West Ham’s Mauro Zarate is set to miss the next couple of league matches through injury. The Hammers close in on a deal for Alex Song. Ryan Bertrand remains sidelined for Southampton, United take up pursuit of Sadio Mane, whilst Tim Sherwood waits on the fitness of Villa’s new wide man, Adama Traore.
Zarate sidelined for two matches
Mauro Zarate picked up a knock in training and is now set to miss West Ham’s home trip against Bournemouth and trip to Liverpool.
The Scout Says: With Andy Carroll and Enner Valencia also injured, Slaven Bilic faces a dilemma up front. The Hammers boss utilised a 4-3-1-2 in recent matches, with Zarate alongside Diafra Sakho, and could turn to either Modibo Maiga or Elliot Lee if he decides to continue with the same system. Alternatively, Bilic could well switch to the 4-2-3-1 set-up he regularly employed during pre-season, fielding Dimitri Payet in “the hole” behind lone striker Sakho. The 6.5-priced Senegalese striker already looked like a strong pick-up for the Hammers’ upcoming fixtures, given that they welcome the Cherries and Newcastle to the Boleyn Ground by Gameweek 5. On the flip side, Sakho’s 3% ownership may well be concerned that he’s tallied just two goals in his previous 11 league starts for the Irons.
Song edges closer to Hammers encore
West Ham co-owner David Sullivan revealed that Alex Song is poised to pen a three-year deal with the club subject to him passing a medical:
“He’s a player we all admire and we just hope that the medical shows he’s in a sufficient state for us to gamble. He couldn’t physically pass a medical tomorrow, but if the medics say it’s just a technical thing and he’s only a couple of weeks away you’d take that gamble and hope they’re right. He’s still got two years left on his Barcelona contract and you’re signing a player on a three-year contract, so it’s a huge commitment. He’s a big earner, Alex. He’s injured at the moment, which is something you’ve got to weight up. But we’ve got until September 1st to make a decision.”
The Scout Says: Song’s return to the Irons would raise further doubts over the playing time of Reece Oxford. The 4.1-priced defender emerged as a potential gem by playing from start to finish against Arsenal in Gameweek 1 but was withdrawn after just 45 minutes of the Leicester City clash. Bilic later admitted that the distribution from midfield improved significantly upon the introduction of Oxford’s replacement, Pedro Obiang, suggesting that the 16-year-old could be consigned to bench duty for the time being. Oxford has been drafted in by over 42,000 FPL managers this week but Song’s arrival would surely push him further down the pecking order.
United lodge bid for Mane
Reports surfaced on Wednesday night that Manchester United have tabled a bid for Southampton winger Sadio Mane. Understandably, the official line out of Saints is that the Senegalese international is a key component of their team that they’re not willing to sell.
The Scout Says: In the event that Southampton are swayed by a substantial offer and Mane plots a course to the Red Devils, the former Red Bull Salzburg wide man could be an even more attractive Fantasy prospect at the 8.0 mark. While there’s doubtless greater competition for places at Old Trafford, Mane’s ability to function effectively in any of the three supporting roles in Louis Van Gaal’s 4-2-3-1 formation would hold him in good stead. Furthermore, the Dutch boss recently stated that he prefers to play attack-minded forwards in the number ten berth – rather than midfielders in the mould of Ander Herrera – with Mane certainly fulfilling that remit. Any possible move would perhaps heighten Graziano Pelle’s appeal as the main target for the Saints, whilst the likes of Adnan Januzaj and Marouane Fellaini would struggle for minutes at United if Mane made the switch.
Sherwood questions Traore’s fitness
Having watched Adama Traore complete 90 minutes for Aston Villa’s U21 outfit, Tim Sherwood believes that the Barcelona youth product is some way off being fit enough to be considered for first-team action:
“Adama looked very short of fitness to me. He’s going to need the exercise to get himself up to speed. I don’t expect too much too soon but I know exactly what we’ve bought there. He’s a player who’s developing and has got exciting talent for the future of the club. We’re hoping that he can produce something for us immediately but I don’t think we should be putting too much pressure on him.”
The Scout Says: For now, Sherwood has settled on a front three of Gabriel Agbonlahor, Scott Sinclair and Jordan Ayew, but with Rudy Gestede pushing for starts, Jack Grealish expected to make the Crystal Palace trip and Carles Gil not far behind, that’s subject to change over the coming weeks. As such, few Fantasy managers will be eyeing up the Villains’ forward line at present, despite the fact they boast a fixture schedule (cry, SUN, lei, WBA) conducive to attacking returns over the next four Gameweeks.
Koeman admits defence needs time
Ronald Koeman has attributed Southampton’s poor start on the defensive front to the fact that his new-look rearguard needs time to gel. Nonetheless, the Saints boss is confident his latest recruits can flourish if they put in the hours on the training pitch:
“I knew already maybe there was a problem because, if you talk about the defensive strengths of the Southampton team we had last season and a big part of keeping cleans, you are taking about certain positions – goalkeeper, four defenders and two controlling midfield players. Some asked me about Schneiderlin – he was just one of five different players (missing) in those positions last Saturday. It’s normal that you will lose something – the new players need time in that position, the team needs time to develop and have the same strengths as last season. If you’re missing five of the seven, that is one of the reasons we have already got five goals against us in two Premier League games. We need time and we need to develop and learn, we need training sessions.”
Koeman also offered an update on the fitness of Saints’ squad, revealing that Ryan Bertrand won’t be reinstated until after the international break:
“Steven Caulker will come back to the squad. He’s back from illness but the rest is the same. They are progressing well (Jordy and Ryan). I think Ryan needs two weeks more. I hope he will be 100 per cent after international duty. Jordy will then be fit as well and that makes the team stronger.”
The Scout Says: Bertrand’s continued absence will allow the 4.0-priced Matt Targett to temporarily remain as the Saints’ left-back, whilst Caulker’s return will seem him vie with Maya Yoshida for the centre-back berth alongside Jose Fonte. After shipping three at home to Everton, though, Fonte has been sold by over 70,000 FPL managers, with the Saints’ slow start to the season persuading many to look elsewhere. Although the next three fixtures look promising (wat, NOR, wba), it may well be that Fantasy managers reassess Koeman’s outfit once the likes of Bertrand and Clasie are back in the fold as they look to rediscover the form that harvested 15 clean sheets last time around.
