Welcome back to some fantasy football tips. Some will have enjoyed the Premier League break; however it has possibly been the longest few weeks of my life. Having to sit watching England under 21’s, you tend to miss the Premier League even more. More specifically, there has been no Everton to moan at, which does has its positives a times!
It is however the first time in what feels like the clubs history, Everton has actually managed to complete some signings early on and even more miraculously, they’ve managed to sign two players in one day! Without further ado, let’s consider some of these transfers and delve into some of the fantasy football potential that Everton has to offer.
STAR MAN – Sandro Ramirez (7.0m)
With 14 goals last seasons for Malaga, Sandro Ramirez comes to the Premier League with some brilliant potential and it is a bit surprising that Barcelona did not have a buy back clause inserted into his contract! His shot accuracy is higher than Griezmann’s, scoring more than Neymar and Benzema, and he can only improve while playing with a better team. Malaga finished 11th last season, and with a team like Everton who have plenty of playmakers, he’s definitely going to be one of the players for Everton who score highly this season. With rumours of Sigurdsson joining Everton, he could be getting a few more chances than he did at Malaga.
At the moment, Sandro is the only striker Everton have. Giroud, Dembele, Benteke have all been linked, but Sandro is the only man who has signed, which can only be good, as he certainly will be guaranteed minutes at the start of the season if things stay the same. 14 goals last season would have been higher than any other Everton player by 9 goals (excluding Lukaku)! He has been priced by Fantasy Premier League at 7.5m, which could have been lower, however if you take a look at other players prices around him, he could be argued as “cheap”. With that in mind, Sandro could prove to be a great cheap option for your strike force, and you can use the spare cash to spend on other players, such as Kane and Aguero.
HIDDEN GEM – Leighton Baines (6.0m)
It’s always hard to find a hidden gem for certain teams, and Everton is one of them. However, one player who has certainly fallen under the radar recently is Leighton Baines. With all the new signings (Rooney, Klaassen, Pickford etc), certain players have been forgotten about and some fantasy managers will have forgotten that Baines was the highest scoring Everton defender last season and the 5th highest scoring defender in the whole of FPL, with 135 points. With the signing of Jordan Pickford, Everton will potentially be able to keep more clean sheets and the signing of Michael Keane should also solidify this. The record last season was 16 clean sheets, and Everton could match or even beat this record next season.
Leighton Baines also has an attacking threat, with him being the penalty taker last season. With that said however, it’s unknown whether he will keep that role for this season, as Klaassen could be the one taking them this campaign. Baines should however stay on corner and set piece duty, increasing the potential of goals, assists and more importantly those fantasy football points!
BARGAIN – Davy Klaassen (7.5m)
Ross Barkley was originally going to be the bargain of the Everton squad, however Barkley is unlikely to be staying at Everton, which was quantified with his omission from the pre-season tour of Tanzania. Therefore, Davy Klaassen takes over as the Bargain option, with a price of 7.5m.
Klaassen is a great player and was arguably one of the best players in the Dutch league last season. Many players have joined the Premier League from the Eredivisie, some flopping and others being great successes, with Everton fans really hoping it will be the latter in the coming season! The 24 year old is typically a box to box midfielder and his incredible stamina means he will be able to play the full 90 minutes week in week out. He scored an incredible 14 goals last season as a midfielder, assisting 9 times for Ajax. At 7.5m, a midfielder who can score/assist and keep clean sheets is definitely one to consider. His passing and finishing is fantastic, and this bargain could be crucial to your FPL team.
PREDICTED LINE UP
Pickford
Baines – Keane – Williams – Holgate
Schneiderlin – Gueye – Klaasse
Mirallas – Rooney – Sigurdsson
If you have enjoyed this early view of the fantasy potential of Everton, be sure to check the other teams here.
Written by Bonus FPL (@BonusFPL)
