Liverpool have today agreed a rather staggering fee of £17 million for Portsmouth’s Glen Johnson. The newly established England right-back is now expected to agree terms at Anfield having publicly announced his intent to join Liverpool, despite interest from former club Chelsea and cash-rich City.

From a fantasy perspective, Johnson’s arrival a Liverpool will be met with a mixed reception. In some ways we’re gaining very little here. The right-back spot has been one of the few positions in the Liverpool back four that has been settled with Arbeloa the regular occupant. The Spaniard is reportedly the subject of interest from Real Madrid, and if that deal materialises, hopefully Johnson will get a clear run at regular starts without the threat of rotation…

However, we shouldn’t ignore the fact that we will be losing Johnson as a mid-price asset in the inconsistent Portsmouth defence. He proved to be a very handy differential at times last season, returning 3 goals and 4 assists, plus a more than credible 18 point bonus return in the Fantasy Premier League game.

Off the back of last year’s form and this seemingly inevitable move to Liverpool, Johnson’s fantasy price tag will surely rocket and he could possibly be on a similar standing, if not higher ground, than Liverpool’s defensive mainstay and irregular fantasy favourite – Jamie Carragher.

Can Johnson produce to justify such a price tag? He unquestionably has the talent and with Liverpool so short on width, it could be that Rafa charges him with plenty of ambition to raid forward. We should be guaranteed 18+ clean sheets to go with the goals and assists and, while bonus points will likely be thin on the ground, Johnson’s potential haul next season would appear to look decidedly healthy.

Should the deal be completed later this week as expected, Johnson will undoubtedly remain firmly on our pre-season shortlists. It’s just a shame that like Liverpool, we’re going to have to pay through the nose to tap into that potential.