The transfers that happen now may change somebody’s season. Although many are going to turn out to be fantasy irrelevant, there are some that will change fortunes. Here’s a review of most of the player movements from this week, including the deadline-day deals.
– Tottenham signed Serge Aurier from PSG to provide additional depth at right back. Trippier has been less than convincing to start the season; therefore, we could see Aurier take over his fantasy value in time. The Spurs also signed 19-year-old center back Juan Foyth from Estudianted La Plata, a follow up to last week’s acquisition of 20-year-old Davinson Sanchez from Ajax. Safe to say Tottenham’s future on the back line is bright. Foyth is unlikely to have much, if any, fantasy value this season.
– In an unanticipated twist, Chelsea target Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain joined Liverpool instead. I don’t see him receiving more playing time than he did in Arsenal, especially since Coutinho is probably staying. His fantasy value remains very limited. The Reds also loaned Divock Origi to Wolfsburg. Being fourth on the depth chart behind Firmino, Sturridge and Solanke was definitely not good enough for such a young and talented striker.
– Fernando Llorente is another player who was on the verge of signing for Chelsea, but Tottenham made a last-minute offer that was accepted. He is now a Spur and Harry Kane’s backup.
– Renato Sanches joined Swansea on loan from Bayern, a move that can help save Swansea from relegation. Also, he’s a great player to own in fantasy. Another arrival is Wilfried Bony, who has come back to Swansea to replace Fernando Llorente, and immediately regains some of his long lost fantasy appeal.
– Mamadou Sakho signed for Crystal Palace, after all. Liverpool rejected the offer at first, but changed their mind and now Sakho is an Eagle. He should be a member of the starting lineup before long, thus holding some fantasy appeal.
– Manchester City’s hunt for Alexis Sanchez ended in failure, mostly because Monaco’s Lemar couldn’t decide whether to join Arsenal or not on such short notice after Monaco allegedly accepted an offer of over $100 million. There were rumors that he hesitated because he wanted to play Champions League soccer.
– Riyad Mahrez’s future is still undecided, but one thing is certain – he’s either going to play for Leicester, or outside of England. It was reported that he had left the Algerian team’s training camp in order to complete a move somewhere, although it’s still unknown where exactly.
– After acquiring the services of Red Bull Leipzig’s Oliver Burke during the week, a move that can be beneficial both long term and short term, WBA got Grzegorz Krychowiak from PSG on a loan deal. He could become a staple in their midfield really quickly. They’ve also signed Arsenal’s Kieran Gibbs. Suddenly, The Baggies have become quite a competitive Premier League squad.
– So much speculation and Arsenal failed to make a big move once again. The only deals they made were the expected loaning out of Lucas Perez, who went back to Deportivo on an initial loan deal, the loaning out of Carl Jenkinson to Birmingham, the loaning out of Joel Campbell to Betis, and Gibbs’ departure.
– Southampton loaned out midfielder Jordi Clasie to Belgian Club Brugge.
– Stoke signed yet another central defender – Kevin Wimmer from Tottenham. Meanwhile, Bojan Krkic left the team to join Alaves on another loan deal.
– West Ham’s Diafra Sakho was on his way to French Stade Rennais; that is, until The Hammers management called a meeting and convinced him to stay. I would guess they promised him more playing time, so it’s something to be monitored by savvy fantasy owners.
– Watford signed Belgian left back Martin Zeegelaar after manager Marco Silva made it clear last week that the team needed one, as Jose Holebas was the only one on the roster. He’ll be a backup for now.
[the_ad id=”384″]- Brighton acquired left back Ezequiel Schelotto from Sporting Lisbon. He could feature in the lineup sooner rather than later; however, playing for an underwhelming side such as Brighton is far from ideal. They’ve also loaned goalkeeper Tim Krul from Newcastle until the end of the season, providing competition for Mathew Ryan.
– Everton signed Croatian 19-year-old forward Nikola Vlasic from Hajduk Split in what can only be seen as a move for the future.
– Chelsea finally signed Danny Drinkwater from Leicester City, after requesting a 2-hour extension on the deadline in order to complete the deal. He’s a replacement for Nemanja Matic. Ross Barkley was also expected to sign after agreeing to terms and starting his medical. However, reports say that he changed his mind at the last moment and decided to stay with Everton. Previously during the day, The Blues struck a deal with Torino to acquire right back Davide Zappacosta. I believe this to be a great purchase. I wouldn’t be surprised if he manages to win a place in the starting lineup at some point during the campaign and has a similar impact to the one Marcos Alonso had when he joined the club.
– Drinkwater’s move to Chelsea depended on The Foxes reaching an agreement and filing all the paperwork in time in order to acquire Sporting Lisbon’s Adrien Silva. They also reportedly asked for an extension to get the deal done. He’s a player worth a look in deeper fantasy leagues.
In general, the deadline day was marked by a lack of player movement, as not many deals were concluded compared to previous years. Teams like Arsenal, Newcastle, Manchester City, Southampton and West Ham were expected to be very active, yet nothing came to fruition.