We are back once again with more Summer Transfer Window news, with our FPL Transfer Window article, where we delve into the big money moves and discuss those players prices come the release of the FPL Game on July 10th, as well as the possible impact these players will have on the Fantasy Premier League 2017/18 season.
We won’t go into long drawn out introductions today, if you want to know who I am, feel free to check out the last FPL Transfer Windowarticle and for more FPL content check out my FPL Today Youtube Channel, which hosts the show linked with this article also handily named the FPL Transfer Window. It’s always nice when stuff just links together nicely, isn’t it?
Today we are going to dive into the stats and estimate the prices of three big money moves, all of which are £23 Million Pounds or more in transfer value. So, let’s get into it!
Mohamed Salah to Liverpool (Estimated Price: 9.0m)
It had been rumoured for most of the week, and finally the transfer saga ended on Thursday Night, Mohamed Salah became a Liverpool player for a fee that could end up being £34.3 Million according to Sky Sports. Considering this player had a dismal spell at Chelsea, some people have deemed this transfer an over expensive signing by Klopp and Liverpool. However, Liverpool are not the same club that bought players for too much and seeing them flop. Lallana, Wijnaldum, Mane and Firmino have all at one point or another justified their prices tags. So can Mohamed Salah join that illustrious group?
The stats from his 2016/17 season in the Serie A are extremely promising, and if I’m honest, they got me excited when I did the research. Having 29 starts for Roma last season, he managed to get double figures in both goals and assists, with 15 goals and 11 assists for Roma. His Shots Per Game was at 2.6 and Key Passes at 2.3 per game as well.
There is a problem however and that is the players around him. If we assume Salah is classified as a midfielder, he is contending with the likes of Mane, Coutinho, Lallana and Firmino for a place in our sides. His goals and assists were better than all three of them, but they have proven themselves in the Premier League. This means price could be a real determining factor in this conundrum.
I’m assuming that the Fantasy Premier League decision makers will look at these stats and look at Mohamed Salah’s strengths and price him similar to Sadio Mane. Mane started the 2016/17 season at £9.0m, ended on £9.3m but that was probably only because of picking up an injury and the African Cup of Nations causing his price to drop. If Salah however comes up at £8.5m or crazily even lower, then he’ll really be vying for our attentions with both Mane and Coutinho most likely coming in at £9.5m.
Victor Lindelof to Manchester United (Estimated Price: 6.0m)
A signing seemingly made with one eye on the future, Victor Lindelof has been brought into the Manchester United side with a hefty transfer sum of over £30m. With that sort of price tag and being compared to the likes of Raphael Varane & Rio Ferdinand, you can only imagine that Lindelof is coming in to take up a very regular centre back position in this Manchester United side. With Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Marcos Rojo and more players on the books capable of playing in this position, it’s likely some assets will be moved on, and rotation might be an issue for that backline this season.
Manchester United also have a favourable run of fixtures to start the season, so the signs are promising right? Well unfortunately they aren’t. Defenders last year became an important asset for FPL Managers and averaged a higher point per value total than their midfield and striker counterparts. This is down to the potential of goals and Aasists on top of clean sheet points. When a defender can pair these two categories together, the point total can make or break a gameweek and the stats for Lindelof, from Benfica, one of the biggest clubs in Portugal, suggest our attention might be better placed elsewhere in the Manchester United backline.
In 2016/17 season, Lindelof scored just 1 goal for Benfica. The Shots Per Game and Key Passes also don’t show a player who was just unlucky not to be involved in more goals, with 0.4 Shots per Game and 0.2 Key Passes per Game. Compare that with the output of Luke Shaw, Antonio Valencia and Daley Blind, and Victor Lindelof suddenly starts appearing like a player that could help Manchester United get more clean sheets, but not get the explosive FPL Points.
His Price may save him as a fantasy asset! If he comes in at £5.5m or cheaper, then he becomes a lot more valuable. Manchester United were a good source of clean sheets last year and with more expensive FPL Defenders outperforming the potentially more expensive Manchester United defenders, maybe Lindelof is the one to fit into your side. My prediction is however, that he’ll be priced at £6.0m because of such a big money move and in my eyes that makes him an unlikely candidate for my team.
Davy Klaassen to Everton (Estimated Price: 8.0m)
Well Everton are getting their business done early it seems. With Jordan Pickford already signed and future transfers looking to be in advance talks, Everton have added Davy Klaasen to their midfield for around £23 million. A product of the Ajax Youth Academy having signed for the club at 14, ten years on and he’s following in the footsteps of many an Eredivisie prodigy in making the move to the Premier League.
Ronald Koeman has clearly looked at his midfield, compared it to the top clubs and realised there was a deficiency of goals and assists in midfielders. Everton lacked creativity and end product last year. Ross Barkley managed 5 Goals and 11 Assists. Kevin Mirallas was the 2nd most productive with 4 goals and 8 assists. So bringing in a player with 14 goals and 9 assists, on the face of it makes perfect sense. Add to that, the fact that Barkley is refusing to sign a new contract, just compounds how needed this signing was for Koeman and Everton.
For a player of this type moving to Everton and with his numbers from Ajax the way they are, I believe Klaassen will be price relatively high for an Everton Midfielder. Right now he looks like an important signing and has the stats to suggest he could be important in the 2017/18 season. If he’s cheaper than my predicted £8.0m he could be a great player for our midfields, but my gut tells me that £8.0m is the price FPL will go with.
Anyway guys, that wraps up his FPL Transfer Window article, for more views and information on these transfers be sure to give the video below a watch and subscribe for more!
Written by JNO United (@JNOUnited)
YouTube Channel – FPLToday
