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…
Has Salah been scoring in every game?
Scored 3 goals in 4 games. Only didn’t score in one of them.
Yep..his on FIRE!!!!Pace is out of this world…getting excited bout him..
Interesting
Think this is getting close to my gw1 squad…what do u think..anything else I should add? Stoke,Swansea and Bournemouth rotate together perfectly… That’s the reason for Cameron, Begovic and Naughton..
Using Alonso as my 4mid…
Don’t like the two goalkeepers and also don’t like Chambers in there either
Any suggests?? Gomes and Begovic rotate perfectly..
Just because they rotate doesn’t mean they are that good. I could be proven wrong but I think Foster and Hennessey could be good bets.
Thanx mate..will consider it..what about Foster and Begovic
I don’t think Begovic starts. Boruc is no.1 there and I can’t see why that would change
Fairly sure Begovic is number one
Thought Begovic was brought in to start this season…have to watch this closely… Thanx Matt..
I’d be surprised if Bego doesn’t start
Oh right I thought Bego was brought in as cover
I quite like it. Not sure why Chambers is in there unless you know something
Lol..just seem to be the best 5.0 mil def out there money wise…Arsenal coverage..u got someone in mind..Daniels?Ake? And then ditch Begovic??
Chambers is highly unlikely to start once Wenger has everyone fit & available. He may not even be at the club come September.
Francis maybe ditch Begovic and upgrade Walters to 6 million guy or Cedric not the end of the world for you if he don’t make first game or Yoshida. Not sure on the Arsenal situation who will play. Merts is still captain at that price. Played a blinder in cup final but not sure by any means if he will be involved still. I thought Chambers was going
OK thanks kop warrior… Daniels it is then..
Thanx a lot kop and smash..Cedric/Yoshida then..
Begovich & Hart rotate quite well on fixtures with fair chances of Clean sheets
Dont see why you want Cameron & Naughton to rotate next to each other on the bench, & neither will be getting clean sheets.
bring in a playing 4.5 from bur,whu,bou & drop 1 to a 4.0 & see if you can upgrade chambers with that.
Salah,Couthino in tandem from Gw1 anyone??? They simply on Fire!!! Getting excited!!!
That could pay off. I don’t think there are that many midfield options. There’s a lot of big names that ain’t done much in pre season. Pre season is always a dangerous animal though
Not for me. Particularly with the CL qualifiers to be played.
I think pick one to start and stick With him and if they are both on fire and getting points week in, week out then double up but not from the start.
Yeah I agree with Matt. Starting to think it’s dangerous to go without like I have been considering
I’ve said from the start of preseason Liverpool attack is something I think everyone should have. They will score goals without a doubt.
Which one you going with Matt? How deep has Coutinho been?
It’s between Salah and Cout tbh mate but I can’t decide yet. Couthino has been playing in the centre of the park not as the defensive mid that’s been Hendo.
Yeah it’s hard to decide. I worry about Coutinho dropping too deep but he’s the best player. Salah has looked good I was surprised Chelsea sold him. He never got a chance
I think Couthino will be dangerous where ever he is on the pitch. Salah was poor until he went to Roma. That is where he became the player Liverpool have bought.
Smash, I wouldn’t be overly concerned by Coutinho’s position. If we can hang onto him he’ll be our playmaker and he’ll still get his fair share of goals. He was deep inside his own half when he played the ball that led to Salah’s goal.
Thanx gentleman… What’s your thoughts on Iborra from Leicester?? He and the Ox are fighting it out for that 4 spot in mid field…any one know him..or is it too risky..same goes for the Ox..I need asnul cover…where will I get it..lol..
Is Cedric not nailed on ?????
He hasn’t started any preseason games Silvers.
Cheers Kop bit of a worry that one have to look else where 😉
He’s pretty nailed I’d guess but there’s a chance he might not make opening game
Silvers
“Jérémy Píed lined up in the other full-back position, and it was the Frenchman that created Southampton’s first real change of the game. Bursting forward down the right flank he drove into the penalty area and struck at goal, only to be denied by Stéphane Ruffier in goal for the hosts.
The next chance fell rather fortuitously to Manolo Gabbiadini. The Italian latched onto a loose ball across the Saint-Étienne back line and stretched to provide a finishing touch, but the ball was just too far ahead of the striker.
Píed was continuing to wreak havoc down the right flank and almost helped to break the deadlock once again just before half time. Having dummied past his man from a short corner, the right back crossed for Maya Yoshida to head at goal, but the Saints captain saw his header flash wide of the near post”.
GP are you saying Pued has a chance of taking Cedric place ???
Can’t be without a chance of starting the season.
Sounds like they’re similar players in their attacking style.
Does anyone know about this Pascal GroB guy at Brighton?
Smash
Commented on the Brighton thread.
Hi Guys, been playing around, thoughts would be great
sorry about the picture full squad here
Dazza, why do you have 2 Liverpool defenders and why is one of them Moreno??????!!!
I wanted a cheap defender and I saw Moreno at $4.5 and thought he was as good as any other defender at that price, I must admit I saw him play in Sydney and thought he looked good, and was confused why he was so low
I am looking for a Ok defender and I had Man Utd Victor Lindelöf, but saw that he may not play so the next best defender at that price was Loveren.
Moreno is one of the worst defenders to have ever played for the club. I’d avoid the Liverpool defence as I expect us to face the same problems we had last season.
any suggestions
Think that was one
I’d downgrade Rooney to a 6.5 or 6.0 forward and use the savings on your defence. Rangel is unlikely to start so I’d switch him out along with Lovren & Moreno. I haven’t really looked at cheap defensive options yet but you could get Naughton in place of Rangel. Ben Mee is potentially an option. West Brom have some decent opening fixtures so Dawson might be worth considering.
thanks
Dazza, pick anyone in defence but don’t pick MoreNO, FFS. Have you got a white stick and/or a labrador.
Labrador ?
:big-lol:
yes it called batchi
hi Guys any thoughts on what I can do in defence then
Changed back to Victor Lindelöf and Ben See for now