As expected, quite a lot of last-minute deals were completed before the passing of Tuesday’s 23:00 transfer deadline.
For Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers, certain transactions – or lack of – have created winners and losers.
We’ve picked out a few below, looking purely at the very late moves, not those from recent weeks.
Also, be aware that the transfer windows of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Portugal, Brazil and some others are still open. So, for example, it’s too early to declare victory for Ismaila Sarr‘s (£6.3m) owners.
FPL WINNERS
Thierno Barry (£5.5m)
In pre-season, Barry and Beto were competing to be Everton’s number one forward.
But a situation has developed where Barry began the first two matches, Beto moved to Fiorentina, and there was no time to find an alternative once Folarin Balogun had his late change of heart.
Suddenly, this cheap non-promoted striker has no positional rival and should be a nailed-on starter.
He could even be the Toffees’ penalty taker now that Iliman Ndiaye (£6.0m) has left – more on him later. While James Garner (£6.0m) has a shout, Barry took a summer spot-kick against Stuttgart while Ndiaye was watching.
Jack Grealish (£6.5m)
On the other hand, there’s a bad vibe amongst Everton supporters about how things ended. Multiple departures, no Balogun or Richarlison (£5.9m) arrivals, and a long right-back search ended with an underwhelming capture of Ainsley Maitland-Niles (£4.5m).
Yet some slight joy comes from Grealish’s return. Loaned there last season, he started well by registering two assists in both Gameweek 2 and 3, but a foot injury ended things in January.
Currently in only 0.2% of FPL squads, he’s switched from a fringe Manchester City asset to an Everton starter.
Luke Shaw (£4.5m)
Back to players benefiting from what didn’t happen, Manchester United had repeatedly been linked with left-backs.
Once it became crystal clear that Lewis Hall (£5.1m) wasn’t for sale, several enquiries were made elsewhere – even a sensational attempt to loan Rayan Ait-Nouri (£5.4m) from their local rivals!
However, ultimately, the Red Devils are left with just Shaw as a natural in that position. Someone who has a long injury record but – in fairness – started all 38 last season.
Priced cheaply, owners may still want to sell him because of tough fixtures and their leakiness versus Hull City and Ipswich Town. But it won’t be related to any rotation threat.
Christos Tzolis (£6.5m)
As Gameweek 1 inched closer, this Arsenal summer signing became quite a popular pick. Then his opening night assist triggered 235,000 further purchases heading into Monday’s Aston Villa trip.
Unfortunately, Tzolis duly put in a bad individual performance that included a yellow card, a half-time removal and zero points. Momentum has shifted, as the 24-year-old now finds himself being FPL’s second-most sold player heading into Gameweek 3.
Deadline day could have further adversely affected the Greek wide-man – but he seems to have emerged unscathed.
No other winger has arrived to replace Gabriel Martinelli or Leandro Trossard. It seems to just be Tzolis and Eberechi Eze (£6.4m) competing for one place, then.
Tzolis’ xMins may have taken a dent in the last few days, but it could have been even worse had another positional rival arrived.
Yoane Wissa (£6.1m)
Next, we head up to Tyneside, where Nick Woltemade has temporarily left for Juventus, and Will Osula‘s (£6.0m) foot injury could be worse than initially thought.
The addition of versatile attacker Matias Fernandez-Pardo (£6.0m) is impressive but, even if he’s used as a centre-forward, it’ll just nudge Wissa into a ‘number 10’ role – the same one that caused Gameweek 1 menace to Liverpool.
The DR Congo international assisted that day, then netted past Tottenham Hotspur.
So, why does he appear on this list? The answer: possible spot-kick duty.
Newcastle United’s summer overhaul has seen the departure of all three players who shared last season’s 12 penalties.
Wissa has scored 13 of his 15 career penalties, and you’d think a striker with his goal thirst would desire an opportunity to add to his tally.
A speculative ‘winner’, then, but he’s no worse off than he was before.
FPL LOSERS
Iliman Ndiaye (£6.0m)
A few ‘losers’ emerged, too. And the first three are related to Man City’s business.
Buying Ndiaye from Everton is good for him and them, but not the Senegalese midfielder’s 1.5 million FPL owners.
He’ll not be on penalties anymore, not with Erling Haaland (£15.5m) around.
Plus, he isn’t a nailed-on starter and certainly won’t be the 90-minute man of before.
This therefore reduces his defensive contribution (DefCon) capabilities, something he was rewarded for in Gameweeks 1 and 2. Regardless of minutes, City’s winger simply don’t have as much off-the-ball work to do. Enzo Maresca’s side bossed 69.5% of possesion in the opening two Gameweeks – and Everton had only a 41.4% share.
Nico O’Reilly (£6.5m)
Meanwhile, the addition of Ndiaye, Enzo Fernandez (£6.9m) and Ayyoub Bouaddi (£5.5m) makes Man City’s lineup tougher to call.
When Jeremy Doku (£7.4m) is fit, we could quickly see Rayan Cherki (£7.7m) and Phil Foden (£7.0m) competing for one spot. Maybe even none, especially when Enzo can be more advanced, when asked.
If Enzo is an ‘eight’ alongside Elliot Anderson (£6.4m), which seems likelier, then there’s less need for O’Reilly in central midfield. What about left-back? We know Ait-Nouri and Josko Gvardiol (£5.6m) play there, and the latter is reportedly one of Maresca’s ‘pillars’.
It’s a wait-and-see situation but there are a lot more game-time concerns than before.
Cody Gakpo (£7.0m)
For such reasons, transferring to Man City wouldn’t have made Gakpo a more appealing pick. But a rumoured move to Tottenham Hotspur was full of potential.
Yet the Dutchman remains at Liverpool because the Reds wouldn’t budge from a fee that those clubs – even this version of Spurs – weren’t willing to go near.
Up to £123 million has subsequently been splashed on Bradley Barcola (£8.0m). So, while Gakpo has begun the season brightly, he is now his club’s backup in two positions.
There’s the possibility of him starting on the right, as he did in Gameweek 2, but Victor Munoz (£6.5m) turned in a promising showing against Nottingham Forest and indeed scored from that flank after Gakpo’s withdrawal.
Emersonn (£5.5m)
Newly promoted Ipswich spent big money to get Emersonn from Toulouse, and the striker scored in Gameweek 1’s win.
However, after failing to lure Tammy Abraham (£5.5m), they captured Zian Flemming (£5.5m), who bagged 11 top-flight goals for Burnley last season.
Emersson suffered a knee injury last weekend so, even if it’s a short-term absence, Flemming may now have the chance to stake a first-team claim.
Dan Ballard (£5.0m) + Omar Alderete (£5.0m)
Although still looking weak in attack, Sunderland strengthened their strong point by adding three defenders during the summer.
Tuesday brought in Kevin Danso (£5.0m), whose loan will become permanent should the Black Cats survive. They now have four good centre-backs fighting for two roles, with European rotation soon to be a factor.
Alderete was already without a start in either match, but Ballard seemed fairly secure. The latter may still be fine for the time being, as Nordi Mukiele (£5.5m) can simply shift to right-back. Thomas Meunier (£4.5m) may drop out instead.
But Danso hasn’t come to warm another bench, and Alderete – still working on his match-sharpness – was a mainstay last season. Who drops out in the medium term, then?
Several £4.5m midfielders
Hull completed six deadline day transfers, taking them up to a staggering 18 overall. Amongst such chaos were the arrivals of Tim Iroegbunam (£5.0m) and Christos Mouzakitis (£5.0m).
That’s now SEVEN central midfielders – not even including a further three who are red flagged! – fighting for two, maybe three spots.
That makes it harder to predict the future minutes of Regan Slater (£4.5m) and Matt Crooks (£4.5m), even if the former has the shirt for now.
Over at Aston Villa, George Hemmings (£4.5m) started both initial games. But exciting 18-year-old Ibrahim Mbaye (£6.0m) has joined from Paris Saint-Germain in a £47 million deal, furthering diminishing Hemmings’ medium-term prospects.
