The return of defensive contributions monster Joao Palhinha (£5.5m), a new Newcastle United goalkeeper, and the next Rayan Ait-Nouri (£6.0m)…?
The transfer market is currently in full flow and our latest round-up will look at some of the most recent moves to the Premier League.Â
Don’t forget that you can find all the confirmed transfers listed here throughout the summer.
Our complete pre-season guide also contains a wealth of other articles to read ahead of the new campaign.
Joao Palhinha (Bayern Munich to Tottenham Hotspur, loan)
Portuguese midfielder Joao Palhinha (£5.5m) has returned to the Premier League from Bayern Munich on a loan deal. Spurs have an option to buy him for £26m, too.
This comes after a pretty underwhelming time with the Bavarian club last season, where he made only six league starts and a further 11 substitute appearances. There were zero goal contributions – not that that’s his forte.
No, his real strength is his defensive work.
Until this summer, that was an irrelevance in FPL. But not now, with the advent of defensive contributions (DC) points!
We know from his time at Fulham that Palhinha can be an imposing figure in that holding midfield position – and the stats more than back that up.Â
Above: The Premier League’s leading players for tackles in 2022/23 (left) and 2023/24 (right)
During the two seasons he spent in England’s top flight, no one got close to him for tackles (300 in total). He also ranked sixth for interceptions (92).Â
So, how did those numbers translate into DC points? Unsurprisingly, pretty damn good.
No one, indeed, amassed more than his 92 across his full two seasons with Fulham.
Above: The Premier League’s leading players for defensive contribution points (DC) in 2022/23 (left) and 2023/24 (right)
Spurs are crying out for a combative and defensively-minded midfield player, with there being some uncertainty about the future of Yves Bissouma (£5.5m). Rodrigo Bentancur (£5.5m) and Lucas Bergvall (£5.5m) will be key figures in the engine room but neither is quite the natural ‘six’ that Palhinha is.
Therefore, the role the former Fulham man could play in a new-look Spurs side under Thomas Frank could be huge.
His only downside would be in discipline. The Portuguese international racked up 27 yellow cards across 2022-23 and 2023-24 – at least five more than anyone else in that period.Â
You’d need to deduct those likely penalties from his expected DC points, then, when weighing up his FPL worth.
Callum Wilson (Newcastle United to West Ham United, free)Â
Callum Wilson (£6.0m) has completed his move to West Ham after failing to sign a new contract with Newcastle.Â
The 33-year-old joins Graham Potter’s squad on a one-year deal.Â
The striker had limited game time last season, making 18 appearances and only two starts due to being stuck behind Alexander Isak (£10.5m) in the pecking order at Newcastle. He failed to score a single goal last season as well.Â
But a change of setting could reignite Wilson’s career after struggling to establish himself as a starter for his previous club over the last couple of seasons.Â
The English forward still boasted an excellent record for the Magpies, netting 47 goals in 71 starts and 42 sub appearances since his £20m move from Bournemouth in 2020.Â
Ignoring last season’s washout, he has consistently been near the top of the forwards’ shot-to-goal ratio charts:
Above: The Premier League’s leading forwards for shot-to-goal ratio in 2022/23 (left) and 2023/24 (right)
While Isak’s arrival at Newcastle in 2022 contributed to his lack of game-time, injuries also didn’t help. He was in the matchday squad for only half of Newcastle’s games over the last two campaigns.
His main competition for minutes at West Ham, Niclas Fülkrug (£6.0m), has had a strong pre-season. The German looks set to lead the attack alongside Jarrod Bowen (£8.0m) come Gameweek 1.
So, Wilson is a bit of a non-starter in terms of FPL for the big kick-off. Given that Fullkrug is himself prone to the odd lay-off, however, Wilson should get his chance further down the line. When he’s on the pitch, he generally delivers – but can he stay out of the treatment room this season?
David Moller Wolfe (AZ Alkmaar to Wolverhampton Wanderers, £10m)Â
Norwegian international, David Moller Wolfe (FPL price TBC), joins Wolves on a five-year deal. He cost £10m from Dutch side AZ Alkmaar.Â
Wolves and Wolfe feel like a good match – not just for the name on the shirt but because the 23-year-old will be filling the void left by Rayan Aït-Nouri (£6.0m), who departed for Manchester City earlier in the window.
The Norwegian can play as a traditional left-back or left-wing-back, so will slot in nicely to the Wolves squad. He started 30 out of 34 league games for AZ last year, and racked up eight goal contributions (two goals, six assists) throughout the season.Â
His underlying numbers are Ait-Nouri-lite, but then again, Wolfe was more of an orthodox left-back in 2024/25, rather than a wing-back like his predecessor.
| Starts (+ sub apps) in 2024/25 | Shots | Chances created | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ait-Nouri | 37 (0) | 36 | 46 |
| Wolfe | 30 (1) | 15 | 18 |
When settled in, he’s expected to take the starting left wing-back spot, with Hugo Bueno (£4.5m) and Rodrigo Gomes (£4.5m) his unconvincing competition. Bueno spent last season on loan at Feyenoord and could be on his way out.
Wolves’ form improved dramatically under Vitor Pereira, who secured 12 wins in 25 games and tightened up their defence. Pereira also got the best from Aït-Nouri, who provided four goals and seven assists last season. That’s such a high bar that the Algerian has set, of course, and we’ll be keeping our Fantasy wallets in our pockets until we’ve seen a little bit of Wolfe in action.
Aaron Ramsdale (Southampton to Newcastle, loan)
The England goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale (£5.0m) completed a season-long loan from Southampton to Newcastle last Saturday.Â
He reunites with Eddie Howe, having previously worked with his new boss at Bournemouth.Â
Howe signed Ramsdale from Sheffield United back in 2017, and Ramsdale credits Howe with having a great influence on his career in his early years as a professional.
“Working with the manager and his coaching staff again were a big draw for me. They’ve already had a great influence on my career and the gaffer turned me from a man into a professional footballer at Bournemouth. He really showed me the ropes so the manager and his coaching staff were a huge selling point for me to come here.” – Aaron Ramsdale
Ramsdale spent the previous campaign as the starting No.1 for Southampton, who were relegated from the Premier League with only 12 points. That was the England ‘keeper’s fourth different club he’s been relegated with during his career so far, earning him an undesirable reputation.Â
He let in 66 goals and managed only three clean sheets in his 30 league outings last season but we can’t pin the sorry Saints’ woes on him, as they were ill-equipped for Premier League survival.
According to Opta, indeed, Ramsdale didn’t let in more goals than what was ‘expected’ of him. In fact, he had the same xGP as new rival Nick Pope (£5.0m)!
It is uncertain how much gametime Ramsdale will get next season, given the competition in goal at Newcastle. It may be Pope’s shirt to lose initially.Â
But Ramsdale’s ability to play out from the back more effectively than Pope might be a factor in him getting the nod sooner than we think. It’s maybe telling that the Magpies were also chasing James Trafford (£5.0m), another ball-playing ‘keeper.
Avoid both Newcastle goalkeepers and revisit in, say, Gameweek 9 when the fixtures improve.
Kieran Dewsbury-Hall (Chelsea to Everton, £24m)
One to intrigue Fantasy managers as Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is only £5.0m in FPL.
There’s not really much to assess him on in terms of Premier League numbers. Indeed, he made only two starts for Chelsea last season.
In his one full top-flight campaign for Leicester City, he delivered a meagre two goals and three assists in 31 outings. He would have scored a so-so 14 defensive contribution points, so he was neither one nor the other.
But it’s his year under Enzo Maresca in 2023/24 that raises hopes of a spike in attacking contributions. Dewsbury-Hall bagged 12 goals and 14 assists in the Foxes’ promotion-winning campaign.
The big question is: where does David Moyes play him? If it’s in the double-pivot, there’s not a great deal of hope of much beyond DC points. If it’s further forward, say in the ’10’, he could be decent value for money.
One to keep an eye on in Everton’s final pre-season friendly this weekend.
Angus Gunn (Norwich City to Nottingham Forest, free)
We’ll keep this one brief: a new back-up goalkeeper to Matz Sels (£5.0m)!
Angus Gunn (price TBC) may be second in line behind Sels, with Carlos Miguel (£4.0m) linked with a move away.
Gunn kept seven clean sheets in 35 league outings for Norwich City last season.
