January transfer deadline day has now passed, and late developments in the market could potentially shape Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers’ thinking.
We were live blogging all the confirmed deals as they were announced on Thursday, which you can catch up on below.
Any prices you see in brackets are the players’ FPL prices but the ‘real-life’ transfer fee will also be reported on where possible.
TRANSFER DEADLINE DAY – AS IT HAPPENED
00:29 – Armando Broja (Chelsea to Fulham, loan)
Arguably the most significant transfer of the day from a Fantasy perspective – which is saying something.
It raises the prospect of a sub-£5.0m forward getting more regular game-time at a club that is ensconced in midtable, rather than scrabbling for safety like we might expect at such a price.
Armando Broja (£4.9m) is that man, making the short hop across west London from Chelsea to Fulham.
The Cottagers’ need for a forward was heightened by Thursday’s news that Raul Jimenez (£5.2m) faces “weeks” on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.
Marco Silva’s side have been a weird side this season, going crazy and scoring on 16 occasions in Gameweeks 13-16.
But just a dozen goals have been scored in their other 18 fixtures.
Broja, it’s fair to say, is still living off his potential.
Just one league goal has arrived this season, the same as 2022/23. He’s never been giving a sustained run at Chelsea, it has to be said, while a serious knee injury ruled him out for the first nine months of 2023.
There were only six goals scored in 32 runouts for Southampton in a previous loan spell away from Stamford Bridge, with Broja briefly flickering on the Fantasy radar as a £5.0m forward.
23:07 – Matz Sels (Strasbourg to Nottingham Forest, £5m)
The death knell for Matt Turner (£3.9m)?
Neither he nor Odysseas Vlachodimos (£4.5m) have convinced between the sticks since their summer arrivals.
Turner has started all four league games under new boss Nuno Espirito Santo but his appearances have been littered with errors, particularly when it comes to distribution.
Both Nottingham Forest custodians haven’t exactly shone with their gloves, either, conceding a combined 9.5 more goals than Opta deems they should have:
The name of Forest’s new arrival may ring a bell: he was on Newcastle United’s books between 2016-2018, producing some iffy displays in the Championship and quickly losing his place.
He’s bounced back to some extent since then, establishing himself as number one at a Strasbourg side that has generally bobbed around between midtable and the Ligue I relegation zone during his five and a half years there.
He’s also been capped six times by Belgium since leaving Tyneside.
There are reasons to be concerned, however, with his own xG prevented figures on the poor side during his stay in France.
He has also saved a lower percentage of his shots (62.9%) than Turner (68.8%) this season.
22:30 – Enes Unal (Getafe to Bournemouth, loan)
Bournemouth have confirmed the loan signing of 26-year-old striker Enes Unal from Getafe.
The Cherries have the obligation to make the move permanent for around £14m if certain conditions are met.
The Turkey international has scored 34 goals in 103 La Liga appearances since joining from Villareal in 2020.
Only three of those run-outs have come this season, as he was sidelined by a serious knee injury from late May to mid-December.
But 30 league goals encouragingly arrived across his previous two campaigns.
Likely to play backup to Dominic Solanke (£7.1m) at first, Unal’s arrival has seen former deputy Kieffer Moore exit for Ipswich Town on loan.
Unal should settle quickly: he actually has previous experience of life at a Premier League club, having been on the books of Manchester City for two years without making an impact.
“It is someone probably different from Dom (Solanke) especially. He is a proven goalscorer in La Liga. He has been successful there.
“I also think his mentality and his physicality adapts really well to the Premier League.
“He also speaks the language, he has had some experience in Manchester City when he was younger and all these things I think will help him in this adaptation process that for sure he will have.
“There is obviously a part of it where he is not 100 per cent fit still, because normally with ACLs, it is one thing to get onto the pitch to play some minutes, but he still knows he has to continue his rehabilitation until he gets to 100 per cent.
“But in the meantime, he will help us also.
“I am sure whenever the visa process and everything finishes and he can be here, he will be ready to train and to help the team from day one.” Andoni Iraola, in quotes from the Bournemouth Echo
He has also made 32 appearances for Turkey, scoring twice.
22:15 – Lorenz Assignon (Rennes to Burnley, loan)
A new right-back for Burnley, who may well let Conor Roberts (£4.3m) leave as a result.
Assignon will tussle with Vitinho (£4.4m) for the right-back slot at Turf Moor.
He does bring with him some decent underlying numbers from Ligue I this season, creating a chance every 50 minutes – that’s about the same as what Pedro Porro (£5.9m) has managed at Spurs.
Still, he’s swapping comfortable midtable obscurity in an inferior league (sorry, Ligue I fans) for a relegation battle over here, so there’d have to be some ‘tax’ on those numbers.
Assignon began the season as Rennes’ first-choice right-back but lost his place after November, partly brought about by a change in shape.
Burnley’s right-backs have contributed zero goals and one assist this season, with Vitinho creating just four chances in 16 runouts.
22:04 – Joe Gauci (Adelaide United to Aston Villa, undisclosed)
We’ll keep this brief as it’s a new number two (or three) goalkeeper for Aston Villa, someone who will only see minutes if Emi Martinez (£5.2m) is sidelined.
A twice-capped Australia international, 23-year-old Gauci is currently with his national team at the Asian Cup and will join up with Villa once the Socceroos’ involvement is over.
He signs from Adelaide United, where he had established himself as the club’s number one over the last two seasons.
21:20 – Mason Holgate (Everton to Sheffield United, loan)
Another signing to not set the pulses racing.
Not only was Mason Holgate (£4.0m) deemed expendable by Sean Dyche at the start of the season but he has also struggled for game time at loan club Southampton in the Championship.
Holgate made just five league appearances after joining the Saints last August, warming the bench for most of his stay and not kicking a ball in the second tier since November.
Chris Wilder has seen something in him, however.
Time was when a playing £4.0m defender would have put Fantasy managers on high alert but they’re ten a penny this season, with the likes of Auston Trusty (£3.9m) and George Baldock (£3.8m) on the books of the Blades already.
Baldock’s recurring injury issues might be one of the reasons the versatile Holgate has been brought in, as the former Everton man can cover at right-back.
He’s also an option as a centre-half in a back three, should Wilder wish to move back to that setup.
Anel Ahmedhodzic (£4.3m) has been linked with a move away so it remains to be seen if Holgate has been recruited to cover that exit.
Not much of a goal threat, Holgate scored on just three occasions in 126 runouts for Everton.
19:05 – Maxime Esteve (Montpellier to Burnley, loan)
Maxime Esteve has joined Burnley on loan from Montpellier for the rest of the season.
The 21-year-old centre half started the campaign on the bench but has since developed into a key player for the Ligue 1 side, making 14 appearances across all competitions. In that time, he’s returned one goal and one assist.
Esteve has been capped at U21 level by France, so carries potential, although with five centre-halves already on the Burnley books, it’s unclear where he initially fits in.
18:30 – Adam Wharton (Blackburn Rovers to Crystal Palace, £18m)
Having completed the signing of right-back Daniel Munoz (£4.5m) on Tuesday, Crystal Palace have further strengthened by agreeing an £18m deal for box-to-box midfielder Adam Wharton.
The youngster has shown plenty of promise playing under Jon Dahl Tomasson this season, scoring two goals and assisting three in 26 appearances.
Averaging 1.3 key passes per match this term, he is not the finished article but is expected to initially compete with the likes of Jefferson Lerma (£4.7m) and Will Hughes (£4.8m) for a place in the Eagles’ engine room.
11:07 – Morgan Rogers (Middlesbrough to Aston Villa, £15m)
It’s a quick profit for Championship side Middlesbrough, who only spent £1.5m when buying Rogers from Manchester City in the summer. The versatile forward has since brought seven goals and nine assists in all competitions, including a strike against Chelsea in the EFL Cup semi-final.
Often used as a winger, Rogers seemed to play centrally when recently facing Aston Villa in the FA Cup. It was enough to impress Unai Emery, so perhaps the 21-year-old will challenge Moussa Diaby (£6.6m) for a place next to Ollie Watkins (£8.8m).
09:37 – Rodrigo Ribeiro (Sporting Lisbon to Nottingham Forest, loan)
The day’s first confirmed deal sees Nottingham Forest loan this Portugal Under-20 forward, with a summer option to buy for £10m. It’s unlikely to affect the now-fit Taiwo Awoniyi (£6.3m), who came on to bag a late midweek consolation against Arsenal.
Ribeiro made his senior debut in the 2021/22 Champions League versus Manchester City but is yet to score. Instead, this season has been with Sporting’s B side, netting twice in 10 games.
Yesterday – Giovanni Reyna (Dortmund to Nottingham Forest, loan)
Forest have also borrowed attacking midfielder Reyna, born in Durham while his father Claudio played for Sunderland. He emerged as a wonderkid at Dortmund but things have stalled over recent times, with just one 2023/24 Bundesliga start.
This followed last season’s lowly four, although he still found time to deliver seven goals and two assists in 609 minutes – a rate of 87 minutes per goal.
Alongside this move, Reyna extended his contract until 2026. There’s no option to make the switch permanent. Since his December arrival, head coach Nuno Espirito Santo has been using a 4-2-3-1 formation. That suggests that £5.0m Reyna will provide competition to Morgan Gibbs-White (£5.7m), with another option being to start on the left.
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