FPL transfer round-up: Collins, Ogbene + more new arrivals assessed

Our latest Fantasy Premier League (FPL) transfer round-up gives attention to some under-the-radar recent purchases.

While our sister site, Fantasy Football Community, will cover all things speculative in the Rumour Mill, we will report only on the confirmed deals that go through.

More specifically, we’ll be asking what each transfer means from an FPL perspective. The most significant players on the move will be the subject of their own dedicated Scout Report but all the other transfers will be covered in summaries throughout the summer.

You’ll also find all the major deals in list form on our dedicated Transfers page.

LATEST FPL SCOUT REPORTS

• SCOUT REPORT: Dominik Szoboszlai (RB Leipzig to Liverpool, £60.1m)
• SCOUT REPORT: Nicolas Jackson (Villarreal to Chelsea, £32m)

FPL TRANSFER ROUND-UP

NATHAN COLLINS (WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS TO BRENTFORD, £23M)

For the third successive summer, centre-back Nathan Collins (£4.5m) has moved to a Premier League club. A year at Burnley, a season at Wolverhampton Wanderers and now he’s joined Brentford for £23m.

After beginning 2022/23 in a partnership with Max Kilman (£4.5m), he received a three-match suspension for his Gameweek 8 red card versus Manchester City, before later losing his starting place to January arrival Craig Dawson (£4.5m).

Above: How Collins compared to Wolves (22/23) and Burnley (21/22) team-mates for goal threat

The 6ft 4in giant was unable to score last season, ranking last of Wolves’ regular defenders for minutes per chance. However, he has two goals from 14 Republic of Ireland caps and netted twice in Burnley home wins over Everton and Southampton.

This transfer reunites him with Ben Mee (£5.0m), the player who was briefly his assistant head coach once Sean Dyche left the Clarets. They’ll be competing with Ethan Pinnock (£4.5m), Kristoffer Ajer (£4.5m) and Zanka (£4.5m) for centre-back spots in a side that regularly switches between using two and three of them.

“He’s a composed and calm defender. His heading in both boxes is a big thing, both in open play and from set-pieces, which is massive in the Premier League. I also like his ability on the ball. He can carry the ball out of defence and also has the composure to find the right pass during build-up play.

“I see leadership potential in Nathan. He’s a perfect Brentford player – hungry and ambitious with a desire to learn.” – Thomas Frank

Collins is priced at a fair £4.5m and, if pre-season suggests he’ll start, could be a good pick for Brentford’s promising early fixture run. They rank fourth-best over the first nine Gameweeks on our Season Ticker, helped by home games against Bournemouth, Everton and Burnley.

Chiedozie Ogbene (Rotherham United to Luton Town, free)

Meanwhile, Luton Town top the ticker over the same period. Their first signing as a Premier League team is 26-year-old Chiedozie Ogbene (£5.0m) – an Ireland team-mate of Collins and the first African-born player to represent the national side.

He joins for free after helping Rotherham United to two League One promotions and a Papa John’s Trophy success. Eight goals arrived last season, as early usage up front in a wing-back system later evolved into being the right-winger of 4-2-3-1. This versatility will be useful to manager Rob Edwards, who prefers to use the former.

“We know we are going to need some real athleticism in the Premier League and he knows how to use it. He’s flexible and he’s going to be able to play through the middle as a forward – but also as a wide one if we wanted to play with wide forwards. He can play a couple of positions.” – Rob Edwards

Above: 2022/23 starting positions, according to Transfermarkt

Categorised as a forward by FPL, his £5.0m price tag will only appeal if it’s suggested that he’ll claim the starting spot of either Callum Morris (£5.5m) or Elijah Adebayo (£5.0m).

When he does play, WhoScored says that Ogbene is a strong dribbler who wins free kicks. In fact, he drew the third-most fouls in last season’s Championship (88).

Mads Andersen (Barnsley to Luton Town, undisclosed)

Joining at the same time is defender Mads Andersen (£4.0m). The uncapped Danish centre-back arrives from Barnsley, where he was captain and Player of the Season for 2022/23. Yet it ended in late Wembley agony, conceding to Sheffield Wednesday in extra time stoppage time to prevent League One promotion.

Handed a £4.0m price by FPL, it remains to be seen whether Edwards deems Andersen to be a starter. Yet his unveiling quote could hint that popular budget pick Amari’i Bell (£4.0m) isn’t completely nailed on.

“He’s going to bring real good quality and competition into that position, with us obviously losing Sonny Bradley this summer. But the position we see Amari’i Bell in now, Mads’ arrival gives us real quality and competition in that area.” – Rob Edwards

Luton’s promotion was based on a strong defence. Playing with a similar wing-back formation to Barnsley, only champions Burnley conceded fewer goals and kept more clean sheets. Furthermore, nobody relinquished fewer shots on target (122) or goals from open play (20).

Although Andersen has only scored once in each of his last three seasons, if he’s part of a Luton backline that adapts well to Premier League life, he could be a strong FPL squad pick.

OTHERS

Finishing the transfer round-up is a pair of freebies who look set to be back-up goalkeepers. Lawrence Vigouroux (£4.0m) joins Burnley from Leyton Orient, whilst Northampton Town’s Tom King (£4.0m) is now at Wolves.

29-year-old Vigouroux is an English-born Chilean youth international and arrives as one of several back-ups to Arijanet Muric (£4.5m). An interesting character, he once had a loan at Swindon Town terminated because he paid a £50 fine in pennies.

After the loan was reinstated and later made permanent, he was sent off in both 2016/17 outings versus Oxford United. A post-match red card in 2017/18 led to a four-match ban. But things have since settled and he was named Player of the Season in all three years at Leyton Orient.

Also adding squad depth is King. He brings plenty of Football League experience and is the current Guinness World Record holder for longest-ever goal. In 2021, his 105-yard goal kick hit some wind and bounced over opposition stopper Josh Griffiths.

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