Premier League Transfer Deadline Day Signings – Worth Their FPL Price?

Transfer deadline day signings are always fun – the drama, the tension of will the deal go through in time and Premier League fans even get deadline day controversies like Crystal Palace pulling the plug on Marc Guehi’s move to Liverpool at the last minute, after he had completed his medical.

This year, unlike past years, the final days of the summer transfer window were action packed and full of impactful signings by Premier League clubs. Now that these players have been added to FPL and we know their prices, it seems like a good idea to assess whether they are worthy of their FPL price and the hype that comes with big new signings. So we are going to do exactly that – which new faces will make their mark on this Premier League and FPL season and who will be the cautionary tale that next summer’s new signings get compared to? Let’s find out!

Alexander Isak to Liverpool:

FPL Price: £10.4m

Alexander Isak finally got his dream move to Liverpool from Newcastle, for a British transfer record fee of £125 million. The Swede is one of the truly elite strikers in world football alongside Haaland and Kane. He scored 23 goals and added 6 assists in 34 appearances last season – dominant numbers in the best league in the world. I think his per game stats will be even better once he settles in to playing with new teammates and coaches. He is going to have Salah, Gakpo, Wirtz, Ekitike and others creating for him or finishing off the chances he creates – that’s an upgrade from what he had at Newcastle.

Isak will be an every game, locked in starter for Liverpool. However, the 25 year old has not trained with teammates or played in even a friendly in months. Joining up with the Swedish National Team this international break was the first bit of team training he has done all summer. Sweden coach Jon Dahl Tomasson, speaking on Isak’s fitness stated “His form is what I said the other day: normally you do a pre-season, you play plenty of games, you have plenty of training. That’s not the case. “So is he able to play ninety minutes, of course not.”

Isak will likely feature off the bench in both Sweden games, and then start on the bench against Burnley in GW4. After no pre-season and barely any minutes in his legs since the end of last season, and a history of minor soft tissue injuries, Slot will be cautious with his minutes early on. I don’t think he will start in GW5 against Everton in the Merseyside derby. Isak should then gets his first Premier League start as a Liverpool player in GW6 against Crystal Palace. £10.4 million of your budget for a player who will not start the next 2 GWs is not wise, but once he is starting weekly, it is hard to see how Isak will be overpriced at £10.4 million playing with Salah, Gakpo, Ekitike and Wirtz. 

Judgement: Good value (From GW6 onwards).

Nick Woltemade to Newcastle:

FPL Price: £7.0m

Woltemade scored 12 goals and added 2 assists in 28 Bundesliga appearances for Stuggart last season. Newcastle view him as their Alexander Isak replacement, evidence being Newcastle breaking their club record transfer to sign him for £69 million. The German striker is a fun watch, at a gangly 6 foot 5 inches tall, with silky technique and quick feet for his size. He is very good at holding up the ball and holding off  CB’s despite his gangly frame and links play very well. He’s good but not great in the air (shades of Peter Crouch) and his finishing is inconsistent but he’s a very intelligent player who will fit in well at Newcastle under Eddie Howe.

Despite the fact they are not the exact same player, I can see Woltemade fitting nicely into Newcastle’s 4-3-3 playing alongside Elanga and Gordon in the starting lineup. I expect Woltemade to truly be their number 1 striker and to start a majority of Premier League games, athough with Champions League and Wissa’s Premier League experience and proven talent, he will likely be rotated more than say a Haaland, Isak or Joao Pedro would be. I think the big man will do well in the Premier League and £7.0m will be fair value. Whether you would rather own Woltemade than other strikers in his price range such as Joao Pedro, Wood or Mateta is a different question, and one we can answer more confidently after we see him play a few games for the Magpies. But for now, if you do decide to take the risk on owning him early, I think £7.0m is fair value for Newcastle’s starting striker given his individual talent as well.

Judgement: Good value 

Yoanne Wissa to Newcastle:

FPL Price: £7.5m

Wissa got his desired move to Newcastle after holding out for it all summer. Newcastle made it very clear through press briefings all summer long that Wissa was viewed as a Callum Wilson replacement, and Woltemade was the Isak replacement.

Now, Wissa can play left-wing as well as striker, and Newcastle are playing in 4 competitions this season with Champions League football, so there will be minutes and start for Wissa in the league. But enough to justify owning him for £7.5m? That is a tough sell given Newcastle have 4 good wingers between Elanga, Gordon, Murphy and Barnes who also all need minutes. 6 players for 3 starting forward spots – and it is safe to assume Gordon, Woltemade and Elanga will be first choice. You simply cannot justify owning Wissa or his £7.5m price-tag unless Woltemade was to get injured or be dropped as he adjusts to the Premier League.

Judgement: Overpriced

Xavi Simons to Tottenham:

FPL Price: £7.0m

Xavi Simons looked destined to join Chelsea all transfer window, until eventually he could not wait for them to make sales any longer, and once Tottenham showed serious intent to sign him, that was that. This is a good signing from Spurs, as Simons is a versatile forward who can play in the 10 or as a left-winger. Simons is deadly in transition, can produce real moments of quality, strikes a ball well and is solid creative player. This is exactly the kind of profile Spurs were missing with Maddison and Kulusevski out and Brennan Johnson just not really being good enough to be a starter for Spurs, despite all the goals he scores.

Simons will be a guaranteed starter almost every GW once he settles in and Frank trusts him tactically, whether he plays on the wing or as a 10. I think LW is more for Simons likely as Sarr has looked excellent as Spurs most advanced midfielder. I also think a Simons, Kudus and Kolo Muani front-3 works and complements each other very nicely. They could all help each other’s output increase compared to last season with all 3 playing for different clubs who did not have good seasons. £7.0m is very fair value for a player of Simons quality, who can score goals and create chances, and could also be on set pieces, for a good Spurs side.

Judgement: Good value

Kolo Muani to Tottenham:

FPL Price: £7.0m

Kolo Muani had the best season of his career on loan at Juventus last season. 8 goals in 13 Serie A starts (16 appearances) is extremely impressive, and he added 1 assist for good measure. Those 8 goals came from only 4.7xG, as Juventus were hardly attacking juggernauts, so Muani made the most of limited chance creation and was a deadly finisher last season. Nearly outperforming your xG by double is elite stuff. He also scored 2 and grabbed an assist in the Club World Cup. He was set to rejoin the Italian giants this season but the deal fell through and he found his way to Tottenham.

I actually think this is a great move for both club and player. Muani fits what Spurs need from a striker, and has some versatility to play on the wing if needed, and with Richarlison and Solanke’s injury history they needed more bodies. Kolo Muani gets to play for a team in the Champions League, who have the minutes to give to a striker, and I think by mid season he might be a guaranteed weekly starter for Thomas Frank. He is simply a better footballer than both Richarlison and Solanke and might be someone Spurs want to sign long-term.

Kudus, Simons and Muani would be a very fluid, talented, skillful front 3 that would be deadly in transition but also effective against low-blocks. All 3 can create chances for themselves, for others and can finish inside or outside the box. It is hard to look past Frank eventually settling on that front-3, or occasionally Brennan Johnson left-wing with Simons playing as the 10. Whatever way I look at it, getting a player as talented as Kolo Muani, playing for what looks to be a good Spurs team under Frank, for £7.0m is fair value at minimum and could look like a bargain in a month or two.

Judement: Good value

Piero Hincapie to Arsenal:

FPL Price: £5.5m

Hincapie was a surprise signing in the final days of the window from Arsenal, not only because it happened seemingly out of nowhere but because Arsenal have so many quality defenders. But one thing Arteta cannot get enough of is hybrid centre-back / full-backs – Calafiori, Timber, White and Tomiyasu being the obvious examples.

Hincapie likely won’t be a full-time, locked in starter. He certainly won’t be at centre-back; no one is breaking up the Saliba and Gabriel pairing. The other position Hincapie has played in is LWB in a back-5, or LB in a back-4, and that is likely the role Arteta has spent £45 million on the Ecuadorian for. Calafiori has started all 3 games this season playing left-back, overlapping and running in possession, and providing the defensive solidity of a centre-back out of possession, and this is a role that fits Hincapie’s profile well.

The issue is, Calafiori exists and has played well through 3 weeks. Let’s not completely forget about Myles-Lewis Skelly also (despite the fact it seems like Arteta has). Now, I do think Hincapie immediately leapfrogs Lewis-Skelly in the pecking order, but that won’t be the case with Calafiori. They will share the minutes fairly evenly, and even if Hincapie gets the slightly larger share of minutes in the league as the season goes on, it will not be enough to justify his £5.5m price-tag. The former Leverkusen man will likely need some time to settle in to a new club, a new City, teammates, coaches and tactical requirements, and therefore won’t start a game until maybe GW6 at the earliest. There are too many enticing Defenders in FPL this season who are cheaper than £5.5m to justify that price-tag for a rotational starter.

Judgement: Overpriced

Gianluigi Donnarumma to Manchester City:

FPL Price: £5.5m

Donnarumma will start immediately. Pep won’t stand for 2 losses on the bounce and while Trafford was actually quite good against Brighton, Donnarumma did not join Man City to sit on the bench and GK’s really do not need a ton of training to be able to start for a new team. However, City’s defence has looked porous and they are facing similar issues as last season. Their midfield is easy to play through – it just is not very physical and does not possess the technical brilliance or game-defining qualities that De Bruyne, Silva, Toure or prime Gundogan or Silva had.

£5.5m is of course the highest price-tag for a GK, along with Raya, Alisson and Pickford. I just don’t think £5.5m for Manchester City’s GK, with their defensive issues, is justified or worth it.spo

Judgement: Overpriced

 

 

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