainly won’t be expecting him to match his output. Still though, a 5.5m starter in the attacking midfield is interesting and one to watch.

Tiijani Reijnde(e)rs (5.5, Man. City)

You can probably tell from the subtitle of this section that some of us FF247 writers have given the new Man City midfielder a few nicknames. It started as Reindeer but the one we mainly settled on was Rudolf because why not!

The Dutchman has come to the league with a great attacking reputation having scored 19 and assisted 9 in 104 games for AC Milan. The new boy offers a bit of everything and is a box-to-box midfielder that can play at no.10, no. 8 and no.6. This will hopefully make him immune to the infamous Pep Roulette but only time will tell there.

His minutes have been given a boost though with the news that Rodri will be out until September and Kovacic is also out for the foreseeable. Rudolf should have plenty routes to points be it by attacking contributions or defensive contributions so if you feel he is a nailed starter than he is a bargain price.

Dan Ndoye (6.0, Nottingham Forest)

The 24 year old Swiss international has made the switch from Bologne to Forest this summer and this is one that we are very intrigued by. He has come in to replace Elanga who made the move to Newcastle and much like Reijnders, Ndoye offers a lot of versatility for Forest. He is naturally a right winger but has played in multiple positions RW, LW and CF to name a few. He could be a potential OOP if Forest choose to use him up top with Wood over the other new face in the squad Igor Jesus (6.0 fwd).

He had his best attacking season last year with 8 goals and 4 assists where Bologna scored 57 goals so Ndoye had a goal contribution every 4.75 goals. Forest have struggled in front of goals this preseason only putting one past an opponent goalkeeper so Ndoye is definitely a player we would file under “One to Watch” but fortune favours the bold as they say and Forest have some lovely fixtures to start so could, a punt from the off be on the cards?

Estavao (6.5, Chelsea)

The boy wonder from Brazil is here and at just 18 he already has quite the reputation. He has certainly gone under the radar in FPL terms and does not appear to be on anyone’s radar but ex-pros Rivaldo and Neymar talk him up as does anyone on Chelsea X (Twitter). Chelsea signed him for 34 million when he was just 16 which could rapidly rise. He’s the reason Chelsea let Madueke go and is personally a right winger but can play anywhere across the front. He’s very skilful and certainly has end product to his game.

At 6.5 we’re fairly confident at some point this season everyone will be clamouring to get him. In the 2024 Série A, Estêvão recorded 13 goals – 3rd best in the league – and contributed 9 assists which puts him top for goal contributions in Brazil last season. Estevao is also a full Brazilian international with 5 caps. We do think he will be eased in minutes wise to start but he’s already scored, assisted and was man of the match across the two friendly appearances he had.

Jamie Gittens (6.5, Chelsea)

Jamie Gittens is the new signing from Dortmund for 48.5 million and has come in as the Sancho replacement. He has 49 appearances and 12 goals . He’s a right footed left winger that has loads of pace. He led the Bundesliga in dribbles attempted per game with 8.1 dribbles, and completed 3.9 dribbles per 90 minutes—the highest in the league .Dribbling is certainly his main strength while end product is lacking might not make him the best fantasy asset. Gittens might start the season instead of Estevao and has come in at the same price. I’m more excited about the Brazilian longer term.

Forwards

Thierno Barry (6.0, Everton)

Barry joined the Toffees in July from Villareal, where he managed 11G/4A across 35 games last season. Prior to that he spent two seasons with Basel in the Swiss Super League. The 6’5 unit of a Frenchman is expected to be the starting striker, though some Everton fans are debating whether Beto gets to start the season. Barry started the friendly vs. Roma, played ~60mins and has been gradually getting more minutes over the past four games – we think he has a good chance to start.

He sports a strong aerial duel win rate but also has pace, makes carries and runs in behind the defense. Mind you, fans have had less than nice things to say about his first touch though and he still likely has some development ahead of him, but surely his teammates will be looking for their target man come set pieces and counters. Barry has taken penalties in his career and may be a candidate for penalties but Ndiaye took penalties last season and most expect him to keep penalties.

Thanks for reading New Faces 2025/26

This article was written by Matt, OddDane and Smash!

Follow @FantasyFooty247