New Signings – Fantasy Premier League 2016/17. Man City

New Signings – Fantasy Premier League 2016/17. Man City

Just what the heck happened to this lot last season is anyone’s guess. The writing was supposedly on the wall after the first five fixtures; a rock solid defence and goal scoring madness up front lead many to believe the league title would be heading back to Manchester but it wasn’t to be. Untimely injuries certainly played a part. However, even with the City stars all fit the wheels proceeded to fall off in dramatic fashion, prompting the removal of Maunel Pelligrini. If ever there was a way to shift fortunes of a club, appointing Pep Guardiola is it. A proven manager at the highest level, Pep demands 110% from every player, 100% of the time and with the rich talent in the City squad plus the new arrivals, it seems as though City will be right up there challenging once again. Stalwarts Kompany, Aguero and Silva, with budding superstar Kevin De Bruyne thrown in there for good measure, make up a fantastic core for the noisy neighbours. Just how these players fit into Pep’s style remains to be seen but on the face of it, they fit just right. Perfectly, almost. Just the two summer signings so far then but both are of a high calibre and will only add to the beast that City promise to be. No obscure names here, no punts, just top drawer acquisitions. They are as follows…

For Man City’s’s pre-season games, line-ups and general musings here is their link on the Pre-season hub we have created Man City Pre-season info

Ilkay Gündogan – Midfield Playmaker (£5.5m)
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A name we all know from that sensational Borussia Dortmund team of a few years back. Ilkay was and is a highly skilled midfield player capable of producing defensively as well as chipping in with goals and assists, which is exactly what City need now that the towering figure of Yaya Toure has seemingly tailed off after an incredible burst of form. At a reported £21mln, the signing of Ilkay seems like an unbelievable bargain considering the monstrous fees being payed these days and once he can stay healthy, that bargain will become more and more apparent as his career progresses. An excellent engine in the middle, he chipped in with 15 goals during his injury laden spell at Dortmund, a figure we would expect to rise as he progresses and hopefully stays injury free. Whilst unlikely to “do a Mahrez” and set the fantasy world alight, the German schemers influence on possession alone should see City become an even bigger threat this year and his keen eye for a killer pass should see the wide men unleashed behind the opposing full backs regularly, and we all know what means…. gulp. All in all, a fantastic signing but we’ll need to see a sharp upturn in fitness and an increase in goal / assist output before we even consider him ahead of the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva and the new guy, who we’ll get onto now in just a sec. Any changes in the scoring system to suit defensive types could see Ilkay become more prominent in the fantasy world so keep an eye out for new additions to the scoring.

Fantasy Prospect; Injury worries and a wealth of star midfielders at City don’t do him any favors. 6/10

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Nolito – Winger / Striker (£9.0m)
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Now we’re talking, a genuine class act attacker that could well be a must have if priced well. Beginning his career at Ecija, whoever the hell they are, Nolito shone from the off scoring 18 goals in 76 appearances over the space of two seasons. Not bad, not bad at all. His exploits were noticed by all the top Spanish teams, who kept a close eye on the budding youngster and it was Barcelona who took the plunge, although it was the B-Team where he seen most of his game time for the Catalan giants. 106 appearances and 29 goals later, Barca promoted Nolito to the first team setup where he was predictably no match for the stars in that team at the time and featured a miserable 5 times before jumping ship in search of first team footie elsewhere. The right move. A short but successful spell at Benfica ignited interest once again and it was the mighty Granada who brought the skillful winger back to Spain. That didn’t last too long either! Just 17 appearances to be exact before Celta Vigo snapped him up and gave him the base, in Spain, he craved to develop his talents, and boy did he not waste any time in doing so. 39 goals, umpteen assists and a heap of top drawer performances in a total of 103 outings for the Celts lead to his rightful inclusion in the national squad, and team. Nolito has 13 caps thus far, scoring an impressive 5 times, all coming this year the last of which was at the recent European Championship’s vs Turkey. Nolito should fit right in with Pep’s style of play and form a formidable three behind Aguero with De Bruyne and Silva and he will likely be the cheapest option of the bunch. All boxes ticked.

Fantasy prospect; 9/10

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Fixture Tracker – the first 6 games

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Thanks for reading New Signings – Fantasy Premier League 2016/17. Man City. This article was written by NIN

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