New FPL Transfers Chelsea Alvaro Morata Antonio Rudiger and Tiemoue Bakayoko
Hello and welcome to New FPL Transfers Chelsea Alvaro Morata, Antonio Rudiger and Tiemoue Bakayoko. Chelsea won the league with relative ease last season, a feat they achieved with a core of no more than 13/14 players. However it’s worth remembering that Chelsea had no European football to contend with, this season they will have the small matter of the Champions League to deal with while also trying to defend their title. Antonio Conte will be quite aware of this and Chelsea have already splashed something in the region of £130m on three players, Alvaro Morata, Antonio Rudiger and Tiemoue Bakayoko. Remember when £130m was a lot of money? Now it wouldn’t even buy you Neymar. Chelsea fans will could expect more arrivals over the coming weeks but for now let’s take a look at Morata, Rudiger and Bakayoko.
Alvaro Morata
Position: Forward
FPL Price: £10.0m
This spot was reserved for Romelu Lukaku, but the big Belgian signed on at Manchester United and formed a dance crew with Pogba instead. So Chelsea were left scrambling looking for a top forward, in particular after Diego Costa was spotted…err, by Diego Costa wearing an Atletico Madrid shirt and apparently mocking his manager. While the talks for Lukaku were breaking down and Costa was being Costa, there sat Alvaro Morata waiting for a team willing to meet the high demands of Madrid for his services. Luckily it all worked out for both Chelsea and Alvaro and now we have another possible star man to count on in FPL. Morata has moved around a bit in his short career. Breaking in at Real Madrid as a teenager, a couple of years later he was to move to Turin after he was bought by then manager, you guessed it Antonio Conte. Unfortunately for Morata, Conte left before he ever managed him. Nevertheless it shows that the Italian has liked the Spanish forward for some time now. After a couple of seasons at Juventus, Alvaro was to make his way back to Madrid after they exercised their buy-back clause, but in his return to Madrid he found himself stuck in the same situation again. Second in line and not getting the opportunity he desired, it is once again Conte who came for him. Hopefully this time the partnership works out.
So how will Morata do in FPL? Well, who really knows in the end, because we can project his numbers to account for the minutes he hasn’t yet received all we want, but we don’t really know how long it will take him to adapt or if he can do it for a prolonged period of time. So all we can really do is give him the eye test and hope that he isn’t pulling one over on us. A couple of weeks back we wrote a bit on him and almost all of that still rings true, so here is what you need to know. His physicality is impressive, he can ride tackles and is certainly strong enough for the hold up play that will be required of him. Alvaro has deceptive speed, his frame sometimes fools you into thinking he is a lumbering forward, he is far from that. His strike rate is good, but in the last year it was absolutely ridiculous. Only Messi had a better one in La Liga. He possesses the ability to finish with either foot and he is very strong in the air. He is also versatile enough to play wide if needed as he is a good dribbler and because of his hold up play and good vision he can drop a bit when required. He gets fouled quite a bit and he tends to be a touch over aggressive, really more than he should at times, so expect some yellows.
Should you buy early? Depends how comfortable you feel with new players transitioning over, but his slightly lower price tag will sure make him tempting.
Antonio Rudiger
Position: Defender
FPL Price: £6.0m
Chelsea may have had the 3rd best defence in the league last season but this didn’t stop Antonio Conte making Rudiger his first significant signing of the summer. The German began his career at Borussia Dortmund’s academy before moving to VfB Stuttgart and made his first team debut in January 2012. In total he made 60 appearances for the German club before moving to Roma on loan at the beginning of the 2015/16 season a move that was made permanent 12 months later. He made a total of 56 appearances for the Italian club scoring twice. At 6ft 3in tall Rudiger shouldn’t be fazed by the aerial battles and should take the physicality of the PL in his stride. He confirmed this when speaking the clubs official website, “I would say that I enjoy the physical element of the game and putting in strong tackles. I’m a fast player and I play with passion.”
With John Terry and Nathan Ake having left the club during the summer, and Kurt Zouma set to go out on loan perhaps it’s no surprise that Conte’s first summer signing was a defender.
What of his FPL prospects? Rudiger can play centre back, right back or even left back. Following his move Talksport spoke to a Roma fan (Matteo Ciampani) who said that the position Rudiger played most often and with the best results was on the right or left of a back 3. Apparently he himself favours playing on the left of a back 3 but given that he’s right footed I would expect to see him play on the right of the back 3. This will obviously have repercussions for others and the most likely scenario would appear to be Azpi moving to right wing back and Moses dropping to the bench, although Conte may choose to adopt a horses for courses approach. At £6.0m the German is cheaper than Alonso, Cahill & Azpi, and the same price as Luiz. The issue is he hasn’t previously offered a significant threat in the opposition area, he’s mustered just four goals from 122 appearances. It’s also worth noting that due to his involvement at the Confederations Cup he has started pre-season late and has played just 37 minutes of football against Inter Milan and this is likely to result result in him not featuring at the beginning of the season. I’d adopt a watching brief on the German for now.
Tiemoue Bakayoko
Position: Midfielder
FPL Price: £5.0m
After seemingly months of speculation Antonio Conte finally got his man and in the process made Bakayoko the clubs 2nd most expensive player. Aged just 22 the French international is still very much in the early part of his career. He made his league debut for Rennes at the beginning of the 2013/14 season and went on to make a total 24 appearances that season. His performers for Rennes brought him to the attention of Monaco and he moved to the Principality at the beginning of the following season. He struggled to settle in Monaco and suffered a serious injury in January of his first season. His 2nd season didn’t start much better but the arrival of Claude Makelele to Monaco’s coaching staff saw Bakayoko move to the next level, everything changed both on and off the pitch. Last season he made 32 league appearances scoring twice and picking up one assist.
While he’s undoubtedly a great signing for Chelsea he’s unlikely to set pulses racing among the among the FPL fraternity. He’s quick, likes a tackle and his reading of the game allows him to make a lot of interceptions. However as we know from our years playing the game these are not necessarily characteristics that are rewarded in FPL. He does enjoy to drive forward in an attempt to take the game to the opposition but this does not result in a great number of shots on goal, he only managed a total of 28 in the entirety of last season. It’s also worth noting that Monaco scored for fun last season, 107 league goals, but Bakayoko managed just two. Like many other defensive midfielders across the league he will allow his team mates pick up the points while he does the donkey work.
Thanks for reading New FPL Transfers Chelsea Alvaro Morata, Antonio Rudiger and Tiemoue Bakayoko . This article was written by Kop Warrior
The Fixture Tracker…
Which of these players would you rather have?
Fraser,
GroS,
Brown,
Walters,
Brady,
Mooy,
Murphy (Newcastle),
Puncheon.
Won’t say which one’s I’m leaning towards as I don’t want to sway any opinions!!
Fraser and Murphy for me.
Cheers Goat, Can I ask your reasons why?
Bournemouth have bought well and score goals, so Fraser is likely to be involved. I wanted to get him in my side, but am always 0.5 shy of it.
Murphy gets goals from midfield, unlikely to be dropped or rotated. It’d be between him and Mooy from that list, I think. Although if you haven’t got Ward-Prowse, I’d maybe go for him instead.
I had JWP for nearly all my drafts but he hasn’t been playing in the friendlies so I don’t think this new manager is going to play him.
So right now It’s Fraser, Murphy or Mooy. What do you think of Walters?
Also how is your team coming along mate? Maybe I can help you find that extra 0.5 mil
Matt
in order of preference fraser, mooy, murphy, Puncheon, the rest is all the same to me.
Cheers Teo, much like above can I ask your reasons why? That’s two votes for Fraser is he nailed on to start?
Not nailed on, but very likely I’d say.
mooy and murphy vital for their teams,new in PL but i think good bargain for their price, puncheon involved in every palace attack, new manager favors him, and not sure about what everybody say that palace is going to be a defensive team, i think it s the opposite,and fraser, just a hunch he is goona have an excellent year
Hmm cheers Teo. Will definitely have to have a think about it.
Fraser, Walters, Murphy and Gross. Gross is a risk he had a very good season last year and I Believe he’s played off front. Murphy won’t play 90 every week but has scored a few in pre season does have Atsu to deal with. Fraser prob safest Bournemouth are attacking and he’s fairly lively. Walters should start and always pretty consistent
Cheers Smash, would that be the order you would take them in? Gross I really like the stats of but I think it will be a wait and see thing with for now.
Yeah I’d go Fraser, Walters, Murphy, Gross I think in that order. First two are safer other 2 are punts. But it’s all pretty messy in that budget area
Right cheers. Smash I currently have Walters in there but just not sure on his fixtures. I think he will do well but Fraser and Murphy and Gross all have better fixtures. It’s really between Walters, Fraser and Murphy until I see what Gross is really like.
Gray at Leicester is one to monitor as well
Yeah I am keeping an eye on him especially these transfer bids that have been coming in for him.
Hey hey hey! How’s everyone’s summer been?
Maybe I just forget how difficult this is every season, but I’m having a heck of a time. This is my first attempt where I could actually fit 15 in and I hate it… Thoughts?
Pancho, hey, hope you’re well?
10.0m is too much on a keeper pairing, for me, and two 4.5m players in midfield is unacceptable.
Sane, at 8.5m, is only the 4th-best source of FPL points at City… you need one of KDB, Jesus, Aguero.
Mkhi’s a nice little punt — as is Fabregas — but, on the whole, your midfield needs serious fixing!
Thanks for the reply James! Been doing well. Good summer with family but now time to get back to it.
Lori’s is a cheap way into the Tot back line, so I may just pair him with a 4m keeper. Any of those guys going to be a surprise starter you think?
You point to exactly what I hate: the midfield. Is Fab really going to start? Mikky may come good this season, but it is probably too expensive of a punt.
Elliot of Newcastle is your best bet for a 4.0m keepers
I’m not sure about Fabregas: probably, as Matic has gone, but who can be sure?
The similarities between Matt and Rosco’s greetings are terrifying!
Hahah too true James!
Wasn’t just looking at Elliot and then for some strange reason I wanted to go watch ET!
Hey Pancho, good to see you back mate!!
This isn’t a bad first attempt. There are a few things I would change. I’d downgrade Hart as there isn’t many times you would play him over Lloris. Sane is a slight risk but I think you will get away with it. I would prefer Pogba over Miki less rotation risk to be honest. I would also downgrade Laca and upgrade RLC
Thanks Matt! Time for a complete redo! ?
Ah yeah sure ask Mitro for some tips he does 100 drafts a day 😉
Hey Pancho good to see you back mate!!
A solid first draft, No Lukaku is ballsy but your forward line looks nice! Think your city pick is essentially 4th best so that may or may not work out. Other than that your 4th mid is weak but I know that is down to Alonso everything else I like! Kind of nice to see some different picks as our teams our all looking a little similar!
Rosco, good to hear from you. Thanks for the thoughts. I wish there was a good Arsenal mid option other than Sanchez as I’d rather swap Sane and Laca for Jesus and ???
I had Pogba in instead of Mik but he is more expensive and soars seeped. Although Matic may enable him to play higher…
Which one is better A or B?
or B
I’d probably go with B
Definitely B, but I wouldn’t have Zaha and RLC in the same team
thanks to both, big change 5 different players
Evening guy’s, I have been tinkering again, what do you think of my latest draft ?
I do like the team, but Ince has to play in a 3-5-2 formation, surely? I know little about Abraham at present.
You could be hurt by the lack of Spurs attack but, admittedly, they have a tendency to start slowly.
I’d moinitor Kolasinac in the upcoming Community Shield but, at 6.0m, there’s probably better value.
Thanks j still not 100% happy was worried about no spurs myself think I’ve spent to much in defence.
I’d downgrade the Arsenal defender so you can either upgrade Milovejevic or Abraham. Both not bad punts in my opinion but maybe a bit much to go with both. No Spurs coverage but it’s difficult to have everyone
Thanks smash
Kola (6) -> Charlie Daniels (5)
KDB (10) -> Eriksen (9.5)
Miliv (5) -> Loftus (4.5) swap Ince in
Abraham (5.5) -> King (7.5)
See how that looks once it’s plugged in.
Kola to Daniels I like kdb I want to keep will king start up front with defoe coming in?
Hey guys, how’s everyone doing?
Should I go with team a or b?