New Fantasy Premier League Transfers 2018/19 Liverpool Edition
Hello and welcome to New Fantasy Premier League Transfers 2018/19 Liverpool Edition! This is our year! Only joking I’m too much of a realist to get swept up in that stuff and I’m sure fellow Red and resident pessimist Kop would agree with me on that. Even though I do not feel as optimistic as the majority of fans, it seems that other fans from teams around the league are getting involved in and really feel Liverpool have made a great push to challenge defending Champions Man City. Liverpool have looked at some key areas of their team and improved immensely. They have spent £164 million this summer on improving weak spots which could prove money well spent if Alisson, Fabinho, Keita and Shaqiri hit the ground running. With this new level of depth in the squad Liverpool should improve on their performances last season and it should make having Liverpool assets a very smart move. Whether you choose an old player or one of these new ones it’s up to you, but I am here to give you the low down on the new boys, so without further ado…
Alisson – 5.5 mil
This was a must do transfer for Liverpool, but I’ll be honest I didn’t think it was going to happen! Klopp was giving his backing to Karius and defending him, so I feared we would be looking at Loris Karius between the sticks for another season but finally Klopp had enough of his compatriot who has had a horrid time ever since the Champions League final. Not only did he make the high-profile mistakes that night but Karius has made mistakes in nearly every friendly Liverpool have played this summer! Enough was enough and led Liverpool to splash the cash, returning to Roma where they grabbed the amazing Mo Salah, to make the Brazilian number 1 Alisson, the most expensive goalkeeper in the world. Alisson has been highly sought after this summer and in the last year or two. His stats can make you see why the young goalkeeper has demanded such a high price. Last season he played 49 games between Serie A and the Champions League where he kept 22 clean sheets; over the course of his entire career Alisson has played 120 games and kept 49 clean sheets. This is not bad reading for the fans of a team who have had problems after problems at the goalkeeping area; so with a new shot stopper coming in there is reason for optimism for plenty of clean sheets with the likes of VVD and the “best defender in the world” Lovren sitting in front of the Brazilian. Not only do they have a new goalie to protect the net they have two new mids to strengthen the defence who are…
Naby Keita – 7.5 mil
I’ll start off with a new addition that was technically bought last season, the Guinean Naby Keita. The robust central midfielder has earned a lot of admirers during the short amount of preseason he has had. Keita is very well-known for his meandering runs towards the opposition box and causing trouble. Keita scored 9 goals and grabbed 7 assists in all competitions last season which is decent returns from a central midfielder. Keita seems to have brought a bit of steel into a Liverpool midfield that really needed it as he is a young man who loves a tackle so I’d expect him to earn plenty of plaudits for his no nonsense style of play. The one downside to Keita is the act he’s a bit of a card magnet over his 5 year career he has received 31 yellow cards and 3 red cards in club football. 9 of those yellows and 2 of those reds came last season but I suspect that maybe have come from frustration at not being allowed to move directly to Liverpool and having to stay in a RB Leipzig side that struggled throughout the season. Keita is making his way into more and more drafts as an alternative to Firmino or as a 3rd Liverpool attacking cover so this could seriously pay off if he settles into English life quickly.
Fabinho – 6.0 mil
Another addition to the Liverpool midfield is the Brazilian defensive midfielder from Monaco who many feel should have been at the World Cup. Fabinho is the first proper defensive midfielder Liverpool have had for a while and have been calling out for. This should allow Henderson and Keita to get higher up the pitch with Fabinho providing the much needed cover in the deeper role. While Fabinho has been brought in to solidify that midfield he is also adding to Liverpool’s attacking threat as he has 33 goals and 23 assists so far in his career and grabbed 7 goals last term with 4 assists. Fabinho is not too shabby at penalty kicks which make up 19 of the 33 goals he has scored in his career. You would possibly think he might take over penalty duty but with the likes of Mo Salah, Bobby Firmino and Sadio Mané up top that might be a wait and see. Fabinho may turn out to be like his compatriot, Fernandinho, in the fact he can pop up with goals but at 6.0 mil there are likely to be better options out there.
Xherdan Shaqiri – 7.5 mil
Now onto yet another midfielder who is new to Liverpool but very familiar to us FPL managers, the little Swiss who is shaped in the weirdest of ways has proven he can do it on a rainy night in Stoke so a nice trip on the Mersey should be just right for him! Shaqiri has had a brilliant career playing for Basel, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich and the mighty Stoke City so he has plenty of experience and adds more power to the already stacked Liverpool front line. I don’t see Shaqiri pushing his way into the team, especially not replacing Player of the Year and Egyptian God, Mo Salah, on the right wing. Shaqiri will probably be more of a sub player and someone who has been brought in to give the likes of Salah and Mané a rest. Shaqiri will also give Liverpool that little something they always missed when Salah was injured or rested; obviously the key players Mane, Firmino and Salah link up well but right now as I write this I am picturing a backup front three of Lallana sliding a through ball into Shaqiri who slides it across for Oxlade-Chamberlain or Sturridge (when they are fit!). Shaqiri has 66 goals and 63 assists in his career so with some very good players around him Shaqiri could flourish or flounder but it is definitely a wait and see for me as I don’t feel he is completely nailed.
Thanks for reading New Fantasy Premier League Transfers 2018/19 Liverpool Edition. This article was written by MattX
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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.
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Ooooo https://twitter.com/90MAAT_/status/1022801971336695808?s=19
He’s removed his Palace logo on his Instagram as well apparently
That could leave Sloth as a 5m striker
He’s awful if they sell Zaha they will bring someone in
I wouldn’t go near their attackers if he’s not replaced by a decent bloke, really think Palace could struggle this season if they don’t make some signings…
I’m with Zed, last season Palace never won a Prem game if Zaha didn’t play. Just avoid like they have rabies or summat
Wow! This is intriguing, where is he off to? Any rumors?
Spurs is my guess but that’s all it is
Everton or Dortmund was the chat
Must be Everton then. Dortmund can’t afford him surely
The bookies talk is now Chelsea……
I hope not
Out as far as 5/1 for Spurs now. 6/4 for Chelsea. Next closest is Everton at 16’s.
Could be Chelsea really, if Willian/Haz are going out… Spurs makes no sense at all, and Everton just bought Richarlison…
So if he goes to Chelsea does he get into your squad for 7.0?
Would need some proof first that he’s nailed there, and anyway I think Arnie is the best of the 7m forwards, might even go with him with the very bad fixtures he has…
He’s denied it now says post not to do with football
Apparently he’s stated earlier that he wants to play in the Champions League…
If Zaha is not an option anymore in the 7.0m bracket then Arnie is my choice there, he impressed again yesterday with a 1+1 against Villa!
Yeah I was all set to play 3-5-2 but Arnie is looking to be the main man again at West Ham in a stronger attacking team. Despite their hard games he still should get points
4 goals in pre season now?
His fixtures are awful, and he did little in tough games last year (goals against Chelsea and Arsenal), but West Ham look a stronger outfit now with Anderson, Yarmolenko and Wilshire, and his form is looking hard to ignore.
Will join my team at some point, but i’m not sure when.
Different player when he went down the middle though. Off top of my head that was only January
In the 7 games he played upfront against top 7 teams, he got 2 goals (1H, 1A) and an assist (1A).
In the 12 games he played upfront against other teams, he got 8 goals (4H, 4A) and 5 assists (2H, 3A) which is incredible really.
Those stats suggest that Home/Away is not a factor in his returns so his opening fixtures may not actually be that bad – 5 games against top 6 teams (3H, 2A), and 5 against the rest (2H, 3A). Doing some very bad statistics, this will return 5 goals and 2 assists, at 4.5 PPG (very roughly)
Could do with the £2.5m downgrade from Firminio to be hoenst.
Yeah think that’s good enough for his price
Yeah, exactly my thoughts, I feel he can deliver often enough and that 2.5m saved really nails it for me! I think Arnie will be a great pick for his price this season, nearly essential with good fixtures!
Do you (ZL) mean Arnie as one of your main strikers, or as the cheap third striker?
I’ve moved the cheap third striker around (irresolution on whether to pay 3-4-3 or 3-5-2) but have yet to hit the giddy heights of 7m. At 6.5 and under the likes of Wood and Austin spring to mind, though neither tickle my fancy that much.
But I am likely to start with Kun and Firmino.
Surely they’ll be in a relegation fight if/when he leaves now.
Would not want to go anywhere near PvA/Tomkins/Mili without him – just adds so much to the team, and his attacking presence always seems to make life easier for his defenders.
Not sure on Zaha as a Spurs option – assume he will take Sons spot (alongside the threat of Moura and Lamela) but he only provided 2 assists last year from a wide position.
If I’m Spurs, no way I give Son’s spot to Zaha. Completely different player and not sure that would improve their attack.
Zaha is homegrown though, which is one of Spurs issues for CL. I think 2 of Grealish/Zaha/Sessegnon would we what they’re going after. Plus they need another striker. Would love to see an English backup striker come in with Jansen and Llorente leaving.
Isn’t it the same rule for CL and the prem, you need at least 8 homegrown players? The squad is unchanged, they have enough homegrown players at the moment…
Any other TDF fans here?
Barring a disaster tomorrow, Wales wins the Tour de France in Paris on Sunday. Geraint Thomas will be the first Celt since Stephen Roche in the 80s, brilliant stuff.
Great Britain wins it 😉
Skybutamol wins it 😉
Oi! We let you be happy about the WC, now you let us be happy 😉
Kane to United!!!
Oh me, oh my…
Can’t see this happening. You would be talking £200m.
Don’t see it happening either.
£200m + Lukaku 😉
Unlikely, but to be honest nothing would surprise me in the current footballing scheme of things…
I’ve heard this started ‘cos Levy wants Martial, 130m + Martial could work.
Probably just a way to get people to place a bet on it.
Kane just signed an extension with more money.
Not a chance
Contracts mean very little these days!
The ‘Pickford to Chelsea’ rumour I heard somewhere today interested me more than the (surely) wild Kane to Man U talk, (which made me chuckle more than anything else).
I think I’d simultaneously fall off my chair if either of those moves happen, for very different reasons.
I’d love a 5 million Chelsea keeper
Hello everyone,
Hope everyone is doing great. Time to work the think tank and get back to making strategies and making sure not to repeat the mistakes as last year (which I always repeat and regret later … hahaha).
Just made a small draft. Not even close to the final team yet. How is it going on with you guys?
Cheers!
PS- any idea if we can change the username?
Hi charan, welcome back. Do you mean on here or on FPL? The answer is yes to both. Just go to your profile on either and you can change it there.
Cool. Thanks init.
I wanted to change it here. May be change of name brings the luck this year…:p
Everton might be in for Wesley from Club Brugge. If they get him Tosun will become even riskier!
Who the heck is Wesley?!
Dunno, but he plays for Club Brugge and Lazio are after him too. Lazio wouldn’t be after Tosun
Outstanding point that!
I hope you aren’t taking the p*ss, Gear 😉
I did say it in a naff journo type way haha
Nah mate, made me laugh actually 😆
This time in 2 weeks the deadline for GW1 would have passed and we’ll be under way!