New FPL Transfers Jay Rodriguez, Jon Walters and Harry Maguire
Hello and welcome to New FPL Transfers Jay Rodriguez, Jon Walters and Harry Maguire. To date all our articles regarding new signings have been specific to individual teams. Unfortunately not all teams are going to make enough sexy signings to warrant an article of their own and thus we are forced to lump a number of teams in together. Forced is probably the wrong word but you get our drift. Today we bring you signings from West Brom, Burnley & Leciester, I can almost sense your excitement from here. Cookie won’t thank me for telling you this but he has high hopes for J Rod, I’m not quite as enthusiastic over Jon Walters and Harry Maguire. Let’s see what you guys think..
Jay Rodriguez
Club: West Brom
Position: Forward
FPL Price: £6.0m
If you’re finding it too tough or restrictive to go with three premium strikers then I urge you to look at J-Rod and stick him on your watchlist. The striker, who’s career thus far has been interrupted by injury moved to West Brom in the summer after finding himself falling down the pecking order at Southampton. On joining Albion, J-Rod spoke more than once about the need to feel wanted and that Tony Pulis has made him feel welcome and wanted. He also emphasised the need to be playing regularly, so the implication is that Pulis has told him to expect to be a starter and that he’ll be getting regular and consistent game time. Now the problem with West Brom of course is that if McAuley isn’t scoring their goals then Dawson is, even if McAuley gets awarded the points. So if Pulis can remind his players that the strikers are there to score and the defenders there to defend then J-Rod has half a chance. His FPL price of 6mln makes him budget-friendly and bear in mind what this lad can do – in just 893 minutes last season he scored 5 goals, assisted twice and contributed 73pts, in 2013/14 he played 2,565 minutes and scored 15 goals, 3 assists and returned 152pts. This lad scores goals, is a better finisher than anyone else West Brom have and Pulis has been chasing him for a while, having failed to seal the deal in two previous transfer windows. Albion’s starting fixtures are pretty good: Bournemouth, Burnley, Stoke, Brighton and West Ham are a nice opening five fixtures and should give the Baggies and their new striker the opportunity to get some early confidence and settle in well. I’ll leave you with the thoughts of Pulis himself: ‘We’ve chased him for a long time and I’m really pleased we have got him in. He’s got a good goal-scoring record and we’ve been a little bit short in that position and hopefully this will give us a little bit more in those areas. He gives us different options and that’s important for a club such as our’s – Jay can play in three different positions across the front and that’s good for us. He was exceptional for Southampton out wide and coming in off the line. He also plays as a striker – he’s got these different qualities to play anywhere along the front line.’ Ignore him at your peril.
Pre-Season update: Rodriguez has played 247 minutes so far over 4 games and has managed 2 goals. One was a bomb from about 25 out into the top left corner and the other was on a corner that he was able to head home.
Jon Walters
Club: Burnley
Position: Midfielder
FPL Price: £5.5m
Since turning pro back in 2000 Walters has been on the books or been on loan with 10 different clubs, Burnley will be his 11th. This paints the picture of him being something of a journeyman but he’s far from a journeyman. Of his 489 league appearances 362 (scored 73 goals) have come in the last 11 seasons playing for Ipswich and Stoke City. Walters is what you’d describe as an honest pro, he’s not blessed with bags of talent but you know he will always give 100% and it’s this attitude which saw him become a firm favourite amongst Stoke fans. He’s accrued something of a cult status in fantasy football circles, at least he has in the FF247 offices. Why? Surely you remember that infamous Saturday back in January 2013 when poor Jon scored not one but two own goals and to further compound his misery he missed a penalty! Very funny. I won’t name names but someone you all know very well was lucky enough to have Walters in his team that day! Even funnier.
But that’s enough about his past, what of his future? Walters is pretty versatile and is equally comfortable up top as he is on the right side of midfield something he highlighted on joining Burnley, “I can play in a number of positions and prefer playing up front”. With George Boyd having moved on this summer Walters is likely to battle it out with Gudmundsson for a spot on the right hand side. Alternatively he will compete with Gray, Vokes & Barnes up top, although there have been rumours that Gray might move on this summer. Burnley struggled for goals last season with only three teams scoring fewer than Burnley’s 39 and if we’re honest this is unlikely to change this season. Their opening fixtures are quite a mixed bag with their homes fixtures being reasonably kind and their away fixtures something of a horror show. At £5.5m it’s difficult to get excited by Walters particularly if he’s played in midfield but should he get a run of games up top he might then be worth some consideration.
Pre-Season update: Walters has featured in 3 games so far for a total of 185 minutes. So far he has 2 goals and 1 assist in what has been an impressive output by the former Stokie.
Harry Maguire
Club: Leicester
Position: Defender
FPL Price: £5.0m
When Leicester won the league they kept 15 clean sheets but only managed nine last season so it was hardly a surprise when they splashed the cash to bring Harry Maguire from relegated Hull for a fee in the region of £17m. Maguire has long been thought of as a player with promise initially making a name for himself with his hometown club Sheffield United before moving to Hull in July 2014. It took him a while to settle at Hull and it was last season before he became a regular at the club, making 29 appearances, scoring twice and picking up a couple of assists.
Is he likely to start? I don’t imagine Leicester have spent £17m on a centre back for him to warm the bench so I expect him to start most likely alongside Wes Morgan who remains the club captain. With the news that Robert Huth is set to miss the start of the season Maguire is now guaranteed to start.
So what of his FPL prospects? In the short-term they’re nothing short of terrible as four of Leicester’s opening six games are against Arsenal, United, Chelsea & Liverpool. Therefore Maguire is best avoided at the beginning of the season and we can use their opening six games to see how he settles in and also what tactics Craig Shakespeare adopts. Maguire’s underlying stats last season were quite impressive considering he was playing in a Hull side who were eventually relegated and at £5.0m he could yet prove great value for money. With Danny Simpson and Wes Morgan both priced at £4.5m there could very well be a cheaper route into the Leicester defence but their underlying stats don’t compare to Maguire’s.
Pre-Season update: Maguire has gobbled up 180 minutes over 3 games. The reviews so far have been good on Harry in his appearances.
Thanks for reading New FPL Transfers Jay Rodriguez, Jon Walters and Harry Maguire. This article was written by Kop Warrior and Cookie
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The Fixture Tracker…
Thoughts on my latest draft god knows how many there are. Milojevic is the obvious one who’s probably not up to it. Could swap him to Walters/ Fraser. Don’t have Kane either. I prefer Aguero over Jesus as well
I like this team Smash. Obviously Mili is a risk so I’d keep an eye on it. Only thing I’d change is Simpson there are better 4.5 defenders out there I think.
Yeah it’s relying on Zaha diving in the box a few times so not great. I’d prefer Walters I think but would have to downgrade Cedric. What 4.5 defenders do you like? I think Leicester will be decent this season that’s why he’s in there but does have nasty fixtures
I’m looking at Mee or Dunk. As for Cedric after the news he might not start I’m considering downgrading him.
Hi smash…morata is unproven in PL..but he could be a gem at the champions…how many strikers does Chelsea have at the moment? And what’s the news on Costa? Is he still unwanted? Why not take a punt on Firmino for LFC coverage? This imagine Mane and Salah bombing down the wings and Countinho in the center…now that what I say is great service… And it eqauls goals and lots of it..
don’t be put off that he’s been classified as a striker..just remember he primary job will be to score goals and that eqauls baps…then upgrade milli and Simpson/Yedlin…Smash you know the situation regarded Cedric… Maybe Betrand/Yoshida???Rangel to a 4.5 and then you’ll be having a cracking team 
Good luck Smash..
Yeah not sure on Morata well not if he’s playing from the left. Costa ain’t coming back. Not sold on Firmino I can just see him being pushed to the wing at some stage. Liverpool have a lot of options. Thanks though all good points
JRod at WBA. I missed a lot. 😉
£12M Raz.
Hope you’re good mate.
Lot of stuff to do and still waiting for vacation to start. 😉
I think Austin might be a better choice though. As cheap striker.
He’s got a bit of competition though from Gabbiadini.
Saints start with 2 games at home, so I reckon both will start, with Gabbi one the left or in the 10 role. I agree with you Raz, with these fixtures and ownership, Austin can be a big differential and an early bandwagon to capitalize on. Plus, there are multiple direct replacers available. I prefer to take a punt on Austin for GW1, as Gayle will have a difficult time against the Spurs defense anyway.
Watching the Chelsea game.
Morata don’t look that good. Might take him a while to settle in
Playing off the left though ain’t he. He’s been mentioned a lot
Also has Alonso been shocking
Both don’t look that great smash
Morata been taken off after a hour
Yeah don’t think Chelsea have been great will see them next week in community shield
Afternoon all, this is my lot at the moment. May ditch Morata, re Shanecs post above.
Looks good, Elle. Why Romeu over Carroll? Do you know something that we don’t?! 😛
Not really Webs, just that he deffo plays. He would be benched most weeks. Thinking Morata to Bobby then Coutinho to another mid.
Hi Elle I would have concerns over romeu and Walters and gayle .. gayle could be OK but I would like a better midfield as in 4th and 5th
Got a spare 20 mill Whols ?
Only 5 million Elle lol I think the transfer market is even going to be more volatile this season, as soon as someone scores a goal price rise 0.2 at least!
Whols, does this look any better ?
@elle cracking team u got there…like your Firmino pick…some people say it won’t work but I say go for it…lots of speed on both wings and supply from the mid…you’ll be laughing in their faces when that plan comes together…I wish I had your balls
only concern is Elliot…wasn’t first choice last term…
I like it Elle strong MF looks like your not far of
Yes it looks better I would prefer coutinho to firminho tho in my team is know they are different positions but your midfield is much better now
Im not sure about Firmino. Liverpool have Solanke who’s been playing well in pre season, Sturridge ain’t been injured in a while and Origi is still about. Not saying Firmino won’t play but there’s a lot of competition who will get minutes at some point.
Cheers guys. Hear what your saying Smash, but need some Pool attacking cover.
Go for it Elle…wish I had some balls like u..lol
Silvers, Redmen, Smash and Whols, i’m thinking Bobby is the player we should have from Pool. Its got to be Coutinho, Salah and Mane. The first 2 are playing really well, Manes first game today but got and assist i think. Bobby looked a bit deep for me, so i think hes out now.
Oooops. Should not have.
Bobby was back defending at points in this game, Elle. Only thing I will say though is that he was out on the wing so maybe that’s what he was told to do.
Yeah, but he ain’t gonna do much out on the wing. Cout, Salsh and Mane will produce more.
Yeah I think for the season though he will play through the middle. I think Cout or Salah are the ones to have. I just can’t decide between the two.
Elle and Matt take them both…would u gamble??? I’m willing to..
Yeah starting to think Coutinho, Salah and Mane if you pull the 0.5 out the bag are the ones to have. I just don’t think Firmino is the one to go with
So…Batshuyai?
Discuss.
It’s risky. You would have thought in 2 weeks time after training Morata will be through the middle. Pedro was missing today
What have I missed about Morata?
Started out wide with Michy as ST.
He played off the left today and I don’t think Chelsea were very good. However we do see them in the community shield
Increasingly feeling like he won’t start off the bat. Maybe bring him in after Int break.
You need guaranteed starter’s
Will be keepin an eye on CS to see how sharp Morata looks + whether Michy starts or not.
Not sure if there’s much in it at this stage. Michy is has scored a few but hes way ahead in fitness as Morata only returned to training a few days ago.
Is possible that Morata may start out wide with Batshuayi as the main striker when the season starts?
Basically what I’m asking is, is Batshuayi worth considering?
Just realized that I asked the same question that is discussed above…
I thk Bats is a really good player he seems to score every time he plays 😉