PREMIER LEAGUE TRANSFERS: Will They Play? (Part 3)
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 three of this series focuses on another six new Premier League signings.
Brad Smith
Club: AFC Bournemouth
Starting XI: No Rotation Risk: Low
Everyone is right to be cautious of this transfer, because Bournemouth sign an up and coming left-back doesn't necessarily mean that he will get minutes on the pitch. Charlie Daniels was the established option and an incredible FPL option for a chunk of last season, he has put his stamp on the position and it is hard to see an unproven newcomer uprooting the experienced Daniels from his role. Eddie Howe is fond of his full-backs making the pitch wider for play, they are integral to his system, and tinkering with either side doesn't make sense. Smith's arrival is a curious one as he is cheaply priced and from Liverpool, a superior team in terms of quality. You'd think he would play, but we are rightfully uncertain, even coming off the bench he may not get too many appearances. If the Aussie starts against Manchester United we'd be very, very surprised to his name on the starting eleven. This transfer could be a long term play from Howe, unless Smith was offered minutes, but we don't believe that is the case.
Vincent Janssen
Club: Spurs
Starting XI: No Rotation Risk: Moderate
One glaringly obvious must for Spurs now they are back in Europe was to find a suitable player to provide to Harry Kane, the England player who looked drained and not up for the challenge. It was hard to tell if losing out on the title race did a number on the forward mentally, but fear not Spurs fans the arrival of Janssen is designed to keep Harry Kane primed for the important games of the season. Kane is still the obvious starter for most the season, the Dutchman will come in as the replacement striker when things aren't working out for the man who topped the Premier League scorers list last season. This doesn't bode well for lovers of Kane who will be skeptical that Janssen will eat into his minutes and rotate in and around Champions League fixtures.
Joe Allen
Club: Stoke City Starting XI: Yes
Rotation Risk: Low Stoke managed to sign one of the players who formed the best eleven of the Euros, once again another smart bit of business from Mark Hughes who has convinced a player being linked with Champions League clubs to join him at the Britannia Stadium. Allen's decision to leave was predominantly focused on playing minutes for the sake of his career, and Hughes wouldn't have signed him unless that was the very intention. Allen might as well have stayed at Liverpool if he was going to become a squad player so he is a safe bet to get minutes. In terms of the Welshman being an FPL option is another matter as he isn't prolific, efficient at what he does, but in now way is he an option to consider. The only concern is that Stoke have a versatile midfield and because he is still the newbie on the block he might occasionally be subbed off if the the Potters need to shake things up.
Nathan Redmond
Club: Southampton FC Starting XI: Yes
Rotation Risk: High
After scoring two on his debut the quick winger showed the goal scoring potential he did at Norwich to make a big statement to the new manager. Brought in by the robots that operate the transfer policy at Southampton, Redmond is a replacement for Sadio Mane who departed for Liverpool...a midfielder with the goal scoring touch to his game. Unlike Mane the winger is just that...a player whose best position is out wide, and this is promising because it might mean it pushes Tadic just behind the striker which makes the Serb an even tastier prospect for the new season. We mention Tadic because he went on the form of his life in the last half of the 2015/16 season and should he start with the same vein of form he could very well be supplying Redmond with goals just like he did with Sadio before him. One consideration is that Southampton are one of the many wildcard clubs with new management for the season, we believe Redmond will play as he is one of the few players who can naturally provide width to the team, but they have plenty of players who can play in many positions so the risk for rotation is understandably high.
Loris Karius
Club: Liverpool FC Starting XI: Yes (post-injury)
Rotation Risk: Low
Big asterisks are placed above the starting role for Liverpool's new German goalkeeper, in pre-season Karius broke his hand in the fiery battle with Chelsea (the same game Fabregas picked up that red card) and is due to miss up to eight weeks of action. That isn't exactly a long time from now in terms of the new season because of the international break that arrives shortly after the first couple of gameweeks. Karius could be back by the first game at the redeveloped Anfield against Leicester in gameweek four, that is the realistic target set out by Klopp for his new number one. Having impressed before his injury it was clear that he was being groomed to take up the number one spot at Liverpool and for the time being he is sidelined due to an injury, but when he is back he will be between the sticks permanently, and his rotation risk is low due to the fact he has Simon Mignolet to deputize.
Viktor Fischer
Club: Middlesbrough
Starting XI: Yes Rotation Risk: High
Since moving to Boro from Ajax the Danish winger has been a standout performer in Boro's pre-season campaign, as one of the players who can provide natural width to the Riverside club we expect him to start the campaign against Stoke. There is a lot of potential with the Dane; he even scored against Aston Villa in a pre-season game operating on the left-wing which has bolstered his chances of playing the opening game. Caution is advised however as Boro have a mightily big squad for this season, there is competition for every place in the team with Downing, Adomah, Pena, and Carayol all capable of playing in Fischer's position. He has been used a lot so we expect Fischer to start, but risk getting rotated if he doesn't have an impact upon the success of the squad.
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.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (MUN): Starter, moderate rotation risk.
Matt Phillips (WBA): 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.
Victor Valdes (MID): Potential starter, high rotation risk.
Sofiane Feghouli (WHU): Potential starter, high rotation risk.
Steve Mandanda (CRY): Potential starter, high rotation risk.
Ahmed Musa (LEI): Non-starter, high rotation risk.
Vincent Janssen (TOT): Non-starter, moderate rotation risk.
Brad Smith (BOU): Non-starter, low rotation risk.
Want to know more about The Hype Train?
The Hype Train is an entertainment website founded in 2015 specialising in the Fantasy Premier League (#FPL), providing beautiful graphics and weekly insight for hopeful players attempting to climb ranking tables. We are also occasional media reviewers, with a keen interest to review movies, television, live music, festivals, and any relevant topic in the public eye.
You can follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook, or visit our website here at www.thehypetrain.co.uk
All aboard.
