Plenty of intriguing moves were made on transfer deadline day, but perhaps none more eye-catching than Manchester City swooping in to splash close to £200 million combined on Enzo Fernandez (£6.9m) and Iliman Ndiaye (£6.0m).
Here, we assess what the arrival of both players – and the gaps left at former clubs, Chelsea and Everton – could mean from a Fantasy Premier League (FPL) standpoint.
EVERTON PENALTIES – BARRY TO THE FORE?
We’ll start at Everton, where Ndiaye’s departure creates uncertainty regarding the club’s first-choice penalty taker. The Senegalese winger had taken and scored each of their four top-flight penalties across the last two seasons.
Of those who remain, James Garner (£6.0m) netted from the spot in a 2025/26 FA Cup match against Sunderland, but that was his career’s first senior competitive penalty.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (£6.5m) has taken just one himself, scoring it in the 2023/2024 Championship, while loanee Jack Grealish (£6.5m) missed his only career Premier League spot-kick back in 2019/20, before netting one in the cup versus Salford City the season before last.
That’s why Thierno Barry (£5.5m) is the name that jumps out the most.
Firstly, with nobody coming in to replace the departing Beto, he seems to have an uncontested run as Everton’s starting striker until January.
Also, Barry took a penalty during this summer’s pre-season match against Stuttgart despite Ndiaye being on the pitch. Tucking two away in 2024/25 (just before joining) boosts his appeal further.
Eight league goals were a modest return from his debut campaign in England, but he scored in Gameweek 1 and delivered a Carabao Cup hat-trick.
Put this all together, and Barry could emerge as a leading budget-friendly forward option, particularly given Everton play all three newly promoted sides between Gameweeks 5 and 10.
GREALISH NAILED?
A quick word on Grealish, whose FPL stock inevitably rises now that he’s no longer on the fringes at the Etihad Stadium.
Two goals and six assists from 18 starts and two substitute appearances amounted to a reasonably promising start to last season’s loan on the blue half of Merseyside. But, in January, he then suffered a campaign-ending foot injury.
Choosing to return there, we expect the 30-year-old to be the Toffees’ first choice on the left, ahead of Tyrique George (£5.5m), who started the opening two Gameweeks.
NDIAYE AN ‘FPL LOSER’ OF DEADLINE DAY
Switching focus to Ndiaye, departing for Man City is a good career move and a solid pick-up for Enzo Maresca.
However, his FPL appeal has taken a hit for several reasons:
LOSS OF PENALTIES
Erling Haaland (£15.5m) is most certainly the top dog for these.
Even beyond the Norwegian, it could be Ndiaye, Enzo, Antoine Semenyo (£8.5m), a fit Jeremy Doku (£7.4m) etc. It’s hard to pinpoint who’ll be second choice without further evidence.
LESS DEFCONS
Meanwhile, Ndiaye was unusually adept at earning defensive contribution (DefCon) points as an Everton winger. He achieved this six times last season, and in Gameweeks 1 and 2 this time.
Yet Man City’s wide attackers just aren’t typically DefCon deliverers. None of them has hit the 12-contribution threshold – or even 10 in the case of Nico O’Reilly (£6.5m) when he played on the left in Gameweek 1 – during the opening two rounds, and none last season’s options averaged above 7.00 DefCons per 90 minutes.
Whether it be down to Man City dominating possession more than Everton (69.5% v 41.4% so far), which requires their wingers to do less defensive work, or the fact that Enzo Maresca seems to like his wingers staying high and wide, we won’t be expecting to see Ndiaye earn DefCon points with anywhere near the same frequency as he did in a darker shade of blue.
JUST ANOTHER OPTION FOR THE CITY ROTATION?
Rotation will almost inevitably affect all players at some point in a squad this large and talented. It’s still overflowing with options despite several departures.
| CM | Anderson, Enzo, O’Reilly, Bouaddi, Kovacic |
| CAM | Cherki, Foden, Enzo, O’Reilly |
| WINGS | Semenyo, Doku, Foden, Ndiaye, Allan |
| CF | Haaland, Semenyo, Ndiaye |
Ndiaye will therefore be far from the nailed-on, 90-minute man we’ve become accustomed to seeing him as. Being able to play on either wing is handy, but will he be the first choice on either flank?
He was most often used on Everton’s right last season, but Man City already have Semenyo and newcomer Allan Elias (£6.0m) as natural options there. Plus, there’s the more centrally-inclined Rayan Cherki (£7.7m) and Phil Foden (£7.0m).
Perhaps Ndiaye could make the left wing slot his own if Doku’s injury struggles continue. But even then, Maresca has alternatives like Foden, Semenyo and O’Reilly.
That’s why Ndiaye should be approached with caution in FPL, at least for now. Whether it’s immediate or a few weeks away, an exodus and some price drops should be expected.
WHAT ABOUT ENZO?
A bit like Ndiaye, we should also be cautious about Fernandez, despite a joint-British record £125m fee securing his services.
It is understood that the club’s willingness to do so was driven by Maresca’s keenness to reunite with his former Chelsea skipper. He views the player as a trusted and reliable on-field commander who is already familiar with his demands and playing style.
A recent comment saying that he was hoping to add “a captain” further highlights that point. This suggests that his namesake will be a regular starter.
LIFE UNDER MARESCA AT CHELSEA
During 2024/25, Maresca’s full season in charge of Chelsea, Fernandez most commonly flitted between central and defensive midfield positions, alongside Moises Caicedo (£5.4m) in a double pivot but with license to roam forward.
Very rarely was Fernandez deployed in a starting ‘number 10’ role; just three times in fact, against Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool.
Yet last season, he was given increased attacking responsibilities a little more regularly – albeit mostly between late September and December when Cole Palmer (£9.6m) was struggling with injury – before Maresca and the club parted ways in January.
After that, Fernandez was given further chances to operate higher up and scored three goals when doing so. Better output suggests that he’s comfortable in such a role.
Indeed, his attacking output across the last two Premier League seasons – switching from six goals and eight assists (2024/25), then 10 goals and five assists (2025/26) – is because he’s in more advanced areas, indicative of a player choosing to go for glory himself more often, rather than looking for a teammate.
Indeed, just looking at his time under Maresca, the underlying stats back up that hypothesis, with a fall in chance creation and spikes across the board with his shooting numbers from 2024/25 to the first half of 2025/26:
| 2024/25 | 2025/26 |
|---|---|
| 36 appearances | 18 appearances (until Maresca left) |
| 53 shots (1.61 per 90) | 37 shots (2.15 per 90) |
| 30 shots in box (0.91 per 90) | 25 shots in box (1.45 per 90) |
| 20 shots on target (0.61 per 90) | 16 on target (0.93 per 90) |
| 8 big chances (0.24 per 90) | 8 big chances (0.46 per 90) |
| 79 chances created (2.40 per 90) | 28 chances created (1.62 per 90) |
| 13 big chances created (0.40 per 90) | 5 big chances created (0.29 per 90) |
Of course, at Man City, the attacking focal point will always be Haaland, probably followed by Semenyo. So Fernandez may have to settle for being a bit further down the pecking order again in terms of receiving chances.
There’s also the fact that Man City have two brilliant ‘number 10’ options in Cherki and Foden. In central midfield, Maresca’s options are notably more limited.
Elliot Anderson (£6.4m) should be a lock, with promising but raw teenager Ayyoub Bouaddi (£5.5m) more likely to be his deputy this season. Mateo Kovacic (£5.5m) won’t be a first XI regular, while Rico Lewis (£4.5m), Matheus Nunes (£6.0m) and O’Reilly are usually full-backs these days.
FPL POTENTIAL AT MAN CITY
Exactly how Fernandez’s starting position affects his FPL points potential will naturally become clearer over the coming weeks as we watch his integration.
We don’t expect much from him in terms of DefCon points, averaging 7.05 actions per 90 last season and hitting the threshold just 5.6% of the time. If anyone will hoover these points up, it’ll likely be Anderson, like in Gameweek 2.
Fernandez may be encouraged to shoot less, given that a finisher of Haaland’s calibre is there instead. But that isn’t to say we won’t see him bomb forward, mind. Last season, he placed at number three for runs into the attacking third (376), and second for runs that made him an option to receive a cross (116), so it’s unlikely that Maresca will stamp out those instincts too much.
His ability to get the ball forward with progressive passes ranked him – alongside stat-leader Anderson, interestingly – among the league’s top central midfielders last season. Line-breaking and chance-creating passes were another area in which Fernandez excelled, according to Opta data.
He should therefore still carry a decent level of attacking threat, but will it be enough to justify his FPL price tag?
IMPACT ON O’REILLY, CHERKI, FODEN
All these recent additions mean that Man City’s lineup is tough to call.
£116 million man Anderson is settling into his role at the base of midfield and is unlikely to be budged. £86 million teenager Bouaddi will probably be eased in.
If Fernandez is to be a box-crashing ‘eight’, then the direct threat to Cherki and Foden is lessened a little. But there’d certainly be less need for FPL defender O’Reilly to be used in midfield.
The versatile young Englishman’s appeal stems largely from his attacking potential, so these anticipated limits are a blow.
He could, of course, still get forward from left-back, but competition exists there in the form of Josko Gvardiol (£5.6m) – reportedly one of Maresca’s “pillars” – and Rayan Ait-Nouri (£5.4m).
Out wide, Ndiaye’s presence means that, once Doku has recovered from his calf injury, it’ll likely be those two competing for the left wing, and Semenyo on the right.
When everyone is fit, that would appear to leave Cherki – said to have been close to a half-time substitution in Gameweek 2 – and Foden, already classed by his new manager as “not a winger”, jostling for one place in attacking midfield. That’s if Maresca doesn’t field Fernandez in that spot.
If you already own O’Reilly, Cherki or Foden, there probably isn’t a need to panic about Gameweek 3. Not when they’re hosting Coventry City.
Beyond Saturday, though, it could be worth exploring potential exit routes.
