Sam Byram – Fantasy Football Potential

Norwich City have signed West Ham right back Sam Byram for a fee of £750,000. The Englishmen join’s the Canaries on a four year deal and is their fourth senior signing of the transfer window.

Norwich have now signed Patrick Roberts on loan from Mancheter City, Josip Drmic on a free from Borussia Mochengladbach and Ralf Fahrmann from loan from Schalke. And with that, here’s what Sam Byram’s had to say about his move to the Canaries:

“It’s one I’m really excited about and I can’t wait to get started. The Premier League is a massive step up from the Championship and I’m sure everyone who got the Club to where it’s at now, I’m sure they’re all excited now.”

Player History

Sam Byram started his career at Leeds United, where in 2012 he signed his first professional contract for the club. Following During the 3 seasons he was at the club he made a total of 91 appearances in the Championship, scoring 6 goals and creating 9 others.

In January 2016, Byram signed for West Ham on a four and a half year contract, making his debut 3 days later in a 2-2 draw against Manchester City. Over the course of the 2015/16 season Byram went on to make 3 more appearances in the Premier League. The following season, the Englishman made 18 league appearances, 5 off the bench, registering 3 clean sheets, whilst he also managed to register a single assist.

The 2016/17 season was one to forget for Byram as he made just 2 starts in the Premier League. This ultimately lead to him joining Nottingham Forest on a season long loan in August 2018, however this wasn’t much better as he only made 6 appearances for the side as he struggled with injuries.

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Internationally, Byram was called up to the England under-20’s however was withdrawn with an injury. He is yet to be called up by the senior side.

Fantasy Football Potential

Whilst Byram can play at left back, his preferred position is right back, which means he will be in competition with Max Aarons. It is likely that Aarons (£4.5m) will be the starter for the Canaries, but Byram will be good cover if Aarons picks up an injury or needs a rest. What also works against Byram’s favour is his poor injury record, which may put fantasy managers taking a risk on the defender.

Even if Byram was a starter, Norwich face Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City, all in their first five fixtures so they appear to be ones to avoid when it comes to defensive cover. This has been noticed by fantasy managers, with Aarons being their highest owned defensive asset at just 4.9% TSB. Therefore, priced at £4.5m, Sam Byram shouldn’t be one to select at the start of the Fantasy Football season.

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