Premier League Summer Transfer Analysis 24/25 [Part Four]

Transfer season is well and truly under way, with multiple Premier League clubs already confirming one or more new signings ahead of the 24/25 EPL season. We'll share our analysis on what to expect from each of these new arrivals from a Draft EPL Fantasy perspective between now and when the transfer window slams shut on September 1. Our forth installment looks at players confirmed by their respective clubs between August 8th and August 19th. To see part 3 and coverage of Solanke, Neto, Summerville, and more click here. For part 1 and coverage of Maatsen, Minteh, Barkley and way more, click here and for KDH, Savio and more in part 2 here.

Check out our 24/25 Draft Kit for all the pre-season information you could ever need. We've got a Live Draft Aide, Draft Rankings, Team Previews, Cheat Sheets, Strategy Articles, Draft 101. Dominate your draft!

24/25 Premier League Summer Transfers Analysis

Below, DraftLad will cover each Premier League transfer individually, providing his analysis of how they will be expected to perform in the upcoming 24/25 season. We use a five-star rating model to rank the new signings relative to their draft value; use these as a guide to help get your Draft Premier League season off to a flyer!

We’ve ranked the transfers, 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!

The Premier League Summer Transfer Analysis covers signings that were confirmed by their respective clubs between July 21st and August 8th (future signings will be a part of Part 4!). Part 2 here. If you would like to see the converted fantasy points scored by many of the below players this past season (in their respective leagues) check out our table here: https://www.thedraftsociety.com/transfers-fpts PP90 = fantasy points per 90. GPP90 = ghost points per 90. PPS = fantasy points per start.

Evanilson

Position: Striker (F in Fantrax)

Team: Bournemouth

Signed From: Porto for €37m

Prospects: Francisco Evanilson de Lima Barbosa is a 24yo Brazillian Striker coming from the Portugese league. He's a good all-arounder who links up well & creates and scores well. He averaged 11.6 PP90 and 6.4 GPP90 and scored 13 goals and 3 assists in 25 starts for Porto last season. He's a poor ghoster and they come almost entirely from key passes and shots on target (but so was Solanke who had around 6 per 90 last season too). His fantasy value will need to come from returns in starts. He put up good xG (0.56 per 90, .44 npXG per 90 as he took pens) and good xA (0.20 per 90). He did take penalties and will likely be the favorite for them with Solanke gone. The record signing largely will only need to compete with Enes Unal to be the starting ST and Unal is currently out another couple weeks with surgery for a broken toe. So if he can grab the job while Unal is out, he could keep it for a while. The record signing is relatively young, he's got 3 solid seasons of Portugese football under his belt, he's a well rounded linkup and shot creation guy, so I believe he's very likely to get a chance to win the job soon. I feel pretty good about the minutes and decent about the returns given BOU offense isn't too shabby (mid table in terms of goals, xG and shot creation) last season. I'd go midrange faab in the 30-40 range in competitive leagues, half that in home leagues. Think DCL-esque with a Muniz of last season type ceiling.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Georginio Rutter

Position: Forward (F in Fantrax)

Team: Brighton

Signed From: Leeds for €47m

Prospects: The 22yo Frenchman is coming off a breakout season in the Championship with the high-powered Leeds attack (ala Summerville, Gnonto, and him). In 44 starts, he had 6 goals and 16 assists, 12.9 PPS, 9.7 GPPS and 13.6 PP90. He played half his games as an attacking mid behind another striker (Bamford usually) and the other half as the 9 himself. Brighton have signed yet another young, highly talented, great dribbling attacking prospect who's capable of playing multiple positions. Stylistically, as witnessed by his GPPS, he fills the stat sheet. He's a fantastic, high volume dribbler with over 3 successful take-ons per 90, he creates well with over 2 key passes per 90, and also works hard out of possession with impressive tackle and interception numbers for an AM/CF. Where he fits into the crowded Brighton attack is the key question for how much he gets to showcase his impressive fantasy point-accruing skills. Similarly to his former Leeds teammate, Summerville, coming into a revamped & crowded West Ham attack, Brighton are chock full of young talent, particularly in the attacking positions. Joao Pedro is Rutter's most similar comparison in that he can play the 9 and 10 and they'll either have to compete or play together. Rutter's best chance at getting into the team is probably the latter, thus ousting Welbeck (& Evan Ferguson) from the 9 role, and playing there with Pedro at the 10 or vice versa. That also would potentially necessitate beating out Enciso, Gruda, and others for the 10 role. He may be 11 years younger than Welbeck and the nearly definite eventual successor, but he's still got loads of other young, promising talent to beat out. Still, I think they signed him for the reason, Welbeck is aging and is most at risk of losing his spot, and sooner rather than later Rutter should step up to the plate. Without preseason to integrate with the team, it could easily become a month until Rutter is a common-place starter (or perhaps he never is and is merely a rotation/backup option), but if you can be patient and handle waiting a couple weeks, Rutter is yet another high ceiling, high floor, when starting, forward option in a high power offense to consider taking a risk on. 30 FAAB feels about right in competitive leagues but I could see his value going up quite a bit over the course of the season (next season's Pedro perhaps..).

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Joao Felix

Position: Winger/Attacking Mid/Centre Forward (F in Fantrax)

Team: Chelsea

Signed From: Atletico Madrid for ~€54m

Prospects: The 24yo Portuguese international returns to Chelsea after an unsuccessful loan spell just 2 seasons ago. This time around, it's on a 6 year contract. Last season for Barca, Felix put up 12.4 pp90, 7.9 gpp90, 9.5 pps, 6.0 gpps, 7 goals, 3 assists in18 starts and 30 games played. He mostly played LW and some occasional AM & RW The year before that for Chelsea, he played as a 9 or 10. In 16 games played and 11 starts, he had 4 goals, 0 assists, 9.7 PP90, 7.1 GPP90, and that red card in his debut during the 22/23 Chelsea Prem stint. He's a talented young attacker but where he fits in is the big question. Chelsea have lots of left sided attackers and Nkunku in a similar 9.5, not quite 9, sort of 10, can play winger role. If Cole Palmer plays most his minutes at RW and Pedro Neto becomes the preferred LW, that would predominantly leave Felix competing for the 9 spot (with Jackson, Nkunku and possibly Osimhen) or the advanced 8/10 spot with Nkunku/KDH/Enzo/etc. He could also take minutes at LW as well if Neto isn't fit or preferred. Regardless, minutes look highly questionable. He'll be a great play when he plays but how often that is is quite hard to say. He certainly hurts the minutes of all other Chelsea attackers and mids though. I'd go conservative and bid in the 20-30 FAAB range and expect that a league-mate goes much higher and overpays.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Noussair Mazraoui

Position: Right back (D in Fantrax)

Team: Man United

Signed From: Bayern for €15m

Prospects: The 26yo Moroccan right back had 11.6 pp90, 8.6 gpp90, 9.6 pps, 6.9 gpps in 15 starts and 19 games played for Bayern in the Bundesliga. He's a very well-rounded fantasy and real-life fullback, in that he's a good passer and creator and is also quite a good, high volume defensively fullback via tackles, interceptions, and aerials (he's 6ft tall). He has also played some LB and CM before, which will help his minutes whenever Luke Shaw is out injured, as he and Dalot can play together on either flank. He's been spoken highly of by ETH and he used to play at Ajax (of course) before Bayern. Without Shaw he should start a ton as the only other quality fullback for United. Even with Shaw fit he should compete with Dalot for starts as a more capable defender with similar offensive talents. Maz is very likely the best, upside defender you'll see this window. I'd bid 20-30 FAAB and more if you're bullish on him keeping his spot once Shaw returns

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Brajan Gruda

Position: Attacking Mid/Winger (M in Fantrax)

Team: Brighton

Signed From: Mainz for €30m

Prospects: Gruda is yet another young, talented, dribbly attacker for the Seagulls to add to the mix. The 20yo. attacking mid & winger had his breakout season in 23/24 for Mainz in Germany where he put up 12.8 PP90, 10.4 gpp90, 11.3pps, 8.9 gpps, 10.6pps without sets, 4 goals, and 3 assists in 19 starts and 28 games played. He took some corners and is a lefty so he should have a good chance at lefty sets when starting (he'd likely compete for them with March & Barco when playing together). He's an excellent dribbler (3.8 successful per 90) and a good shot creator via passes, dribbles, and drawing fouls. He's played both as a 10 and a RW in the past, but at Brighton, given the depth at winger, I think he's most likely to compete for 10 spot (with Pedro, Enciso, etc.). If he finds significant starts, the most likely outcome is that he would push Joao Pedro to ST (and hurt Welbeck & Ferguson). He could also play some RW and hurt Minteh, Adingra, & March minutes. Given his youth and lack of significant senior minutes, plus the Prem transition, I'd bet on Gruda taking a while to fully bed in and become a potentially integral part of the team. Hence, I'd only spend 10-20 FAAB on him and prepare to be patient

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Wilson Odobert

Position: Winger (F in Fantrax)

Team: Tottenham

Signed From: Burnley for €29m

Prospects: The 19yo, French, former Clarets winger, Odobert averaged 7.9 pps, 6.1 gpps , 9pp90, and 7gpp90, scoring 3 goals and 2 assists in 25 starts for his relegated side last season. It was clearly a poor team and with Spurs he's coming into a far better offense. Outside of Son, he's arguably their best traditional winger in that he's a great ball carrier & great dribbler (2.3 p90, 99th percentile wingers). However, he needs to substantially up his xG to be a useful, top 6 winger and compete with Kulu and BJ. His bet bet is just that, winning the RW spot, as neither Kulu or BJ has a tight grip on the spot, but still, expect a transition period for the teenager. He'll probably be more useful later in the season but probably a frustrating hold in the mean-time so I'd again go conservative, with a 15 or so FAAB bid

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Aaron Wan-Bissaka

Position: Right back (D in Fantrax)

Team: West Ham

Signed From: Man United for €18m

Prospects: The 26yo Englishman has been signed to further shore up the Hammers back line after Kilman and Todibo. In recent seasons he's largely been relegated to a bench role behind Dalot and Shaw but was previously a stalwart for Palace at right back. He'll look to recreate that role and production in likely taking the job quickly from the aging Coufal. Last season for United, in 20 starts, he put up 5.5 PPS but 7.7 GPPS in the very leaky defense. If Lopetegui can get the defense humming and find some clean sheets, AWB could have a solid base of ghosts to work from (largely of the defensive variety). Still, West Ham defenders have not been consistently fantasy relevant in a while so we're not getting too optimistic on AWB. He's a pickup and see what he can do, but in relatively poor short-term fixtures we'd only spend up to 10 FAAB on him

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Fabio Carvalho

Position: Attacking Mid/Winger (M in Fantrax)

Team: Brentford

Signed From: Liverpool for €14m

Prospects: The 21yo Carvalho had an excellent preaseon for pool and a good previous season in the Championship, so now he's got his big Prem move to Brentford. He's played as a winger, a 10, and even a 9 last season. He averaged 12.6 PP90 and 8.1 GPP90 and had 9 G, 2 A in 20 starts for a 7th placed Hull last season. He took the occasional set (corner, free kick, pen) and could take both Jensen's job and sets as the most advanced mid. Alternatively he could play as the 3rd attacker/winger if Schade or Lewis-Potter don't succeed there. Given the fee, Brentford believe in his talent and future so he should find a good amount of minutes this season. When and how are the key questions. Frank hasn't been particularly quick to change his lineups in the past, but did give Damsgaard a good amount of runouts instead of Jensen at the end of last season so there's some willingness there. Scoring-wise, I wouldn't expect Carvalho to have much floor in the poor to mediocre offense, but if he could get sets and a fairly consistent starting role, he'll be worth rostering as a possibly slightly improved fantasy option to Jensen. If more on the wing, better ceiling, worse floor ala Schade.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sepp Van den Berg

Position: Centre Back (D in Fantrax)

Team: Brentford

Signed From: Liverpool for €24m

Prospects: The 22 yo was first mentioned as a loan returnee in transfers part 1. Since then, Liverpool have decided to cash in and Brentford have gotten themselves a quick, tall, and great in the air young CB. VdB (no, not the shit United one) is a fantasy manager's dream: He's 6'4", is an aerial monster(5.4 aerials won per 90 last season), and an active, aggressive defender to further fill out the stat sheet. That combination led him to a whopping 10.9 GPPS and 11.5 PPS last season in 31 starts for 13th placed Mainz last year in the Bundesliga. Those ghost point numbers would have made him the 2nd best defender ghoster in the Prem last season (behind Trippier, 0.1 in front of Tarkowski). So he's potentially a fantasy beast coming into a comparable team that will need just as much defense out of him when he starts. But just how much will he start? That's the key question, as always. Brentford are fairly stacked with CB's with Pinnock and Collins the often starters in a 4 back, then Mee and Ajer coming in (or playing full back for the latter) when playing a 5 back (in generally harder matchups). But the Bees have managed to beat out Leverkeusen for his signature and other than Collins (23yo), Pinnock (31yo), Mee (34 yo), and Ajer (26yo, but often needed at full back) are no spring chickens. CdB might not start short term but as soon as he does, he's an immediate pick-up, stream, and hold to see if he keeps his spots. If he finds consistent starts (from injuries to others or his own form), he could be a fantastic fantasy defender.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sammie Szmodics

Position: Attacking Mid (M in Fantrax)

Team: Ipswich Town

Signed From: Blackburn for €11m

Prospects: The 28yo Szmodics bagged 27 goals and 4 assists in 44 starts for Blackburn in the Champ. last season. He played largely as a 10, but sometimes as a 9 as well. He put up 12.2 PP90 and 6.2 GPP90. He's not a good ghoster but is he a good goal getter which Ipswich we'll need. He's most likely to play as a 10 behind Delap (or Hirst when he returns) or possibly as a 9 instead of them. He took some corners last season, but is unlikely to take them off Davis. Given that he's quite goal dependent and Ipswich are favored for relegation, I wouldn't bother spending more than a couple FAAB on him. Still he's an exciting player to watch as he has an odd knack for finding goals.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Rest, Abridged for Sake of Timing

Matthijs de Ligt

Position: Centre back (D in Fantrax)

Team: Man United

Signed From: Bayern for €45m

Prospects: Formerly promising 25yo, de Ligt fell out of favor at Bayern. But the former Ajax man was wanted by ETH and will now need to beat out Harry Maguire (and in the futue Yoro) for the RCB role. If he does, his 7.6 gpp90 will make him relevant in good matchups and potentially beyond if the defense improves. Still, Maguire is playing well and it may take some time to unseat him. Minimal FAAB, okay upcoming schedule but may not start.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Alex Moreno

Position: Left back (D in Fantrax)

Team: Nottingham Forest

Signed From: Aston Villa on loan (TM value of €13m)

Prospects: The 31yo Spaniard fell out of Emery's good graces and preferred XI last season to Digne after an injury spell and never quite recovered his 22/23 form. In came the young & talented LB, Maatsen and all of a sudden Moreno appeared 3rd choice. Forest will have more use for Moreno as they really only have 3 senior fullbacks in Aina, Williams, and Toffolo. Aina and Williams are currently the preferred LB, RB combo in a 4 back and both have largely been good since the end of last season. But Moreno offers a more attacking LB option and Aina can play both sides, so could shift over and take Neco's spot if Nuno opts to go asymmetrical the other way (or just believes Moreno-Aina is a better defensive combo than Aina-Neco). Scoring-wise, Moreno was pretty poor in inconsistent minutes (11 starts) last season with 6.3 PPS and 4.2 GPPS. But in year prior, he had 8.2 GPP90 and 3 assists in 14 starts after coming to Villa in January. At Forest, he'll be part of a worse defense and have less of the ball to generate the key passes, dribbles and crosses that made up most of his ghosts during his better times. Neco Williams, a not too dissimilar player has managed to produce at fullback for Forest, but only in stretches of good matches. And he's more of a high volume defender than Moreno has ever been so I'm not holding out much hope. If Moreno does get license to get forward (and perhaps Aina goes to RB) and/or Nuno opts for a 5 back, he could be worth a punt for good matchup stretches.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Mateus Fernandes

Position: Central Mid (D in Fantrax)

Team: Southampton

Signed From: Sporting for €15m

Prospects: Fernandes is a 20yo Portuguese 8/10 to add some creativity to Southampton's engine room. 8.6 PP90 & 8.3 GPP90, 1 goal, 2 assists in 25 starts in Portugal for first placed Sporting. Did take a lot of sets (corners and free kicks) to help boost those numbers. Southampton will see much less of the ball as relegation contenders. Not amongst the goals often but good chance creator, ball carrier, and dribbler. Also works hard defensively with high volume tackles and blocks. Most likely to unseat Aribo if Southampton keep the 3-5-2 formation as a central mid with more attacking responsibilities. Young so will take time to adapt. Possibly relevant later in the season, particularly if he can take over righty sets from Smallbone and continue to offer a defensive ghost-point floor in a non-possession dominant team. I wouldn't be picking him up or spending FAAB on him now unless you're super mid desperate. Wait & see & hope for the best but expect the worst in a poor team.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️1/2

Julian Araujo

Position: Right back (D in Fantrax)

Team: Bournemouth

Signed From: Barca for €10m

Prospects: The 23yo Mexican international offers the Cherries more talent at full back. A more attacking option than Adam Smith or Max Aarons (who may be out the door). He started 15 times for Las Palmas in La Liga and averaged 8.6 PPS and 7.4 GPPS so there's potentially some fantasy value there. Decent defensive volume (via tackles and aerials won) for a fullback and solid key passes to boot. Whether he can wrestle the job away from stalwart Smith is the key question. Iraola did bring him on for Smith at 60 minutes last game, so good early signs. Still, the Cherries are not a very good defense so he'll probably be at best, Kerkez-lite with less starts.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️1/2

Facundo Buonanotte

Position: Attacking Mid (M in Fantrax)

Team: Leicester

Signed From: Brighton on loan (TM value €18m)

Prospects: Surplus to Brighton attacking corps, the 19yo has found a home at Leicester. Straight in, in GW1 he played as a 10, but manager Cooper says they're likely to get another 10 soon. Looked fairly bright but the team is bad, the offense is bad, and he likely wont have any sets. An upside mid in good matchups at best. He's a loanee so could be out of the lineup quickly.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️

Sander Berge

Position: Defensive Mid (M in Fantrax)

Team: Fulham

Signed From: Burnley for €24m

Prospects: Fulham finally get their Palhinha replacement after selling him to Bayern. Berge is a couple years his junior at 26, and finally, hopefully, finds himself at a more steady Premier league side after stints at relegated Burnley & Sheffield United over the past few years. He'll be an integral part of the Fulham XI surely, as they're short on talent in the engine room, particularly defensively, but he's not much of a fantasy scorer. For Burnley last season, he put up 5.5 PPS & 5.5 GPPS in 34 starts. In 20/21 for Sheff. Utd. in the Prem he had 6.1 PP90 and 5.5 GPP90. He did have 1 good fantasy season, his 22/23 year for SHU in the Championship but that's largely because he was played as a more attacking mid and was amongst the goals more often (9.1 PPS, 6.6 GPPS, 6 G, 5 A in 34 starts). Fulham are very likely signing him to be a more defensive-minded midfielder as they have Pereira, ESR, and Iwobi to play more attacking when needed. Berge also doesn't historically have the same defensive nor shot volume that Palhinha had, that kept him a viable floor mid at times. Stay away.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️

Ramón Sosa

Position: Winger (F in Fantrax)

Team: Nottingham Forest

Signed From: CA Talleres for €12m

Prospects: Similar to Jota Silva, Sosa is a 24yo winger from largely unscouted Paraguay. 4 goals, 4 assists in 22 games in Argentina last season; he's largely one for the future and needed depth on the wing. Big time dribbler (3.7 per 90). Possible pickup if he does ever crack the XI

Rating: ⭐️⭐️

Jean-Clair Todibo

Position: Centre back (D in Fantrax)

Team: West Ham

Signed From: Nice on loan (TM value €35m)

Prospects: The 24yo centre back comes on loan but is a bit of a coup for the Hammers as a well-regarded option. Fantasy wise though, he only averaged 5.8 GPP90 last season in France, so he'll only be an option in clean sheet likely matchups, of which West Ham might not have many, particularly soon.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️

Cameron Archer

Position: Striker/Winger (F in Fantrax)

Team: Southampton

Signed From: Aston Villa for €17m

Prospects: The 22yo leaves Villa once more, this time on a permanent, permanent move to likely relegation-bound Southampton. Like last season at Sheffield United, he'll be a goal dependent, not often goal-getter. Could play up top or on the wing next to Armstrong and Brereton but could also end up on the bench to those 2 often when only playing up top. One for the future and hopefully fantasy relevancy on a better team.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️

Kalvin Phillips

Position: Defensive Mid (M in Fantrax)

Team: Ipswich Town

Signed From: Man City on loan (TM value of €25m)

Prospects: The 28yo finds himself yet another potential home in England. Will he fail again like his past loans or contribute meaningfully to the promoted Ipswich? He's not got much talented competition for starts but he's also been horribly out of form for years now. Hasn't scored well since his sets-taking Leeds days. I'd avoid until he proves himself many times over.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️

Lesley Ugochukwu

Position: Central/Defensive Mid (M in Fantrax)

Team: Southampton

Signed From: Chelsea on loan (TM value of €25m)

Prospects: Even if Chelsea think he's the next Tchouameni, the 21yo is not likely fantasy relevant any time soon. He's a defensive-minded central midfielder coming into a poor team on loan. Fade.

Rating: ⭐️

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Pour One Out: Transferred Out Players

Julian Alvarez: A depressing loss to Spain. Alvarez gave us 1 great season during KDB and Haaland's injuries.

Others: Denis Undav, Ibrahim Osman, Emerson Royal, Zanka, Roman Faivre, Caleb Wiley, Hugo Bueno: No memorial needed.

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