New Fantasy Premier League Transfers 2019/20 – Fornals, Haller and Jay Rodriguez
Why did I pick these three then? I ask myself as I write an intro I wasn’t expecting to have to write. Well in complete fairness, I don’t know, I looked at the list and picked these three so I’d given myself a task to research and I got on with it. The result is that I now have all three in my latest draft – I can convince myself if no one else.
FPL needs to begin soon as I’m on draft 6,489,432.
Join me as I write about a returning homeboy and two new boys down Stratford way.
Jay Rodriguez
Burnley
FPL price: 6.0mln
Age: 29
FPL Position: Striker
Previous FPL statistics:
2017/18: 7 Goals, 1 assist (109 points)
2016/17: 5 Goals, 2 assists (73 points)
2013/14: 15 Goals, 3 assists (152 points)
Bought from/Transfer Fee: West Bromwich Albion/ (reaching) £10.0mln
First Five Fixtures: Southampton (Home), Arsenal (Away), Wolverhampton Wanderers (Away), Liverpool (Home), Brighton & Hove Albion (Away)
Jay Rodriguez has returned home – figuratively (he played with Burnley FC from 2007-12) and literally, despite sounding Asturian, Galician or Valencian, he was actually born and bred in Burnley itself – and he may be winging his way in to your consideration. Let’s see.
Burnley begin the season with four strikers who are all much of a muchness in fair – Rodriguez (£6.0), Chris Wood (£6.5), Ashley Barnes (£6.5) and Matej Vydra (£5.5). Well in fairness, Vydra is probably the runt of this particular litter (only one goal and assist last season) therefore, leaving ‘new’ boy J-Rod to fight a battle with Wood and Barnes for two of the staring spaces in the standard two man Clarets attack. Interestingly, Burnley played two matches simultaneously last Saturday where Wood and Vydra faced Port Vale and J-Rod and Barnes played Crewe.
J-Rod is the man under the microscope here though, so then let’s take a look at his most recent season. He starred for West Bromwich Albion in a front two (good to know that’s where he appears to be most productive) with Dwight Gayle, where between them they scored 46 goals between them with J-Rod getting the slightly thinner end of the wedge with 22 goals which were supplemented with 6 assists.
I think he plays more often than not and at least starts the season. At the £6.0 price point, there aren’t many better, possibly Danny Ings (another ex-Burnley so there must be something in the training water in Lancashire), who are as reliable and proven at this level.
Sebastien Haller
West Ham United
FPL price: 7.5mln
Age: 25
FPL Position: Striker
Previous FPL statistics: None
Bought from/Transfer Fee: Eintracht Frankfurt/ (reaching) £45.0mln
First Five Fixtures: Manchester City (Home), Brighton & Hove Albion (Away), Watford (Away), Norwich City (Home), Aston Villa (Away)
Sebastien A-ller (phonetically – he’s French so the ‘H’ is silent) has followed a career path that would appear to be bringing him steadily to this particular point at 25 years of age and maybe shows that him being the costliest West Ham signing ever is actually quite just. To those who have followed his career it will not so surprising that the fee involved was as large as £45.0mln and you could argue that if he progresses it may not indeed be the largest move of his career.
Starting in his homeland with Auxerre’s B team in 2007 he managed a better than a goal every two game record scoring 29 goals in 57 appearances before he was promoted to the first team. As he learned his trade in first team football he took in a loan spell in Netherlands with Utrecht where he scored 30 goals in 2 seasons (2015-17 seasons) as his loan move became permanent.
Next stop on the Eurotrip was Die Bundesliga and a switch to the banks of the Main and Eintracht Frankfurt where in a two season period he scored 24 Bundesliga goals in 60 games – no mean feat when you consider the rise in level of quality he experienced here. A formidable partnership with Luka Jovic last season in The Eagles run to seventh place AND the Europa League semi-finals saw both strikers sold off this summer with Jovic joining Real Madrid. Haller’s fifteen goals in the league and five in the Europa League perhaps point to him being the answer to West Ham’s striker issue at long last.
Should you need more, he was also Eintracht’s penalty taker last season. Fly on the wall when he mentions that within Mark Noble’s earshot . . . .
Pablo Fornals
West Ham United
FPL price: 6.5mln
Age: 23
FPL Position: Midfielder
Previous FPL statistics: None
Bought from/Transfer Fee: Villarreal/£24.0mln
First Five Fixtures: Manchester City (Home), Brighton & Hove Albion (Away), Watford (Away), Norwich City (Home), Aston Villa (Away)
Looking to supply Haller might be fellow new arrival and full Spanish international Pablo Fornals, who has arrived from Villarreal.
Unlike Jay Rodriguez, this guy ACTUALLY IS a Valencian – born in Castellon de la Plana meaning he is from the same town as golfer Sergio Garcia – he began with local club Villarreal spending five years in the youths before two at his local side Castellon.
But when his senior career took off at it was some 440 miles away from home at Malaga. This was where the young attacking midfielder, firstly with the B team and then in the senior side, scored 19 goals in 100 games as he learned his league trade. Whilst playing on the south coast, he earned his first Spain Under-21 cap and has gone on to represent La Rojita or ‘The Little Red Ones’ seventeen times to date, scoring twice. Of course, as is the way of international football these days, players switch between the age restricted sides and the full national team depending on the tournament. Fornals has two full international caps but also went back to the Under-21s this past summer to represent Spain in the European Championships in Italy where he was a winner and was instrumental in the Spain team who beat France and Germany in the knockouts having already two goals to his name at the group stage – one a last minute winner to beat Belgium.
Back at club level, he switched to his local La Liga team Villarreal in 2017, where he went on to play 70 times scoring 5 goals but providing very useful assists, until his summer move to the London Stadium. All told last season he played 57 games for club and country with 7 goals and 7 assists to his name.
I did in fact see Fornals in the flesh last season as in their run to the Quarter Finals of the Europa League where they were eliminated by compatriots Valencia, Villarreal visited Glasgow in the Group stage where the match finished 0-0 with Rangers. He was subbed at about 75 mins but looked good and had some classy touches as you would expect from a Spanish player of the current generation. In the Europa League he scored three goals and assisted three times.
Thanks for reading New Fantasy Premier League Transfers 2019/20 – Fornals, Haller and Jay Rodriguez. This article was written by Gallant Pioneer
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Yeah I’m trying to work out if I can have all three of Kane, Salah and Sterling
Looks like this. Pereyra has decent opening fixtures and basically a placeholder for CHO. Still not sure if it’s possible to have the big three
Love a team with the 3 of them in it. Would you consider moving vvd to a 5.5 defender? Not sure how I’d feel about Pope.
If it don’t look like Pope is number one I’ll just go Ryan. It’s not the end of the world. Not sure I would as I like the idea of double Liverpool defence. Kind of depends what the extra cash will do
Gavy’s idea isn’t bad: the 5.5 could be Matip or Gomez. Keeps the flame burning and gives you another 1m to play with.
Keep up the good work: you’re single-handedly rewriting the template.
+1 on Gomez and Zuma could become Azpilicueta?
It’s not a bad shout. Problem I have with it is VVD is completely nailed will play every week. It’s likely to be Matip but problem is Gomez could come in at any time. With Zouma and Zinchenko/ Stones in there I’ll need that certainty.
Yeah maybe I’m still not sold on whether it’s possible or not. But then there’s a lot of mid priced midfielders I’m not sure about either.
Or Coleman. I’m of a mind to leave Chelsea until GW3. See how things pan out first before taking the plunge.
It all seems to come down to Robbo and TAA being better options than the midfield options on offer, on paper anyway, which skews things and makes getting Kane/Salah/Sterling very difficult.
Once things start then the obvious cheap mids should emerge.
Yeah I agree. There will be bargains at Chelsea and some other sides especially in midfield. Robbo and TAA are such great options in comparison to the midfielders.
I like that Smash. Snookie put a 3’er up the other day and that was very different around the edges but it was also fundamentally good. So much so I took a screenshot of it. Shows it’s possible anyway. Not looked at mine yet but I’d be surprised if I didn’t go with a big 3.
I was moved by Snookie’s side too but instead of Kane went for Vardy to help with other things. When Vardy lets you down it’s not as bad as Kane letting you down.
Yeah I just went and had another look. That’s 3-4-3. Townsend could be a great pick if Zaha goes as he will have to step up. The Taylor/Diop rotation is pretty good as well. I could do that instead of Zouma. I think I’ll go 4-4-2 it’s just the players round the edges I’m unsure about.
You made it into my new album anyway!
How about Holebas instead of Zouma? Eriksen instead of Kane would free up some funds?
Is Zouma going to play if he stays? That’d be my only concern, I like the rest
Yeah need to keep an eye on that. It’s looking like he will start the season. He’s said he needs to play otherwise he would be moving to Everton. It’s not safe though which I don’t like.
Yeah, I like to have people that are as guaranteed to start as possible at the start of the season.
Yeah same that’s why I’m slightly concerned by it. Looking at the rest though they are all pretty nailed it’s just Zinchenko and Zouma
Thanks for the article.
The Fornals photo is well-chosen in that it’s deeply disturbing in some undefinable way.
In that the new Hammers jersey sits in a very strange way, as if he does this same pose for each new club he goes to? Or the very asymmetric positioning of that moustache and carefully shaven beard thingy? (‘My first facial growth’). It could even be a photo taken of a child proudly wearing that new WHU kit that he’s obviously just received for his birthday.
A great hello to you Kralin!
Or he’s some sort of ‘new signing’ waxwork and the thing that’s troubling me is that I’ve seen him many times before, like some sort of stock image. He may seem new, but he isn’t. Not a day passes without him being unveiled somewhere.
Good evening one and all! Thanks for all this fabulous work GP ! Good to see you have not been idle! Also many thanks to Smash & Man U Man for daring to seek a solution to the obvious question (i.e. ‘How do I fit in Sterlo, Salah & Kane, without having to mortgage the farm, lease out the kids and sell both of my kidneys?’). I have endeavoured to do this as well as keeping Laporte, TAA, Perez & Deulofeu (or Jota or King) in the team. It’s bloody difficult isn’t it?
. Big howdy to all the mates (Kralinho, Cookster, Rosco, Innit and everyone else who I’ve bugged with my train of thought contributions!). See you all real soon! AJW
Well just to let you know that I’ve been lurking, but not speaking (my friends will tell you that this is very strange indeed – indicating that I’m either exhausted, pissed off, or heavily under the influence!). Left a comment on the Perez, Wan B pages, but obviously everybody had already left the building. Shame – it was an epic ramble!
Oh by the way GP, just saw a film about a Scottish country singer the other day (WIld Rose) – fabulous! As well as having me alternately pissing myself with laughter and bawling my eyes out (reputation’s safe – no one saw me!), I thought of your own good self! Good to be back.
Haven’t seen that AJW. Must investigate.
Great to have you back with us already pal!
Evening AJW. Sadly I missed your comment the other day. I hope all’s well.
Smash has assembled a good side with the mighty three, just above.
Yesindeed Kralin – hidden deeply in my message is a compliment for this feat! Which led me to later eviscerate my own team in order to achieve something similar. Hope you are well – in your break between academic years, with time for wanderings! Bye for now!
I shudder to think of the vile acts I will have to lower myself to in order to get a decent team out, AJW.
Many thanks for this GP, finally just got round to giving it a read now. I wasn’t aware of the calibre of these new Hammers, sounds like they’ve landed on a bit here.
Although I did hear a stat the other day about their recent ‘luck’ with strikers. Can’t remember where (possibly the Ramble so you probably heard it too) and I can’t remember exactly what it was but it was something along the lines of the last 18 strikers they’ve signed have scored about 47 goals between them in 300 games. Or something equally daft.
I heard that on the Ramble yes!
Yeah they’ve spent some serious money in attack now so it should see improvement you would think.
Thanks mate.
Views on Barkley or Mount as a starting XI MID at £6m? or is there anyone else for £5.5m to £6m.
Your question can be answered by: look at what you can get in defence for that.
Having said all that I started last season with Hughes as my compromise and I noticed he’s still around at 5.5m, not that I’m thinking about him at all and had in fact forgotten him completely.
Otherwise I dunno: Ward-Prowse; Townsend; Pereyra? I’d hang on with Chelsea.
I was looking at the teams with Kane in and I have come up with this.
Not bad at all Terminators. I think I’d have Zinchenko instead of W-B.
Zinch worries me when Mendy returns.
That may be a bit of a way off but yes, for sure. I suppose my eyes have lit up at a relatively cheap Man City prospect.
In addition, I think I’d like to see Man U in action before taking the plunge (though haveing a 5.5m placeholder isn’t the worst of positions to be in).
From the reports I’m seeing there’s a fair chance he’s favouring Mount but the fact that there’s a doubt probably says stay away from both as they’ll end up sharing game time.
+1 CHO is the one to have when fit
Who?
Hudson-Odoi
ok, thanks.