FPL Transfer Window New Player Analysis part 1

FPL Transfer Window New Player Analysis part 1

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[/three_fourth]It’s fair to say that Premier League clubs have been quick to spend their new slice of the vastly increased TV money. In this transfer window they managed to shell out a record £835m between them with no less than six clubs breaking their own transfer records. Manchester United lead the way with an outlay of £149m and were joined in the £100m club by Liverpool on £117m with Chelsea and Arsenal not far behind on £91m and £82m respectively. Over the next two articles we aim to provide you with a whistle stop tour of the major deals that were done in the last few days of the transfer window and hopefully give you an overview of who we feel may be of interest to you as a fantasy football manager.

Danny Welbeck – Arsenal
Position – Forward
FPL Price – £6.9m
While rivals Man Utd were busying themselves tying up a deal for arguably one of the best strikers in the world, Arsenal fans were left wondering if yet another transfer window was going to pass them by and see them have to ‘rely’ on the likes of Giroud and Sanogo to fire in the goals. With Arsene deciding that the best use of his time on deadline day was to referee a charity match in Rome it felt like their worst fears would be realised but alas they managed to cobble together no less than £16m to prise Danny Welbeck away from the lower reaches of the Old Trafford pecking order to spearhead their attack.
On the face of it this may seem somewhat underwhelming given Welbeck’s recent performances but it is worth noting that for both Man Utd and England he has been predominantly deployed in a wide role rather than his best position as the main striker. He will undoubtedly get the opportunity now to play in his preferred position and will surely add more goals to his career stats of 37 in 178 appearances. With the talent around him at the Emirates he should get chances aplenty and at just £6.9m he could be a fantastic ‘3rd’ striker should he nail a place in the Arsenal team which seems likely given that Giroud could be out for 3 or 4 months and Sanogo proving perpetually ineffective.

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Samuel Eto’o – Everton
Position – Forward
FPL Price – £6.0m
Having broken their transfer record to bring Romelu Lukaku to the club on a permanent basis it was perhaps little surprise that Roberto Martinez would be shopping at the cheap / free / loan end of the market from then on in. That usually equates to the odd journeyman footballer but it doesn’t often equate to one of the most decorated players in world football. With three Champions League winner’s medals to his name and having scored an amazing 108 goals in 145 appearances for Barcelona, Samuel Eto’o represents the epitomy of experience. How much of a role Eto’o will go on to play for Everton this season on the pitch remains to be seen but perhaps Martinez also sees his value off it being just as beneficial to the development of a relatively young squad. Eto’o came off the bench against Chelsea for a brief cameo at the weekend and showed enough to suggest there is plenty of life left in the old dog yet, looking sprightly and intellegent in his play he rounded it all off with a headed goal that oozed class in it’s simplicity. In FPL terms he’s very much a wait and see as he will surely be used from the bench, at least initially, but should anything happen to Lukaku then Eto’o could well become Everton’s main striker for a period and at £6m then he will come into consideration if that scenario presents itself.

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Niko Kranjcar – QPR
Position – Midfield
FPL Price £5.0m
Like Kevin Keegan and Shaun Wright Phillips some managers just can’t live without their favourite player by their side and so once again Harry swooped to bring his love-child back to Loftus Road on a season long loan deal from his parent club Dynamo Kyiv. Quite why Kyiv got involved in the love in is anybody’s guess as he’s ‘been there’ since June 2012 after they spent £7m on him but he’s made just 13 appearances for them in that time having spent the majority of last season at QPR making 31 appearances for them and chipping in with two goals. Predominantly an attacking midfielder, Harry will be hoping that Kranjcar can add some flair and creativity to his team and supply the bullets for the likes of Charlie Austin. As an FPL prospect he’d have to hit the ground running pretty quick to spark much interest beyond being a 5th choice filler in midfield.

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Sandro – QPR
Position – Midfield
FPL Price £4.9m
As evidenced with Niko above, if Harry likes you, he likes you for life and will hunt you down and sign you again and again and again. With Harry you fall into one of three brackets – you’re either ‘a top, top, top player’ or you are ‘a proper footballer’. Or you are Niko Kranjcar. Let’s see where Harry classes his new £10m man Sandro. “Sandro’s a proper footballer and a top-class professional”. Yep, thought so. We won’t bore you further with much rambling about Sandro suffice to say that he’s a defensive midfielder who made 81 appearances for Spurs, scoring just 3 goals in the process. He’s very good at what he does and if he can stay fit he will add a great degree of stability to the core of the QPR team but he offers little by way of fantasy returns and even at £4.9m there are plenty of better options out there.

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Daley Blind – Manchester United
Position – Midfield
FPL Price – £5.5m
While United broke all records in the window, it may well be that the £14m purchase of Daley Blind mightjust prove the shrewdest transfer of all. United have struggled in midfield in recent seasons – Carrick, Fletcher, Anderson and Cleverley have failed to come near to replacing the likes of Keane and Scholes. The arrival of Ander Herrera sparked some optimism, until he got injured. But they still needed someone who could sit in front of the defence, break up play and turn defence into attack. This is where the 24 year old Blind fits in – the Dutch midfielder is no match-winner or game changer – he is the player who will win the ball and pass it quickly to Di Maria, Rooney or Falcao et al. Ronald De Boer, his ex-assistant manager at Ajax describes Blind as “a team player, who makes others around him play better”. Blind was named Dutch Footballer of the Year last season as Ajax won their fourth successive league title and of course he represented the Dutch side at the World Cup in the summer, under LVG, who he acknowledges as a big influence in his decision to move to Old Trafford. Blind can also fill in at the back, either centrally or left, but defensive midfielder is his primary and best role. In this respect, he is of great value to United, but not really as a fantasy prospect. However, as mentioned in the first sentence – he may be the cog which gets the United wheel turning again.

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Marcos Rojo – Manchester United
Position – Defender
FPL Price – £6.0m
The Argentinian defender cost United £16mln when he joined from Sporting Lisbon in mid-August, though he still has to make his debut due to difficulties in gaining a work permit, because of pending criminal charges in Argentina, where he is alleged to have battered a neighbour with a bottle. Allegedly. Reports are that international clearance has been received so the work permit should now just be a matter of time and Rojo is expected to be available to make his debut for United vs QPR in GW4. The defender is known of course for representing Argentina at the World Cup, scoring vs Nigeria and being named in the illustrious Team of the Tournament. His main position is left back, as per Luke Shaw, but Rojo can also slot into the left side of a central back 2 or 3 – it all depends on what system LVG decides to progress with – and of course the fitness of Shaw. A tough tackling, physically imposing defender, Rojo should not have any problems acclimatising to life in the Premier League and can be a threat going forward from set pieces. United defenders have not proved as lucrative an investment this season as many had hoped and we would advise caution in buying Rojo just yet – let the new players come in and settle and if United begin to look more solid, Rojo could well be worth the money.

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Loic Remy – Chelsea
Position – Forward
FPL Price – £7.4m
Remy joined Chelsea following Fernando Torres’ decision to join Milan – the Blues fought off interest from the Gunners for the French striker’s signature, though in fairness Remy would probably offer more fantasy interest if he had gone to the Emirates, where he would of been a certain starter, certainly until his mate Giroud returns from injury in the New Year. Anyway, it’s the Bridge for Remy and a whole load of splitting, pulling and occasional cameo appearances coupled with some Capital One Cup action, no doubt. With Diego Costa impressing and clearly Jose’s no.1, Remy’s opportunities will certainly be limited, which is a shame as his record in the Premier League is good – 14 goals in 24 starts for Newcastle last season and 6 goals for QPR in 13 starts the season before. At least he passed his medical I guess, something that he failed at Liverpool. Unless Costa gets a (genuine) injury then Remy is best avoided unless Mourinho gives him more starts than anyone expects right now.

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Michael Keane – Burnley
Position – Defender
FPL Price – £4.4m
21 year-old Keane has joined Burnley on loan from Man United until January. With LVG now believing he has enough options in defence, first team experience at the top level was his desire for the centre back, who has struggled to force his way into the first team at Old Trafford and spent most of the last two seasons out on loan. Keane actually won the reserve Player of the Year at United in 2012 and has represented the England U21s 12 times, scoring 3 goals. While we’re not suggesting you should invest in Keane, it may well be that he gives intense competition to FPL favourite cheapie Michael Duff. Keep a close eye on Sean Dyche’s selection over the next couple of GWs to see if Duff can retain his place.

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Tom Cleverley – Aston Villa
Position – Midfield
FPL Price – £5.3m
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[/three_fourth]Poor old Tom. Well ok young Tom. But poor Tom, regardless. The kid was made a scapegoat for both Man Utd and England alike last season, taking the brunt of the Moyes era, he was almost a pariah and became the poster boy for all English football’s failings at one point it seemed, to the extent that there was a ridiculous online petition launched for his exclusion from the national squad. Woy played the diplomatic card and publicly slammed said antics. Then went away, thought about it and dropped him! Well we aren’t about to join the boo boys party at FF247 as we believe in Tom and wish him all the best on his new venture at Villa. There’s a player in there bursting to get out, of that we are sure and hopefully the temporary step down from the Old Trafford limelight may help him rediscover some much needed confidence. The reason for our optimism is two-fold and it’s all deep rooted in Utd culture – albeit past culture. Firstly, you don’t make it through the Utd ranks all the way to the first team with Fergie at the helm unless you have something special about you. And Tom did just that. Secondly and somewhat strangely, by joining Villa he’s passed an even more stringent test – Roy Keane. Keane may only be the no2 at Villa but let’s not kid ourselves – that conversation has happened and Keane has ratified the move himself and for someone who presumably spent many years watching Tom develop he’s seen enough to know that maybe with an arm around the shoulder, he and Lambert can coax Tom back to somewhere near his best and that when they do they have a great young talent on their hands. That said, in FPL terms, even at just £5.3m and dropping we would steer well clear of him at least for the time being – he may bring the odd assist but he’s crap at finishing! Good luck though young Tom, you don’t deserve the abuse you have endured over the past 12 months.

Thanks for reading FPL Transfer Window New Player Analysis part 1. This article was written by Cookie and Inittowinit

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