New Fantasy Premier League Transfers 2018/19 Max Meyer, Alfie Mawson, Alexsandar Mitrovic and Yoshinori Muto
Welcome to New Fantasy Premier League Transfers 2018/19 – Max Meyer, Alfie Mawson, Alexsandar Mitrovic and Yoshinori Muto. This edition is very much the ‘M’ edition so is probably why they recruited me to write it. M is the 13th letter of the Alphabet and this certainly feels like my 13th article of preseason but c’est la vie! Here we have two familiar faces and two not so familiar ones. AT was a bit premature on his Fulham article as they have gone and signed two names that are experienced in the Premier League in Alfie Mawson and Aleksandar Mitrovic. The other two names you may not know too well and that is Max Meyer to Crystal Palace and Yoshinori Muto to Newcastle. Each of these signings could be useful for us fantasy managers so here is the rundown on each.
Max Meyer – 6.0mil
We start with a young German midfielder that was once considered the future of German football, but in recent years Meyer’s stature has declined a bit. This is probably why Meyer moved to Crystal Palace on a free rather than doing what other top talents in Germany do and sign for Bayern Munich. The central midfielder can play both defensive and attacking roles and tends to stay central either as a DM, CM or AM but has been known to play on the wings and up top. Even though he has played in attacking roles in the last three seasons, Meyer has only scored 6 goals in league football with 5 of those coming three seasons ago. The 15/16 season was his last prolific season, Meyer grabbed 6 goals and 10 assists in 41 appearances in all competitions. He may not score many goals, but he can be a provider. In the last three seasons Meyer has assisted 16 times, so with Zaha and Townsend bombing down the wings around him he has plenty of pace to aim at! A possible downside to Meyer could be his adaptation to English football, perhaps a wait and see approach is probably best for this player. Another thing to keep an eye on is his propensity for picking up yellow cards, grabbing 14 in the last 3 seasons, well, at least he wasn’t sent off.
Alfie Mawson – 5.0 mil
We move onto someone who we do know more about and who has been quite popular amongst FPL managers in the last few seasons, centre-back Alfie Mawson. Mawson has recently been awarded a return to the Premier League after Swansea’s relegation last season when new boys Fulham signed the youngster for about £15 million. Mawson has only been around the block for 5 years now and two of them have been in the Prem with Swansea. In that time he has made quite a name for himself winning the young player of the year at Swansea in his debut season and getting called up to the England squad back in February. I will only focus on his time in the top flight and that is only 65 games, but in that time he has got as many goals as Meyer. 6 goals, 1 assist and 4 yellow cards puts him ahead of Meyer in terms of average. We all know his quality and danger on set pieces and with wingers like Schurrle and Sessegnon and the midfielder Cairney, there should be plenty of opportunity for the big man. One hiccup to this asset is the fact he has been priced at 5.0; this makes him the most expensive way into the Fulham defence, but the flipside of this is he should be nailed and will definitely shore up the Fulham side, if that’s even possible.
Aleksandar Mitrovic – 6.5 mil
We stay at Craven Cottage for this one as Fulham managed to bring back Mitro, the man who was transformed under his national compatriot, Slaviša Jokanović. Mitro started the season at Newcastle where he had some… attitude problems and this resulted in him only appearing 6 times and grabbing 1 goal. This all changed come January when Mitrovic was sent out on loan to Fulham and in that time, he helped elevate the Cottagers, as he scored 12 goals and 1 assist in 17 games. The returns he got in such a short period of time shows exactly why Jokanović went back to the much loved, Mike Ashley (trust me everybody loves him, especially Rangers and Newcastle fans!) and made the deal permanent. If Mitrovic can continue last season’s form, then he could be that 3rd striker we have all been searching for. Coming in at the same price as Ryan Sessegnon (who is not experienced in the PL) he could be the better option as a sort of an ‘expensive’ bargain of sorts. He would be a bit pricier than the likes of Sorloth, Austin or Reid, but he will be nailed on and you wouldn’t have to worry about his minutes. Now, I have said Mitro has had some attitude problems, but that is more off-the-field because in terms of yellow cards he has only got 3, 3 and 4 in the last few seasons in England. If you are playing 3-4-3 definitely consider Mitrovic who could end up being a decent differential.
Yoshinori Muto – 6.0 mil
It’s a case of one out, one in at St. James’ Park or as the Geordies love to call it, Sports Direct Arena. It feels like a bad devolution from Mitro to Muto, as Mitro leaves with the record above and Muto…meh. Muto is 3 years older than his predecessor and has only spent 3 seasons outside Japan. These 3 seasons weren’t bad though as he scored 20 goals and had 10 assists in 66 games in the Bundesliga. These stats earned Muto a call-up to the World Cup this summer, but he was unable to score during the Japanese run. There isn’t much to warn against on Muto as he has only earned 11 yellow cards in his entire career and can score and assist, but I don’t know what it is, this transfer just fails to excite. Rafa might be able to work wonders and make this 6.0 mil player an absolute baller, but it is definitely a wait and see from me, especially with the terrible fixtures the Geordies have for the first 8 GWs. This is plenty of time for the Japanese man to settle in and hopefully go on a scoring spree when the fixtures turn in Newcastle’s favour starting GW9.
Thanks for reading New Fantasy Premier League Transfers 2018/19 Max Meyer, Alfie Mawson, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Yoshinori Muto. This article was written by MattX
HELPFUL LINKS –
PRE-SEASON FRIENDLIES
Usually we run an article and ask people to get involved and cover the friendlies with any info they can gather. And it’s usually fun but in all honesty it’s usually also a bit messy and difficult to refer back to. This season we have one link that you will need need for all such info, courtesy of Mito –
Here you will find all the pre-season info you could ever wish for in one place – line-ups, scorers, assists, match info, sarcastic comments…
SET-PIECE TAKERS LIST
This is a work in progress as we make our way through pre-season but again Mito is all over it as it’s an invaluable resource and can be found here
FPL FIXTURE TRACKER
FIXTURE TRACKER LINK
It’s been a busy summer already with Arsenal, Everton, West Ham and Chelsea appointing new managers, Manchester City adding to their already dominant squad, Man Utd continuing to splash the cash and Liverpool trying to protect Karius by beefing up their midfield. Spurs may even have a new home soon.
And FPL wise, this is the place to discuss strategy, learn about the promoted teams and their players while in the days and weeks to come we’ll have plenty of articles, interviews, player analysis, Bore Offs, Tips, etc, etc.
So be sure to get involved in the discussions, the RMTs and the banter as we look forward to another season of Fantasy fun!
The League Codes for FF247 for the 2018/19 season are as follows –
The main public FF247 League , which anyone is welcome to join, can be accessed using the following code 1581-751 (auto-link below).
The prize pool for this one will be confirmed in due course.
Join Our League – Quick Link
League Code: 1581-751
View league standings
Our Regulars League* for 2018/19 is now open and has a cash prize pool of £300 paid directly to the winners from the FF247 management team. The first 5 places are paid out in a tiered system.
To enter this one you need to be an active and recognised site member and you need to e-mail us for the league code – elleffcee@gmail.com
*terms and conditions apply and are available upon request. Management reserve the right to review membership of this league on an ongoing basis. If you enter and win a prize you have to have commented on the site at least 5 times for 8 consecutive months between August 2018 and March 2019 or you will not be considered for a prize. That’s basically 1 comment a week all season, we think that’s a reasonable ask to be considered a ‘regular’.
In your e-mail could you please supply:-
Your name.
Your site username.
Your team name from last season and your new team name if it has changed,
Thanks to our friends Follow @ff_surgery and please give them a follow.
Thanks a lot for this one, Matt, and I read every word! No bold names to skim through… 😉
I hadn’t even clocked Muto’s arrival. As you say, the likes of Mitrovic just seem really exciting in comparison, and I’m now growing an interest in Andre Gray too: at 6.0 and with those 3 opening PL fixtures — pre-season form too — he’s challenging for that 3rd striker spot himself. There’s a vast pool of choices.
@Smash, I think I just seen someone talking about a Watford player.
I aim to please. Don’t even get me started on Kiko…
James – do elaborate on Kiko please. I considered him in my first (and only, to date) draft in Cedric’s place, but I don’t have a clue on his current squad status. Is he nailed? As LB? I know their coach is defensive minded so that could be shrewd.
Started on the bench today, so not nailed I’d assume! Tomkins, Doherty, Boly, all better options than cedric at 4.5m at the moment, Cedric might not start GW1 and Soton are leaking goals…
I was joking about Kiko, sorry, DMC; the Watford backline’s very murky. Kabasele seems nailed on.
Not looking like Kiko will play. They are hoping Delafeau will be fit. It’s also a bit murky whether both Gray and Deeney will both start like they did in last friendly
I dont like any of them james (those strikers). Mawson – thought he was going to Burnley…
Nice article Matt
Mitrovic and Muto (nothing against you, Matt!) won’t get into my team either, if I’m honest with myself.
Zaha’s the clear favourite. Arnie’s fixtures are lethal. Gray would give me 1.0 to spend elsewhere.
ya but its Gray. There is always “pre-seasonsers” that flatter to deceive
Evening gents, do we like this?
Are you avoiding City on purpose? :woot:
2 x Newcastle may be pushing your luck a bit: check out their fixtures.
I don’t think Cedric has materialised yet so may be a tad risky.
If Cairney is purely in as a bench plyer why not get a 4.5 mid starter, like Stephens? Save yourself a few pence. Gunnarsson has his fans for that purpose as well.
I haven’t checked your goalies’ rotation, presumably you have and it’s ok. Otherwise just go with one of them (I’d go for Fab) and get yourself a few save points from that points’ magnet.
Cedric definitely a no-go at this point, hasn’t featured in pre-season at all and might even leave Soton, plus our defense is horrendous, wouldn’t have Saints defenders myself! Boly a lot better pick for instance!!
I’ve never had much luck with Southampton’s defence. I’ve tried enough times. There was a golden period when Clyne and Shaw were in their salad days, both cheap and a good source of points, but thinnish gruel since then.
How long have you played the game?
The proof is in the pudding…
And…
For yonks, though not at all seriously for the first few seasons.
The Southampton defence (Yoshida time) conceded late on in the final GW in 16/17 I think, costing me a <10k OR that season. I think I doubled him with someone, can't remember who.
Cedric has not featured yet due to illness and extrndended break. Targett has been playing on the right. Hughes has no idea on his current fitness
Targett won’t keep Cedric out. Targett is left footed and I doubt Hughes goes with that for anything more than what is necessary.
No he won’t. Cedric is first choice and they don’t really have a replacement. Would not rule Cedric completely out as I believe he started first game of season after Portugal won Euros before
PS, no City either, which you may regret.
I’d start Cairney over Kenedy on GW1 but it’s minor.
More crucially, Eriksen will perform well over the season as always, but surely a City midfielder’s a necessity.
I won’t go for a City mid until GW3 when I’ll swap Eriksen for KDB but I’m confused why Eriksen wasn’t part of the set up today?
MadHatter: beats me too why Erik didn’t play, but, if you look at the whole squad, ‘no one’ relevant played so I wouldn’t worry too much.
Great feedback fellows:
My reasoning:
1-City mids (or City attack): surely lots of fpl points to be held there, but from whom? If you know, do let me know.
2-Cedric/Southampton: I may look elsewhere but for 4.5 there isn’t much outside the promoted teams , is there? Haven’t hear about him being possible sold so yeah if that’s the case , then that needs to be assessed. I’d want Vestergaard from their defense mind, but he his 5.0.
3-Newcastle duo: Lascelles is there for the attacking threat. Perhaps I can find better value elsewhere at 5.0 but not sure where? I know Lovren is 5.0 but I don’t want to use my third Liverpool spot just yet.
4-Cairney is not a bench player. He has a few good fixtures in the first gws and I’ll be playing him in those, if that’s what makes sense when the time comes.
5-Eriksen/Spurs: this is my strongest doubt. That’s a City mid spot right there and Spurs will probably NOT hit the ground running, but I honestly don’t think any of City’s mids outscores Erik. Only Sterling would be able to do that, but 11.0 is out of reach. I may reassess this if and when ginger is around but until then I don’t think any City mid is worth the rotation risk. Charity Chield may change this.
6-Notably, no one argued against Aubameyang. That’s a positive, I think.
1. You done lost your mind man!
2. It’s a trap!
3. I support Newcastle.. even I would not be so bold!
4. Agree, nothing to see here
5. Erik is gold, set and forget
6. 200+ score incoming
Hi Rosco mate. Thx for your views. I’m not sure I follow you on the 1+5 bullets. Are you suggesting I should have a City mid AND Erik? How is that possible with Salah and a big striker?
My answers are to be considered as individual pointers only! How do you get a city mid and Erik!??? Now that is the very problem I currently have!! Don’t take everything so serious my friend X
Ps… it is possible….
ah come on – u cant seriously be one of these people considering Shaw, even if n a team you wont be playing?
Yep, very doable in a 3-5-2 or 4-4-2! I thought about that too but I’d pick a city mid, any city mid, but KDB is the best bet perhaps, over Eriksen though… It’s more a question of Firmino or a City mid for you though, and I just prefer a City mid there!
No just the first £5.0 that came to mind, if I was actually picking a £5.0 I’d go Sahko, just illustrating a point!
Well , you can’t really look at those issues individually, can you? Everything is possible , but some balance is needed, and that draft you made doesn’t warrant that. Anyway, this was good. Tomorrow’s game will hopefully clarify a few options.
But to be fair….
If you’re having girl problems I feel bad for you son, I got 99 problems but a b@tch ain’t one…
DMC makes a good point. The side (SZ’s) is a bit like an auto-select side. Just cover your bench with cheapos and reinvest in the main body of players.
Statistically speaking a 442 or 352 is more likely to garner more points than a 343… but that of course is based on last season’s data, but if we knew how this season would pan out we wouldn’t have all these RMTs! All part of the fun, and as I’ve said numerous times it’s all very subjective. We all have an opinion but nobody knows who is right or wrong, so let’s not get all defensive when anyone posts something that does not directly corolate with your own thinking!
It’s all 100% subjective, of course! There will be outcomes that nobody saw coming, or perhaps only a few, there will be outcomes that were unlikely, not in anyone’s thoughts here for example… The community has a tendency of making people’s teams similar, which is not a good thing… And it’s just good when majority disagrees with you, isn’t it? If everyone thought like you then you’d probably lose yourself in the crowd and not come out on top in any leagues!
I played 3-5-2 for a while last season and I regret that deeply. The cheap third striker normally used to deploy a 3-5-2 ends up gettting injured (anichebe), suspended (Hemed) or mainly being crap (Quaner), so I either prepare a 3-5-2 with a proper third striker (giving me selection headaches every week) or I play 3-4-3. I actualy think this is one of the best years ever to play 3-4-3 with so many cheap third strikers available. And I do prefer that to a stacked midfield with Salah, Erik and a City mid.
Anichebe being an example from the previous season.
I don’t see the difference with 3-5-2 and 3-4-3 at all… It’s either a cheap 3rd forward in a 3-5-2 or a cheap 5th mid in a 3-4-3. Always on your bench anyway… All the 4.5m players in the game are likely to do f all except defenders! The only difference to me between 3-5-2 and 3-4-3 is, for instance this season, whether a 7.0m striker is better than a 7.0m midfielder…. Zaha or Mikhitaryan, for instance… I have no clue at the moment, but that’s the only difference to me between the two formations!
Back that up please Rosco. Not being funny here btw, I want to see the evidence. :seriousface:
I agree to a degree. I think there are options that suggest a 343 could be fortuitous, but more along the lines of £9.5, £7.0, £6.5 or £7.0, £7,0, £6.5 which then in turn allows you to invest funds in both midfield and defense, both of which offer better value.., but again.., this is just my opinion. A lot comes down to who you will captain and appropriation of funds. If for example you intend to captain Salah most weeks then having two £11.0 strikers seems foolish given that you’ve spent more than a third of your budget on 3 players leaving you with just £5.4m average on your other 12 players. Once again though, that’s just my opinion and I’m certainly not saying that’s better than your opinion!
Last season you could have played the entire season with Vardy and Firmino as your 2 main strikers and won the whole of FPL (if you picked the right remaining 13 players) without making a single transfer. But would anyone have played an entire season without Kane/Kun/Kaku etc?
So what I’m saying is there’s nothing in the formations themselves, its merely up to individual players whether a 3-5-2 is better or worse than 3-4-3… The difference is basically 1 midfielder versus 1 striker… The formations themselves are irrelevant!!
“If for example you intend to captain Salah most weeks then having two £11.0 strikers seems foolish given that you’ve spent more than a third of your budget on 3 players leaving you with just £5.4m average on your other 12 players”
I agree, but what does this have to do with formations? You can play 3-4-3 with an expensive front line or with a very cheap front line… The allocation of funds is one thing, formation is another…
Ok in answer to the gaffer; my proclamation is based largely on Vorp which you can read about here:
https://fplacademica.wordpress.com/2018/07/25/vorp-value-over-replacement-player/amp/?__twitter_impression=true
But also when looking at the team in the image ( can’t remember where I screen grabbed that from so apologies for not acknowledging the creator). As you can see this team would have actually won FPL without a single transfer, played mainly as a 442. The actual players ( specifically the forwards) are noteworthy as this plays into the value equation, in that; yes Kane scored more points that Firmino, but a Firmino offered significantly better value over the season which in turn allowed you to invest in high scoring players in both defence and midfield which by proxy made a 442 more beneficial that the 433
I don’t know who is answering who anymore but here goes:
@zed: I agree, but the 4.5 fifth mid often gets you better possibilities than the 4.5 third striker. To start, said 4.5 mid actualy plays and starts a game whereas the striker is often deadwood. That said , I don’t own any 4.5 mid atm. I plan to rotate/play who ever looks better between Kennedy/Cairney. So, yeah, there is a difference between the 3-5-2 (where your stuck with the third forward) and the 3-4-3 (where your fifth mid is more likely to contribute with something along the line). Not a huge difference there but one that could prevent some unnecessary transfers/hits when others start to fail and said third stiker is not playing anymore.
I agree with you all. You’re all stars :big-lol:
Zed I think I’ve ended up taking about two different subjects within one post! I’m not suggesting that having a big priced front line is relevant to formation. If anything I’m saying that there is potential ( in theory) to play a successful 343 ‘if’ you chose the right players. Again this is just my opinion so I’m not saying I’m right, but if you go 343 then from a value perspective you would be better choosing lower value forwards and investing adequately in your midfield and defence, both of which offered better value last season.
Thoughts gents-easy to switch formations, thx
Zorro – with that defense, you will have selection headaches everyweek. Maguire can easily outscore anyone from Sessegnon, Jimenez, Jorginho. I know he’s on the bench for gw1 given his fixture but the same could apply to Manson, especially at home. So, it gives you flexibility (can’t argue with that) but perhaps too much!
Thx, too much flexibility, that’s a first, cheers
Any reason why you’re City-lite, Zorro? Not having any of their players could be construed as a tad reckless.
That midfield could cause you some bovver. It’s a bit thin. Jorginho may be more your defensive mid, though let’s have a look today.
Fulham’s fixtures don’t make happy reading if you’re planning on one of their defenders.
That 4-4-2 is very interesting Rosco! Thanks for sharing by the way!
DMC!!
What in the hell?!
how did this thread turn into all that?
Eheh I don’t know. I just posted a team with Lascelles, Cedric, Kennedy and no City mid. And then backed that with presumably fair reasoning. The web then went crazy!
What are your thoughts pls?
1. PEA vs Aguero
2- Zaha vs Tosun
PEA over the season but (C)Kun GW2 could be tasty
Can’t say I’m buzzing about either but gun to my head (please) Zaha
Auba and Zaha
1-If you have a City mid, then PEA. If not, it’s a coin toss really. I’m on PEA, and don’t own a City mid atm.
2-Arnie? If not, then, again, if you have an Everton mid (Richie), go for Zaha. If not, well, go for Zaha anyway.
Thanks guys.
Anyway… this has been fun. You’re all mint, love you all, my opinions are just that, let’s all just hug it out!
There’s your ten gw1 outfield players right there.
We’ll all need a hug after GW1 when Benteke scores an unexpected hatrick and Jesus starts up front for city bagging a brace in the process….
Your wife really has broken you…
Man, sorry wrong word. Let me start over.
Damn, had to be more than just her. This is the work of a legion of women.
Several angry legions of ‘normal’ women ≈ one Geordie woman.
Oh, is that who Cersei Lannister’s character is based on?
Thanks for all the info guys! Really appreciated, team is coming together…
Firmino + Kamara or
Arnie + Zaha?
(Aguero 3rd fwd, have Salah + Robertson too)
Without looking at the rest of your team and based on 2 vs 2 , I rather have Zaha and Arnie.
Mawson had surgery and cannot play till September. Confirmed by Fulham coach . Slaviša Jokanović says Alfie Mawson, who underwent knee surgery in May, will not be ready for the start of the season: “He must wait another three weeks, and then he’ll start working with us. I don’t think he’ll be available to help us until September.”