How the transfer deadline day deals could affect FPL

While there wasn’t a spate of big-money moves on the final day of the international summer transfer window, there were nevertheless some notable deals to report.

Amid the cavalcade of yellow tickers and chip shop sightings, we round up the confirmed transfers that could present Fantasy bosses with new targets or have a negative impact on existing assets.

The prices given in brackets in the article below are the players’ Fantasy Premier League cost, rather than their actual transfer fees.

More detailed Scout Reports will follow on a handful of the marquee signings mentioned.

INTERNATIONAL ARRIVALS

While the £9m signing of 18-year-old Facundo Pellistri is very much one for the future, Manchester United completed two other notable swoops on deadline day.

Edinson Cavani has joined the Red Devils on a free transfer, while Alex Telles has signed from Porto for a reported £15m.

Cavani’s capture does have echoes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s move to Manchester, with the Swede signing for United in the dotage of his career (Ibrahimovic was 34 upon his move to the Premier League, an age that Cavani will reach in January).

Ibrahimovic managed 17 goals in 28 appearances in his first year in the English top flight but Cavani will have to pull out all the stops to emulate those achievements, with his best years behind him.

The Uruguayan plundered 138 goals in 200 Ligue I appearances for Paris Saint-Germain but was a peripheral figure in his final, injury-affected year with the French club, starting only seven league games.

Anthony Martial’s (£8.9m) suspension conveniently opens up a void in attack for the next three Premier League matches but Cavani’s last competitive action came in early March, so he may be gradually introduced rather than thrown into the fray in Gameweek 5.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said of Cavani: 

Edinson is an experienced ultimate professional who always gives everything for his team. His goalscoring record for club and country is fantastic and we are delighted to sign a player of his calibre.

He’ll bring energy, power, leadership and a great mentality to the squad but, most importantly, he’ll bring goals. He has had a brilliant career so far, winning trophies at almost every club he has played for, and he still has so much more to give at the highest level.

Telles is in a much better place match-fitness wise, however, having already played three league matches for Porto in 2020/21.

The left-back racked up two goals and as many assists in those three games alone and his rate of attacking returns really catches the eye: last season, he registered 19 of them (11 goals, eight assists) in 31 Liga NOS appearances.

Eight of those 11 strikes were penalties, however, and he would appear unlikely to wrestle spot-kick duties away from Bruno Fernandes (£10.5m) any time soon.

On top of that, six of his eight assists came from corners – again, a tally he would struggle to get anywhere near if Fernandes’ monopoly on set plays continues.

Luke Shaw‘s (£5.0m) position obviously now comes under some threat if Solskjaer sticks with a four-man defence, with Brandon Williams (£4.4m) slipping further down the pecking order.

Jordan Pickford‘s (£5.0m) ongoing struggles between the posts has led to calls from some quarters for Carlo Ancelotti to add to his goalkeeping pool and he has done just that with the acquisition of Robin Olsen.

The Sweden international has arrived on a season-long loan deal from Roma but there is some scepticism over whether Olsen is anything other than a new back-up for Pickford, with his own patchy form leading to him being surplus to requirements at the Italian giants.

Another side who have started 2020/21 well, Leeds United, recruited Brazilian winger Raphinha on Monday.

The versatile wide-midfielder has spent time on both flanks during his career but mostly played on the right at previous club Rennes, so could pose a challenge to Helder Costa (£5.7m) at Elland Road.

Raphinha registered five goals and three assists in 22 run-outs for the Ligue I outfit last season and scored at the weekend in what was his final appearance for the club.

Arsenal’s new defensive midfielder Thomas Partey isn’t likely to appeal from a Fantasy perspective.

But his £45m move could still be significant to us FPL managers, should it have the desired effect of tightening up the backline behind him.

The Gunners’ technical director, Edu, said:

Thomas has all the right attributes to be a top player for Arsenal. He is a leader on and off the pitch and he is exactly the kind of player and person we want at the club. We already feel like we know Thomas very well based on the work we have done analysing his performances closely in recent times.

With his all-round game and positive aggressive style, he will be a brilliant addition to our squad. We’ve made a strong start to the season and we want to continue to build on this with Thomas now part of our club.

DOMESTIC MOVES

Rejoining the club he left as a teenager almost 15 years ago, Theo Walcott (£5.8m) has moved to Southampton on a loan deal from Everton for the rest of 2020/21.

On paper he would appear to be direct competition for Stuart Armstrong (£5.5m), who has been a regular starter as the right-sided attacking midfielder ever since Ralph Hasenhuttl switched to his patented 4-2-2-2 formation midway through last season.

Walcott does have previous for playing in a more central role, however, so it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that he could moonlight as a strike partner for Danny Ings (£8.5m) on occasion.

Hasenhuttl said of Walcott:

There is a lot of history between this club and Theo, so I know how special this will be for him and for our supporters.

But what is most important to me is that we have signed a player who can help our squad and give us another strong option in our attack.

Theo is someone who has all the qualities to fit well into our team and our style of play, and I know from speaking to him that he understands what we want and that he is excited to be a part of what we are doing here.

Injuries to Mason Holgate (£4.9m) and Jarrad Branthwaite (£4.0m) had seen league leaders Everton reduced to a pool of just two fit centre-halves, so Carlo Ancelotti has moved to strengthen his options at the heart of the Toffees’ backline with the capture of Ben Godfrey (£5.0m) from Norwich City.

Godfrey featured on both sides of the Canaries’ defence last season but is primarily a left-sided centre-half, which was where Holgate predominantly played last season – and where Michael Keane (£5.0m) is currently operating.

The former Norwich defender didn’t score or assist once in his former side’s ill-fated 2019/20 campaign.

Fulham’s defence has been a weak link this season and there’ll be little interest in their backline from an FPL perspective, even with the much-needed addition of two centre-backs on deadline day.

Tosin Adarabioyo, who has spent the last two seasons on loan in the Championship, joins on a permanent deal from Manchester City, while Joachim Anderson, a Denmark international with Champions League experience who cost 30 million euros a year ago, signs on a temporary basis from Lyon.

The Cottagers also secured the loan signing of Ruben Loftus-Cheek (£5.9m) in one of the final deals of deadline day.

The Chelsea midfielder and one-time “magic bean” has much to prove even at his affordable price point, although game-time should now be more forthcoming than it was at Stamford Bridge.

DEPARTURE LOUNGE

The fourth-most owned goalkeeper in FPL is no longer a Premier League player, with Orjan Nyland (£4.0m) having his Aston Villa contract terminated by mutual consent.

The Norwegian sits in 13.7% of Fantasy squads at the time of writing, with any pre-season hopes of him offering a budget route into the Villans’ defence long since dashed.

Another pre-Gameweek 1 bandwagon, Ruben Vinagre (£4.3m), has also departed for pastures new.

The wing-back, owned by 4.4% of FPL bosses and in the Wolves starting XI as recently as Gameweek 3, has left Molineux to join Olympiacos on a season-long loan deal, with the Greek side having the option to make the deal permanent.

Partey’s arrival at Arsenal has coincided with two of the Gunners’ other central midfielders departing in loan deals, with Lucas Torreira (£4.8m) and Matteo Guendouzi (£4.8m) joining Atletico Madrid and Hertha Berlin respectively.

Across north London, Ryan Sessegnon (£4.8m) has followed Juan Foyth (£4.4m) out of the exit door – both Spurs players being loaned out for the rest of the season to Hoffenheim and Villarreal.

Jack Wilshere (£4.9m) has had his contract terminated by West Ham United, while Sofiane Boufal (£5.4m) and Chris Smalling (£4.9m) have departed Southampton and Manchester United on permanent deals.

Also on the way out from Old Trafford is Diogo Dalot (£4.9m), who joined AC Milan on a temporary basis on Sunday.

Moise Kean (£5.9m) has joined PSG on loan, meanwhile, with budget FPL midfielder Mateusz Bogusz (£4.5m) leaving Leeds United for UD Logrones until the end of 2020/21.

Lessons Learned from FPL Gameweek 4

• Chelsea 4-0 Crystal Palace
• Everton 4-2 Brighton and Hove Albion
• Leeds United 1-1 Manchester City
• Newcastle United 3-1 Burnley
• Leicester City 0-3 West Ham United
• Southampton 2-0 West Bromwich Albion
• Arsenal 2-1 Sheffield United
• Wolves 1-0 Fulham
• Manchester United 1-6 Tottenham Hotspur
• Aston Villa 7-2 Liverpool