After a busy Tuesday of transfer activity, we round up all the incomings and outgoings on deadline day and ask what they mean from a Fantasy Premier League (FPL) perspective.
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CRISTIANO RONALDO
- New club: Manchester United
- Position: Striker
- FPL position: Forward
- FPL price: £12.5m
- Positional rivals: Mason Greenwood (£7.7m), Edinson Cavani (£8.4m), Anthony Martial (£7.8m)
Cristiano Ronaldo has finally completed his transfer from Juventus to Manchester United, penning a two-year deal with an option for a further 12 months.
“He’s evolved as a player, he used to play wide right, wide left, up front. He’s more of a centre-forward for me at the moment, definitely.” – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on Cristiano Ronaldo
We’ve already had an in-depth look at what his arrival could mean for FPL managers and existing assets both at Manchester United and beyond, which you can read below:
NIKOLA VLASIC
- New club: West Ham United
- Position: Attacking midfielder/right-winger
- FPL position: Midfielder
- FPL price: £6.0m
- Positional rivals: Pablo Fornals (£6.0m), Said Benrahma (£6.4m), Jarrod Bowen (£6.4m)
With a fairly wafer-thin squad and a UEFA Europa League campaign to embark on after the September international break, West Ham United always looked likely to add to their ranks on transfer deadline day.
Kurt Zouma’s (£5.4m) arrival from Chelsea earlier this week likely spells trouble for Craig Dawson (£5.0m) but there is now more competition for places in the attacking midfield spots behind Michail Antonio (£7.9m).
That’s because Nikola Vlasic (£6.0m) has signed for the Hammers from CSKA Moscow, with the 23-year-old Croatia international able to play in the no. 10 role or as a winger.
Vlasic, who previously had an unremarkable spell at Everton in 2017/18, scored 28 goals and assisted 16 more in 86 league appearances for the Russian side.
Pablo Fornals (£6.0m), Said Benrahma (£6.4m) and Jarrod Bowen (£6.4m) are the obvious players at risk from Vlasic’s arrival, with Fornals and Benrahma both able to play in the hole or out wide on the left.
Given the attacking swagger that West Ham have displayed in the first three Gameweeks, it seems likelier that Vlasic will have to bide his time in the league and ease himself into the fray via European outings.
Longer-term, with David Moyes having two matches a week to juggle, then perhaps we’ll see Vlasic come into contention.
“I have been watching Nikola improve over recent seasons – he has got a good goals and assists record during that time. He is also a Croatia international with experience and still being only 23, I feel there is more to come from him.
“I was really impressed with how determined Nikola was to become a West Ham player. It’s that hunger and ambition that fits with what we are trying to build here at the Club.” – David Moyes on Nikola Vlasic
We’ll have a full Scout Report on the Croatian in the coming days.
The Hammers have also completed the loan signing of Alex Kral (£4.5m), a defensive midfielder who will offer much-needed back-up to Tomas Soucek (£6.0m) and Declan Rice (£5.0m).
MARC CUCURELLA
- New club: Brighton and Hove Albion
- Position: Left-back/left wing-back/left midfielder
- FPL position: Defender
- FPL price: £5.0m
- Positional rivals: Solly March (£5.5m), Dan Burn (£4.4m)
Brighton and Hove Albion have confirmed the signing of Marc Cucurella (£5.0m) from Getafe on a five-year deal.
The 23-year-old Spaniard can play at left-back or as a wide midfielder on the same flank, so will add to the current options that Graham Potter has – namely Solly March (£5.5m) and Dan Burn (£4.4m) – in those positions.
Cucurella’s arrival could, in turn, allow March to be deployed further up the pitch.
We’ve already seen Pascal Gross (£6.0m) and Joel Veltman (£4.4m) moonlighting at left-back/wing-back in the first three Gameweeks of the season, such has been Potter’s shortage of options in the position.
“We have been keen to bring Marc to the club, and we are really pleased to finally welcome him here and are excited to begin working with him.
“He has had a fantastic education in the youth teams at Barcelona and he has gone onto make a real impression in La Liga and within the national set up. He is a versatile player, and he will add competition and options to the squad.” – Graham Potter on Marc Cucurella
Listed as a defender in FPL, a £5.0m price tag looks on the steep side given the plethora of £4.5m-or-less routes into the Albion backline. Eye-catching attacking stats at Getafe last season (26 shots and 37 key passes) are perhaps the reason for that, although he played mostly as a left-midfielder for the La Liga outfit in 2020/21.
DANIEL JAMES
- New club: Leeds United
- Position: Left-wing/right-wing
- FPL position: Midfielder
- FPL price: £6.0m
- Positional rivals: Raphinha (£6.5m), Jack Harrison (£5.9m)
The knock-on effect of Ronaldo’s arrival at Manchester United always looked like bad news for Daniel James (£6.0m) and, after a surprise Gameweek 3 start, the Wales international has departed Old Trafford and signed for a club he nearly joined two years ago.
Leeds have snapped up the 23-year-old winger for an undisclosed fee, with James – adept at playing on either flank but having previously expressed a preference for a left-sided role – set to provide competition to Raphinha (£6.5m) and, more likely, Jack Harrison (£5.9m).
“The [Leeds] football department have been monitoring Daniel for a number of years and every member of my team has worked hard to get this deal over the line. It is no secret that Daniel is a player we have been keen to acquire for a number of years and today we achieved our goal.
“As a player we feel Daniel is an excellent fit for a Marcelo Bielsa team, he is quick, direct and works hard – we look forward to him joining up with the squad, finally!” – Victor Orta, Leeds’ Director of Football, on Daniel James
There is a possibility of all three players starting in Bielsa’s line-up, with Harrison and James on the flanks and Raphinha in the ‘problem’ number 10 position, where the likes of Rodrigo (£6.4m), Mateusz Klich (£5.5m) and Tyler Roberts (£5.0m) haven’t really convinced ever since the Whites came up from the Championship.
But Bielsa has previously gone on record as saying that he sees Raphinha as more at home out wide:
“Fundamentally, he plays on either wing. He is a player who is naturally very attacking, with ability to get in behind, with dribbling skills. They are virtues to attack and these are skills applicable out wide as well as in the centre. “I won’t say that I won’t use him in any other position but fundamentally I see him as player to play on either wing. He has played in the centre as a striker and attacking midfield but he arrived in our team to be an alternative or option on the wing.” – Marcelo Bielsa on Raphinha
The arrival of James has seen Helder Costa (£5.4m) leave Leeds on loan for the season.
EMERSON ROYAL
- New club: Tottenham Hotspur
- Position: Right-back
- FPL position: £5.0m
- FPL price: Defender
- Positional rivals: Japhet Tanganga (£4.5m), Matt Doherty (£4.9m)
Tottenham Hotspur have announced the signing of Emerson Royal (£5.0m) from Barcelona, subject to international clearance and a work permit.
The Brazilian right-back scored four goals and assisted a further 10 in 76 La Liga appearances, mostly for Real Betis.
Japhet Tanganga (£4.5m) has started all three Premier League matches at right-back for the Lilywhites in 2021/22, with Matt Doherty (£4.9m) now shunted further down the pecking order and Serge Aurier (£4.9m) leaving the club by mutual consent on deadline day.
Royal will be coming into the division’s in-form defence, who have banked three successive clean sheets.
The Brazil international is a darn sight more attacking than Tanganga, with Jordi Alba (16) the only full-back to be involved in more La Liga goals than Royal (14) since the start of 2019/20.
The new Spurs signing racked up an eye-catching 37 shots and 62 key passes in his last two seasons with Betis.
ODSONNE EDOUARD
- New club: Crystal Palace
- Position: Striker
- FPL position: Forward
- FPL price: £6.5m
- Positional rivals: Christian Benteke (£6.4m), Jean-Philippe Mateta (£5.4m)
Patrick Vieira has added some much-needed firepower to his attack with the capture of Odsonne Edoaurd (£6.5m).
Bar the odd patch of form, Christian Benteke (£6.4m) and Jean-Philippe Mateta (£5.4m) haven’t really laid down convincing claims to be their side’s spearhead over the last year.
Edouard arrives in the Premier League with an impressive track record, having scored 59 goals and assisted a further 26 strikes in 107 league appearances for Celtic.
And whilst there has to be a big asterisk next to any stat from north of the border considering the calibre of opposition, he’s also a proven performer on the junior international stage: the Frenchman has notched 43 goals in 51 appearances for his country’s various youth sides, all the way up to under-21 level.
A taker of penalties and direct free-kicks for the Glasgow club, it’ll be interesting to see whether he similarly factors into the thinking from dead-ball situations for Palace.
“I’m very happy to be here today. I can’t [wait] start to train with the team and to play for this club… Scoring goals in the Premier League may be the biggest challenge in my career. But I’m confident in myself and my teammates to be successful.” – Odsonne Edouard
The Eagles’ fixtures aren’t particularly appealing right now but Gameweeks 9 or 17 might be the time to consider the mid-price forward should he catch the eye, with more favourable runs starting from those points.
Takehiro Tomiyasu
- New club: Arsenal
- Position: Right-back/centre-half
- FPL position: Defender
- FPL price: £4.5m
- Positional rivals: Calum Chambers (£4.4m), Cedric Soares (£4.4m)
With Hector Bellerin (£4.8m) departing for Real Betis on a season-long loan, Arsenal have reinforced their options at right-back with the capture of Japan international Takehiro Tomiyasu (£4.5m) from Serie A side Bologna.
Tomiyasu has played a large chunk of his games at centre-half, including in half of his appearances in the Italian top flight last season.
If the Gunners are to use him predominantly at full-back, we can perhaps looks to his stats in the 2019/20 campaign – when he was mostly in that position – for guidance.
Tomiyasu registered one goal and three assists in that season, registering a respectable 19 shots and 18 key passes in 29 Serie A run-outs.
“Takehiro is a strong defender with good experience in Serie A and at international level. He’s a versatile defender with great defensive qualities, high technical ability and composure on the ball. He will be an important member of our squad. We look forward to Takehiro joining up with us when he returns from international duty.” – Mikel Arteta on Takehiro Tomiyasu
Alex Runarsson (£4.0m) has departed north London on loan, meanwhile, and Willian (£6.3m) has left the club by mutual consent to join Corinthians.
ADEMOLA LOOKMAN
- New club: Leicester City
- Position: Left-wing
- FPL position: Midfielder
- FPL price: £6.0m
- Positional rivals: Harvey Barnes (£6.9m)
Ademola Lookman (£6.0m) has joined Leicester City on loan from Bundesliga side RB Leipzig.
Predominantly a left-winger, and ergo competition for Harvey Barnes (£6.9m), Lookman scored four goals and assisted as many in FPL last season.
He was also among the top 10 midfielders for goal attempts and chances created, although his goal conversion rate of 5.9% was fairly dismal.
Above: FPL midfielders sorted by goal attempts in 2020/21 (from the Premium Members Area)
SALOMON RONDON
- New club: Everton
- Position: Striker
- FPL position: Forward
- FPL price: £6.0m
- Positional rivals: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£8.2m), Richarlison (£7.6m)
Salomon Rondon (£6.0m) will reunite with Rafael Benitez for the third time, following spells under the current Everton boss at Newcastle United and Dalian Professional.
Likely to play back-up to Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£8.2m) and Richarlison (£7.6m), he’s nevertheless one of the many unheralded players that Benitez has been able to get the best out of in the past – Newcastle-era Andros Townsend (£5.5m), who will now be a teammate of Rondon’s, being a prime example.
In his one season at Newcastle under Benitez, Rondon scored 11 goals and provided seven assists from 32 Premier League appearances.
Moise Kean (£6.0m) has departed Everton for old club Juventus on a two-year loan deal, meanwhile, with the Turin club having the obligation to make the move permanent.
SAUL NIGUEZ
- New club: Chelsea
- Position: Central midfielder
- FPL position: Midfielder
- FPL price: £5.5m
- Positional rivals: N’Golo Kante (£4.9m), Jorginho (£6.0m), Mateo Kovacic (£5.0m)
Saul Niguez (£5.5m) will add to Thomas Tuchel’s options in the middle of the park and provide competition for N’Golo Kante (£4.9m), Jorginho (£6.0m) and Mateo Kovacic (£5.0m).
The Spain international has joined from Atletico Madrid on a season-long loan deal with an option for a permanent transfer at the end of the campaign.
According to the Chelsea website…
Under Simeone, rather than concentrating on being a goalscoring midfielder, he has mostly been deployed as a versatile, industrious player with good positional play to cover, pressure and win the ball, as well as serving the strikers with quick possession.
He brings left-footed balance to a midfield and retains a goal threat with runs into the box, ability to shoot from distance and an aerial presence in open play and at set pieces.
Averaging nearly four goals per season over the last seven years, Saul does, as the Blues state above, carry a little bit more of a goal threat than his three new aforementioned teammates, if we ignore Jorginho’s penalty-taking duties.
The Spaniard has averaged at least one shot per league appearance in each of the previous six campaigns, with 124 of his 474 career efforts in all competitions coming from his head – underscoring that aerial threat.
THE REST
Burnley have confirmed the signing of Swansea City and Wales international defender Connor Roberts, who has signed a four-year-deal at Turf Moor after arriving from the Championship club for an undisclosed fee.
Roberts is a right-back and will provide competition for Matthew Lowton (£4.5m) when he has fully recovered from a groin injury, with veteran Phil Bardsley (£4.0m) presumably falling further down the pecking order.
In terms of outgoings, Leicester’s Dennis Praet (£4.9m) and budget FPL midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White (£4.5m) were among the more notable names heading out on loan.
Budget FPL forward Michael Obafemi (£4.5m) is one a handful of players who have left permanently, along with Watford’s Nathaniel Chalobah (£5.0m).
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