Our latest Fantasy Premier League (FPL) transfer round-up looks at some more moves from the last fortnight.
The most significant players will be the subject of their own dedicated Scout Report but all the others will feature in regular round-ups over pre-season, continuing with this one.
You’ll find all the major deals on our dedicated Transfers page, while you can get a club-by-club guide to the key moves via our comprehensive Pre-Season tab.
Our sister website, Fantasy Football Community, also has a daily round-up of the latest transfer rumours.
LATEST FPL SCOUT REPORTS
- Neco Williams (Liverpool to Nottingham Forest, £17m)
- Raheem Sterling (Manchester City to Chelsea, £47m)
You can find more articles on the likes of Erling Haaland, Gabriel Jesus and Ivan Perisic in our Scout Reports section.
FPL TRANSFER ROUND-UP
Tyrell Malacia (Feyenoord to Manchester United, £13m)
The first signing of Erik ten Hag’s reign at Manchester United, 22-year-old Tyrell Malacia looked set to sign for Lyon until this late hijack. It can be deduced that ten Hag highly rates this athletic left-back after watching him star for Ajax’s rivals Feyenoord in their run to the Europa Conference League final.
Priced at £4.5m in FPL, Malacia has strong potential if he moves ahead of Luke Shaw (£5.0m) in the pecking order. Currently, there is optimism over Man Utd assets, like in midfield where several have received huge price drops.
Under a new head coach, their players could emerge as great options – we just don’t yet know which ones.
Aaron Hickey (Bologna to Brentford, £17m)
After being linked with Arsenal for a while, Aaron Hickey (£5.0m) instead signed for Brentford. He’s yet another talented Scottish left-back, although his versatility often saw him at right-back and left wing-back whilst at Bologna.
Therefore it’s not completely clear whose spot is in danger – Rico Henry (£4.5m) or Sergi Canos (£5.0m). Comfortable with both feet, Hickey managed to score five times last season, becoming the first Scot to do so in Serie A since Graeme Souness in 1984-85.
Brentford begin with a strong run of games, although managers may prefer David Raya (£4.5m) as a cheaper route to defensive coverage.
Clement Lenglet (Barcelona to Tottenham Hotspur, loan)
Spurs’ fifth signing of an exciting summer is the loan of centre-back Clement Lenglet from Barcelona. FPL has already priced the left-footer at £5.0m, with the French international likely to take Ben Davies‘ (£5.0m) spot on the left of Antonio Conte’s back three.
His main strength is ball-playing, which could add another dimension to the attacking potential of Harry Kane (£11.5m) and Son Heung-min (£12.0m). Perhaps Lenglet’s weakness is actual defending, like when he was widely blamed for Switzerland’s opening goal during France’s round of 16 exit at Euro 2020. He was taken off at half-time.
The 27-year-old shined during his 18 months at Sevilla and will hope this new environment brings him back to that level. For FPL managers, Lenglet saves £0.5m on Ivan Perisic and Hugo Lloris but without the attacking potential or security of starts.
Cheick Doucoure (Lens to Crystal Palace, undisclosed)
Although undisclosed, reports say that Crystal Palace paid around £21m to land exciting Mali international Cheick Doucoure.
Handed a £5.0m FPL price, he will take the spot of successful loan signing Conor Gallagher (£6.0m) but don’t expect the eight goals of last season.
That same number arrived over four seasons at Lens, where his central partnership with Seko Fofana played a huge part in the successive seventh-place finishes that followed their return to Ligue 1.
Information from FBRef
More of a box-to-box midfielder, Doucoure is great at breaking up the play with ball interceptions, whilst helping transition with short passes and driving runs upfield.
Joe Aribo (Rangers to Southampton, undisclosed)
Fresh from scoring in last season’s Europa League final, midfielder Joe Aribo has returned to England by signing for Southampton.
The Nigeria international spent three years playing in League One for Charlton before an equivalent length of time at Rangers, delivering 26 goals and 25 assists in all competitions.
“We believe Joe can bring energy and creativity to our side. Feeling comfortable in so many different positions is very helpful for a manager and shows he has a high level of football intelligence, with the ability to take on new information quickly.” – Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl
This eye for goal helped in the latter stages of 2021/22 when a bad injury situation saw Aribo play up front. Yet he didn’t skip a beat, showcasing a versatility that could prove useful on the south coast.
FPL has priced the 25-year-old left-footer at £5.5m and, as the Saints usually deploy a 4-4-2 system, there is even a chance he could be used as an out-of-position forward.
Romeo Lavia (Manchester City to Southampton, £10.5m)
Aribo’s chances of starting in a midfield two further decreased with the addition of Romeo Lavia (£4.5m). The 18-year-old is yet to start a first-team league match but is the latest example of Southampton spending big and putting faith in ‘big six’ youth prospects.
Following last season’s purchase of Tino Livramento (£4.5m) and borrowing of Armando Broja (£5.5m), the Saints have now recruited Lavia and goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu (£4.5m) from Manchester City. A hat-trick will be completed should they also buy Liam Delap (£4.5m) from the champions.
Lavia’s inexperience, defensive-mindedness and tough early fixtures will keep FPL managers away.
Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig to Leeds United, £20m)
While coping with the huge loss of both Kalvin Phillips (£5.0m) and Raphinha, head coach Jesse Marsch has turned to familiar faces from his stints at both Red Bull Salzburg and RB Leipzig.
The latest addition is dynamic central midfielder Tyler Adams (£5.0m). This USA international can also play at right-back, although the signing of Rasmus Kristensen (£5.0m) likely rules that out.
In an interesting piece for The Athletic, Adams speaks in depth about his own game and the way he thinks when on the pitch.
“I always err on the side that I’m going to win every single ball, so I tend to be aggressive and go for it. In the Red Bull DNA, counter-pressing is such an important thing. We try to win the ball as quickly as possible and aren’t afraid to make mistakes because we’re confident in our pressing as a team.”
“As a defensive midfielder, I think way, way more than I do as an outside back. I’m usually the only midfielder who is thinking of transition moments and what I need to do if my team loses the ball. It’s why I win a lot of balls. I’m always thinking about, ‘If this ball pops out here, am I in a good position to win it?’
“This part of my game – winning duels and running after balls – is something that I enjoy doing. I have a really big engine, I’m usually the fittest person on the field, so making these recovery runs, sprinting back to help win the ball back, is something that I’m good at.”
Key to Leeds United’s transformation this season will be the partnership Adams forms with fellow addition Marc Roca (£5.0m). He might not be an FPL prospect – having scored just twice in 103 Leipzig appearances – but may give hope to supporters that they can avoid relegation.
Flynn Downes (Swansea City to West Ham United, £12m)
Crystal Palace almost added Flynn Downes (£4.5m) to the impressive capture of Doucoure but were pipped late on by his boyhood club West Ham United.
A product of Ipswich Town’s youth academy, he moved to Swansea City last season and completed 92.6% of his 2,465 attempted passes – the highest pass-completion rate throughout England’s top four divisions. Having moved to east London, he can now team up with second-placed Declan Rice (91.6%).
148 career games have brought four goals and six assists, which should deter FPL managers.
Omar Richards (Bayern Munich to Nottingham Forest, undisclosed)
The round-up ends with a pair of defensive Nottingham Forest transfers. Firstly, left-back Omar Richards (£4.5m) arrives from Bayern Munich just a year after leaving Reading.
Richards made 12 Bundesliga outings and, according to WhoScored, has the skill set needed to excel as Steve Cooper’s left wing-back.
However, the signing jeopardises Jack Colback (£4.5m) being a steady provider of cheap midfield appearance points and it isn’t as tempting as having £4.0m teammate Neco Williams at right wing-back.
Moussa Niakhate (Mainz to Nottingham Forest, undisclosed)
Pacy centre-back Moussa Niakhate (£4.5m) is another to swap Germany for Nottingham, moving after four years at Mainz.
It’s a deal that proves just how powerful a pull the Premier League is, with an established 26-year-old defender choosing to join a newly-promoted team.
“The two wide centre-backs [at Nottingham Forest] are often key to progression, they will be charged with driving into midfield, attracting defensive cover to spring the two wing-backs who, in turn, will look to slot in the front two with their pace in behind.” – Mark Sutherns
Although Niakhate’s four recent goals were preceded by three in 2020/21, he does seem to commit an above-average number of fouls, conceding 1.7 per game last season.
Apart from Neco Williams, Forest defenders are probably best avoided for the time being.
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