The Premier League Summer Transfer Window has officially closed. Deadline Day signings will be processing through waivers on Thursday 2nd September... so we're here with a deep dive into the new arrivals! Check out our expectation for these new Fantasy EPL players, and what kind of impact they could have on the Premier League!
Looking for even more Fantasy EPL content? Check out our Gameweek Prep articles for all the weekly content you would ever need!
Deadline Day Transfer Analysis
We outline each Premier League new signing individually, providing our views on how they will perform this season and a star rating is given based on their upcoming prospects! We use a five-star rating model to rank the new signings; use these hints and tips to help get your Draft Premier League season off to a flyer!
We’ve ranked the prospects based on a star rating, from 1 to 5:
⭐️ = Steer clear
⭐️⭐️ = Wait and see
⭐️⭐️⭐️ = Could be worth a punt
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ = Great prospect
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ = The Premier League signing you’ve been waiting for!
Please Note: FAB Value %'s mentioned throughout this article are based on the % of your leagues starting budget. So for example if you started with $100, we recommend spending $10-15 on Vlasic.
Nikola Vlasic
Position: Attacking Midfielder (Midfielder in Fantrax)
Team: West Ham United
Signed From: CSKA Moscow for £25.7m
Prospects: Nikola Vlasic is a talented player and his transfer value suggests as much. He should score well when he plays, but his playing time is cloudy at the moment. Vlasic can likely play all 3 positions behind Antonio for West Ham, but all midfield roles are currently filled by the in-form Fornals, Benrahma, and Bowen. West Ham bought Vlasic to provide more quality midfield depth and give them the ability to rotate players more, particularly now that they're in the Europa league. Like Benrahma last year, Vlasic may get introduced slowly to the team and EPL, but it’s reasonable to think he could be in the EPL XI at least some of the time in a couple weeks. Ideally, you’d pick him up as soon as he gets substitute minutes or West Ham lose, but you’ll likely not have that luxury.
Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
FAB Value: 15-20%. As above, Vlasic is likely to be slowly integrated into the side. But midfielders are at a premium in Fantrax this season, so spending 15-20% of your budget on him seems fair.
Marc Cucurella
Position: Left Sided Defender/Midfielder (Defender in Fantrax)
Team: Brighton
Signed From: Getafe for £18m
Prospects: Marc Cucurella is another talented player bought for a significant fee with a cloudy path to the starting XI. Played predominantly as a LM or LWB in Spain, Cucurella looks like a good option for Brighton at LWB. However, Brighton already have a quality option in Solly March, who plays there. Unfortunately for March, he’s injured right now, so if Cucurella adjusts quickly enough, he could steal the starting role. Brighton's manager, Graham Potter, tends to use his players in a variety of roles, so when they're both healthy, I imagine he’ll often find a way to get Cucurella and March in the same lineup.
Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️
FAB Value: 5-10%. Worth a punt if you're struggling for defenders, but otherwise wait and see where Cucurella lines up. With March out injured, he could slot straight in at LWB.
Connor Roberts
Position: Right Back (Defender in Fantrax)
Team: Burnley
Signed From: Swansea City for an Undisclosed Fee
Prospects: Connor Roberts has arrived at Burnley to provide competition to Matt Lowton. I can see the Welshman eventually taking over as first choice right-back, and offering decent potential as part of a usually tight defence. Roberts is currently recovering from an injury sustained at the Euros, so he's not one to get excited about just yet. Look out for him when he's fully fit and gets into the side; he should be a perfectly serviceable streamer.
Rating: ⭐️
FAB Value: N/A. Currently injured. Pick up Roberts from the free agent pool if/when he starts.
Daniel James
Position: Right/Left Winger (Midfielder in Fantrax)
Team: Leeds
Signed From: Manchester United for £25m
Prospects: Daniel James has never really been a Fantrax asset worthy of owning. He showed glimpses of his potential during his limited minutes, but it was always hard to tell how good he actually was when surrounded by much better players. His average of 5.9 points per start from last season shows that he really isn't suited to the Fantrax scoring system. However, the £25m move to Leeds gives James a chance to establish himself in a good Premier League side with a talented and experienced manager. The Welshman is very quick, and has a great work rate which Bielsa will like. The question remains as to where he fits into the side. James could either share minutes with Harrison, or play on the right with Raphinha shifted centrally. There is also a question mark over his ability to improve his Fantrax points production!
Rating: ⭐️⭐️
FAB Value: 5-10%. As above, it remains to be seen where James fits into the Leeds side, or if he'll be able to significantly turn around his usually poor Fantrax scores. Very much a 'wait and see'.
*James may have processed in Tuesday waivers, and may even currently be in the free agent pool of some leagues*
Ademola Lookman
Position: Left/Right Winger (Midfielder in Fantrax)
Team: Leicester City
Signed From: RB Leipzig on loan
Prospects: Big, big fan of this move. Not necessarily because of the potential of Lookman, but for the increased prospects for the Leicester side. Perez and Albrighton just aren't good enough to play on the right wing in Leicester's 4-3-3 if they really want to contend with the top sides. Lookman has arrived on loan from RB Leipzig, and I'm encouraged by his prospects as a midfielder in Fantrax. The player pool was desperate for midfielders! The Englishman averaged 9.8 points per game last season for Fulham, scored four and assisted four. He took set pieces, and was generally one of their brightest sparks. If Leicester stick with 2 wingers flanking a single striker and Lookman makes the right wing spot his own, he could be in a great position.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
FAB Value: $30-$40. I would be willing to spend fairly big on Lookman, especially if your roster needs an additional midfielder. He should establish himself on the right wing, and will hopefully provide Fantrax managers with a Top 75 player. Maybe even Top 50.
Emerson Royal
Position: Right Back (Defender in Fantrax)
Team: Tottenham Hotspur
Signed From: Barcelona for £25.8m
Prospects: The Emerson to Spurs signing can be thought of very similarly to Reguilon to Spurs last season. Both fairly attacking full-backs who come from La Liga with nice Fantrax stats. Emerson has to compete with Tanganga and Doherty for right back starts now that Aurier has left, but there’s a reason Spurs bought him for the amount they did. They expect him to be their starting right back, and I think it’ll only take a few weeks for him to settle nicely into that role.
Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
FAB Value: 15-20% depending on how much you need a defender. Emerson’s value should be about identical to Reguilon’s.
Alex Kral
Position: Central Defensive Midfield (Midfielder in Fantrax)
Team: West Ham United
Signed From: Spartak Moscow on loan
Prospects: Kral is a defensively oriented center mid signed to back up Declan Rice and Soucek in West Ham’s engine room. Outside of an injury to 1 of those 2 players, Kral should not be expected to start often in the EPL. As a CDM, he’ll also not score particularly well even when does play.
Rating: ⭐️
FAB Value: N/A. No need to touch Kral unless Soucek or Rice go down, and even then he’ll lack any real upside.
Odsonne Edouard
Position: Central Striker (Forward in Fantrax)
Team: Crystal Palace
Signed From: Celtic for £14m
Prospects: Now this is a tasty one. Odsonne Edouard has joined Crystal Palace after a very successful stint at Celtic. The Frenchman scored 16 goals and provided 5 assists in 26 games last season, although the Scottish Premiership is a lower standard of football. Nonetheless, this is a pretty exciting signing. Edouard should perform well under the stewardship of countryman Vieira, and I'm sure that was a big factor in deciding to join Palace. He'll probably have to wait a couple of months to really settle in and start games regularly, but by Christmas he should be the guy at Palace. Edouard may be goal dependent, but the goals are likely to come fairly regularly (for a Palace player, anyway).
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
FAB Value: $15-$25. I would use a decent chunk of my FAB budget on Edouard, although the depth of the forward pool means you may not need to bid this much. As long as you are able to be patient, he's worth bringing in.
Takehiro Tomiyasu
Position: Right/Centre Back (Defender in Fantrax)
Team: Arsenal
Signed From: Bologna for an Undisclosed Fee
Prospects: Takehiro Tomiyasu is a versatile defender who should be useful to an Arsenal side letting in goals for fun. He has the ability to play both RB and CB but will likely slot in as a RB for Arsenal given their lack of other quality options in the position. Similarly to other Arsenal defensive options, not named Kieran Tierney, Tomiyasu will likely not be super useful in Fantrax. He scored fairly well in terms of ghost points in the Serie A, averaging 8.2, but the Arsenal RB job doesn’t lend itself very well to fantasy points as seen by Bellerin and others in the past. If Tomiyasu finds himself at CB, I become a bit more interested. If Arsenal manage to harden at the back and win clean sheets more frequently, then I’d consider Tomiyasu.
Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️
FAB Value: 0-5%. Bid only minimally, or don’t waste your waiver here unless you're desperate for starting defenders.
Salomon Rondon
Position: Central Striker (Forward in Fantrax)
Team: Everton
Signed From: Dalian Professional for free
Prospects: Rondon!! Salomon Rondon is back in the Premier League! Everton fans must be delighted with this Deadline Day deal...! Anyway, enough of the sarcasm. The former West Brom and Newcastle forward is fine for a back-up player. Rondon has had a couple of seasons in China with Dalian Professional, as well as a fairly productive loan spell at CSKA Moscow. The 31 year-old is surely just going to be backup for Calvert-Lewin, although Benitez obviously likes him after managing him at Newcastle, and taking him across to China shortly after he joined Dalian Professional.
Rating: ⭐️
FAB Value: $0. Rondon isn't worth any of your FAB budget. Pick him up if he starts against a bottom half of the table side.
Saul Niguez
Position: Central Midfield (Midfielder in Fantrax)
Team: Chelsea
Signed From: Athletico Madrid on loan
Prospects: Saul is a quality player in real life, but likely not as quality in Fantrax EPL. He provides quality depth to Chelsea in case of injuries to their preferred centre-mids Kante and Jorginho (and possibly Kovacic). However, with them healthy he likely won’t start often until UCL is in full swing and they need to rotate. When he does start, he should be expected to score like Kovacic or Jorginho without penalties.
Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️
FAB Value: 0-5%. Chelsea’s signing may have received a lot of press, but from a fantasy stand point, Saul just doesn’t have an easy path to playing time or quality points. We’d tend to suggest letting someone else over-spend on him, or acquiring him for cheap if you manage another Chelsea mid.
Ratings and FAB Summary
This is the order we rank the Deadline Day signings for Fantrax, with our recommended FAB bids:
Ademola Lookman. 4 stars. 30-40% FAB.
Odsonne Edouard. 3 stars. 15-25% FAB.
Emerson Royal. 3 stars. 15-20% FAB.
Nikola Vlasic. 3 stars. 15-20% FAB.
Marc Cucurella. 2 stars. 5-10% FAB.
Saul Niguez. 2 stars. 0-5% FAB.
Daniel James. 2 stars. 0-5% FAB.
Takehiro Tomiyasu. 2 stars. 0-5% FAB.
Salomon Rondon. 1 star. 0% FAB.
Connor Roberts. 1 star. N/A FAB.
Alex Kral. 1 star. N/A FAB.
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