FPL transfer round-up: Chong, Solomon + more new arrivals assessed

Our latest Fantasy Premier League (FPL) transfer round-up gives attention to some under-the-radar recent purchases.

While our sister site, Fantasy Football Community, will cover all things speculative in the Rumour Mill, we will report only on the confirmed deals that go through.

More specifically, we’ll ask what each transfer means from an FPL perspective. The most significant players on the move will be the subject of their own dedicated Scout Report but all the other transfers will be covered in summaries throughout the summer.

You’ll also find all the major deals in list form on our dedicated Transfers page.

LATEST FPL SCOUT REPORTS

• SCOUT REPORT: Sandro Tonali (AC Milan to Newcastle United, £55m)
• SCOUT REPORT: Guglielmo Vicario (Empoli to Tottenham Hotspur, £17.2m)
• SCOUT REPORT: Bart Verbruggen (Anderlecht to Brighton and Hove Albion, £16.3m)

FPL TRANSFER ROUND-UP

TAHITH CHONG (BIRMINGHAM CITY TO LUTON TOWN, £4m)

Incredibly, newly-promoted Luton Town entered the summer having only twice spent over £1 million on a player in their history. It’s not often that a £4 million transfer smashes the club’s record but that’s the case with Tahith Chong (£5.0m).

The 23-year-old arrives from Birmingham City, where his loan was made permanent from Manchester United a year ago. In fact, one of his early appearances for the Blues saw him applauded off the field by Luton fans after inspiring a 5-0 hammering for the away side.

61 outings brought five goals and eight assists, numbers that won’t immediately impress FPL managers. Furthermore, he’s often labelled as a winger but his 2022/23 positions suggest a versatility that will find him a role in Rob Edwards’ 3-5-2 formation.

Similarly to their capture of Rotherham United’s Chiedozie Ogbene (£5.0m), Edwards has spoken about his intentions.

“Tahith is someone that I, and the club, have known for a very long time. I first crossed paths with him when I was at Wolves a few years ago and he was in Manchester United’s Under-23s. I’ve liked him from then, and he was a bit more of a winger at the time.

“Looking at him in a lot more detail at Birmingham this year, he’s been able to play inside as a midfield player as well.” – Rob Edwards

Luton’s early fixtures are hampered by their Blank Gameweek 2 but the Netherlands Under-21 international is extremely affordable, should he find form.

ASHLEY YOUNG (ASTON VILLA TO EVERTON, FREE)

A veteran of FPL, Ashley Young (£4.5m) is the only player to have been classified in the game’s three different positions. Initially a forward during his early Aston Villa days, he peaked as a £10m midfielder but has recently been a defender.

Still going strong at 38, Young is Sean Dyche’s first signing as Everton’s manager. And that feels right, doesn’t it?

This will be his 17th season in FPL, where the time from 2007 to 2012 was particularly fruitful.

A brief spell at Inter Milan stopped it from being 18 seasons. Under Antonio Conte, Young became only the third Englishman to win Serie A and his trophy-laden career also involves sitting 15th in the all-time Premier League assists list with 71.

“I’ve known Ashley for many years, having been his captain when he first broke through at Watford, and his qualities both on and off the pitch will prove valuable. His impressive statistics from last season, which were among some of the best in Europe, highlight what he can bring to Everton.” – Sean Dyche

However, not many of these have come in recent times. Starting 23 times for seventh-placed Villa last time, only once since 2014/15 has he ended a campaign with over five goal involvements.

Whilst Everton’s initial fixture run is strong, Young has competition at full-back from Seamus Coleman (£4.5m), Vitalii Mykolenko (£4.5m) and Nathan Patterson (£4.5m), so he’s probably not a way to cover the Toffees’ defence.

MANOR SOLOMON (SHAKHTAR DONETSK TO TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR, FREE)

A brilliant dribbler who likes cutting inside from the left flank, Manor Solomon (£5.5m) was limited to four league starts for Fulham because of a knee injury and the form of Willian. Yet he scored in five successive games in all competitions, going viral when people noticed their similarity.

His loan at Craven Cottage took advantage of a FIFA ruling that allowed non-Ukrainian players to suspend their contracts due to war. Once the governing body extended this to June 2024, Spurs were able to secure the 23-year-old on a free transfer because his Shakhtar contract was set to expire this December.

It enables the Israeli talent to add more attacking options for new boss Ange Postecoglou, an attacking coach who loves Solomon’s attitude.

“He’s someone who was identified pretty early. People are well aware of the way I set my teams up and those attacking positions, particularly the wide attacking positions, are really important so you look for players that can have those characteristics. He’s also a young guy who’s really ambitious. I love working with guys who still have a great desire and fire in their belly to achieve.” – Ange Postecoglou

The winger moved to Shakhtar in January 2019, going on to score five Champions League goals against the likes of Manchester City and Real Madrid.

He excited Spurs fans during Tuesday’s friendly with West Ham United and, with nice-looking opponents from Gameweek 3 onwards, Solomon could force his way into the starting line-up and be a bargain at £5.5m.

ANIS SLIMANE (BRONDBY TO SHEFFIELD UNITED, UNDISCLOSED)

Meanwhile, the first signing since Sheffield United’s promotion is Tunisian international Anis Slimane (£5.0m). He faced his birth country Denmark and eventual runners-up France in last year’s World Cup, beating the latter 1-0.

Before moving to Brondby and guiding them to their first Danish Superliga title in 16 years, Slimane had a nomadic youth career at many clubs. Now aged 22, the editor-in-chief of VilfortPark.dk – a site dedicated to Brondby – finds the move “surprising.”

“Slimane is a technically gifted midfielder. He is great when he’s on the ball and has a good eye for his teammates. He’s good at setting up them for chances and is also a good dribbler, able to score himself with a nice shot from distance. He has struggled when Brøndby played direct as he likes to be on the ball a lot.

“His mentality has been questioned. He was in a fight with a teammate in the spring, and has been criticised for lacking professionalism and not working hard enough. He is a talented lad, but has never really put it all together for an extended period of time.” – Toke Theilade

He’s expected to be in the midfield three of Paul Heckingbottom’s wing-back system. If he stars in pre-season, early fixtures versus Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest and Everton can provide the potential for extreme differential success.

YASSER LAROUCI (TROYES TO SHEFFIELD UNITED, LOAN)

The Blades have also added Yasser Larouci (£4.5m) to their squad, where he’ll challenge Max Lowe (£4.5m) and Rhys Norrington-Davies (£4.0m) for the left wing-back role.

A France Under-21 player, he made two cup appearances for Liverpool but was released in 2021. Regular football then occurred at Troyes but their recent relegation to Ligue 2 allowed Sheffield United to loan him with an option to buy.

Had Larouci been handed a £4.0m FPL entry, he may have been of interest. However, his own club already provides George Baldock (£4.0m) and the six goals of centre-back Anel Ahmedhodzic (£4.5m) as candidates, never mind same-priced players elsewhere.

ANGELO GABRIEL (SANTOS TO CHELSEA, UNDISCLOSED)

Finally in this transfer round-up, Chelsea have returned to Brazil just six months after purchasing Andrey Santos (£4.5m) from Vasco da Gama. This time it’s 18-year-old Angelo Gabriel (£5.0m), a left-footed, right-sided winger who has already racked up 129 senior appearances for Santos.

He’ll probably be sent out on loan to develop but it’s worth noting that Angelo is the youngest player to ever appear in the Brazilian top flight (15 years, 308 days) and is the Copa Libertadores’ youngest goal scorer (16 years, 106 days).

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