PREMIER LEAGUE TRANSFERS: Will They Play? (Part 4)
The transfer market has offered some huge surprises so far, teams are looking more diverse and questionable with each passing day. The Hype Train questions whether or not the players brought in by teams will play, the last thing any FPL manager wants is to have nothing but disappointment on the opening day when they see the team sheets only to find that the league’s latest acquisitions relegated to the bench. Will the newbies play?
The changing face of the Premier League also means teams have begun to implement their annual changes too, and over the summer and in the run up to the gameweek one the FPL community will debate as to whether or not the new players will actually be given a chance. This series of articles looks at the new transfers made by clubs to assess if it is worth the gamble for the start of the season. Everyone can get wrapped up in so much excitement that they forget that teams can sometimes leave things the way they were and allow players to blood in over the long term.
The questions asked will always be the same: are they near the starting eleven, and if so, will they be heavily rotated. Getting down to brass-tax The Hype Train evaluates if the new signings are going to be getting minutes on the pitch.
Part four of this series focuses on another six new Premier League signings.
Michy Batshuayi
Club: Chelsea
Starting XI: No Rotation Risk: Yes
Amidst the rumours of Romelu Lukaku seeking a return to Stamford Bridge his fellow Belgian teammate may be looking on in vein as his chances of starting for the Blues seems to be slim at best despite his pedigree. New manager Conte has been playing with Chelsea's familiar 4-2-3-1 formation which leaves room for only one striker, and Chelsea fans will be more than familiar with their club having an immense second striker wasting away on the bunch. It seems that Remy has been replaced with a new Remy, which leaves the Frenchman's departure open for discussion. Michy is also unfavourably priced which leaves him as one of the most expensive wildcard players to ever exist in the Fantasy Premier League.
Juan Camilo Zuniga
Club: Watford
Starting XI: Maybe Rotation Risk: Moderate
One of the more low key transfers of the window, then again most are under the radar with transfer talk dominated by who might, or might not be, joining Manchester United. The Colombian full-back has joined Watford, and surprise-surprise he is part of the Udinese family linked with the Watford hierarchy. Since losing Ake to Bournemouth they brought in another left-back to challenge Holebas, and the sneaking suspicion is that he was brought in by the manager to play regular minutes of which Zuniga has struggled to do in the past few seasons. There are no guarantees of a starting place, but it is most likely he will feature against Southampton on the opening day of the season.
Georginio Wijnaldum
Club: Liverpool
Starting XI: Maybe Rotation Risk: High
The Dutchman joins Liverpool from relegated Newcastle after a hot and cold season, the man they called Gini was a force to be reckoned with whilst playing at St James, but away from home he whimpered out of existence. Joining Klopp's Liverpool could him take up on of the five midfield positions, literally any of them, the versatility of Gini is something FPL players will not appreciate because in pre-season he has been deployed as one of the central midfielders but could be utilized on either flank or also behind the main striker. There is no guarantee of a starting place for the new signing even if he did cost a whopping £25mil, especially with Can and Henderson the recognised central midfielders for Jürgen’s side. There is also the rotation in attack too with an abundance of players to fill four positions including Ings, Origi, Coutinho, Firmino, Lallana, Ojo, Mane, Sturridge, and Milner who can play in advanced attacking positions.
Granit Xhaka
Club: Arsenal
Starting XI: Yes Rotation Risk: Moderate
The question is either when will the central midfielder be sent off, or when will he be injured. The Swiss midfielder has a terrible disciplinary record in his last two seasons in Germany, and now he is part of Arsenal's questionable midfield you can ask if might be a case of when their new addition picks up his maiden injury working under Wenger. That aside the £35mil signing can slot straight into one of the two central midfield positions, Xhaka is a play-maker who works the ball from deeper positions; he can also shine with set piece potential and occasional attacking runs. Arsenal's depth of midfield option does raise hints of rotation with Elneny, Cazorla, Wilshere, and Coquelin also vying for a starting berth in the Arsenal squad.
Nathan Ake
Club: AFC Bournemouth
Starting XI: No
Rotation Risk: Moderate
The signing of Ake doesn't make sense once you factor in the other acquisitions made to the squad, the versatile player is predominantly a full-back of defensive midfielder, and Bournemouth already have plenty of these options. He might be a squad player which is the obvious risk with Ake, unlike his stint at Watford he isn't assured of a starting place under Eddie Howe. Surman and Arter will be the main midfielders, and at left-back there is Daniels, Mings, and Smith, on the other flank Adam Smith and Simon Francis. The only conceivable way that Ake gets minutes is either at right-back if Francis moves into the middle or actually at centre half himself if Mings doesn't take up that slot. It is so uncertain as to if the young Dutchman will play he is not worth investing in, even if he did have a great season with the Hornets in 2015/16.
Rob Holding
Club: Arsenal Starting XI: Potential
Rotation Risk: High
Several big names are ruled out for Arsenal, their squad is currently at the barest of bones going into the season. With no recognised centre half's available for the visit of Liverpool new signing Rob Holding could slot into the back-four for the test against Klopp's side. Bought from Bolton it looked like he would either be a developmental player like Chambers at first glance, but how things have changed at Arsenal with the former Trotters defender is in line to begin the season after impressing Arsene Wenger during the pre-season with his new club, even nabbing a goal for the Gunners along the way. Long term we don't see Holding keeping his place in the line-up, with injuries surely to keep players out never say never as he is a bargain option if he does end up establishing himself. With Gabriel, Chambers, Mertesacker, and Koscielny all vying for minutes the risk of rotation is unfortunately high.
Will They Play?
Henrikh Mkhitaryan (MUN): Starter, low rotation risk.
James Tomkins (CRY): Starter, low rotation risk.
Joe Allen (STK): Starter, low rotation risk.
Loris Karius (LIV): Starter, low rotation risk. (When returning from injury)
Jordan Ibe (BOU): Starter, moderate rotation risk.
Granit Xhaka (ARS): Starter, moderate rotation risk.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (MUN): Starter, moderate rotation risk.
Matt Phillips (WBA): Starter, moderate rotation risk.
Juan Camilo Zuniga (WAT): Potential starter, moderate rotation risk.
Nathan Redmond (SOU): Starter, high rotation risk.
Sadio Mane (LIV): Starter, high rotation risk.
Alvaro Negredo (MID): Starter, high rotation risk.
Victor Fisher (MID): Starter, high rotation risk.
Joel Matip (LIV): Potential starter, high rotation risk.
Georginio Wijnaldum (LIV): Potential starter, high rotation risk.
Victor Valdes (MID): Potential starter, high rotation risk.
Sofiane Feghouli (WHU): Potential starter, high rotation risk.
Steve Mandanda (CRY): Potential starter, high rotation risk.
Rob Holding (ARS): Potential starter, high rotation risk.
Ahmed Musa (LEI): Non-starter, high rotation risk.
Michy Batshuayi (CHE): Non-starter, high rotation risk.
Vincent Janssen (TOT): Non-starter, moderate rotation risk.
Nathan Ake (BOU): Non-starter, moderate rotation risk.
Brad Smith (BOU): Non-starter, low rotation risk.
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