The New Gomes: Valdes
Goalkeepers priced at 4.5 can quickly rise in value. After an impressive
season they usually go up to 5.0. This might not seem like a huge price
hike, but to many FPL managers looking for a cheap combo of rotating
keepers, only 4.5-rated keepers and under are
chosen in order to spend big elsewhere. Last season Heurelho Gomes
exorcised his Premier League demons with consistently excellent
performances. He returned 257 points, which was the second highest in
the league behind Petr Cech. Now priced at 5.0 he only
has a 3.8% ownership and new Boro keeper Victor Valdes looks to do the
same after a miserable time at Man United where he was released for
refusing to play for the reserves. Valdes is a more popular choice
(8.7%) and could be the one who returns the most points
from the 4.5 bracket behind a solid Boro defence that kept a huge 22
clean sheets last season.
The New Baines: Daniels
We may not have seen the last of Leighton Baines' double-figure hauls
for Everton, but his injured ankle has cut his game time short over the
past two seasons. Baines is no longer a staple FPL defender. If his
injury woes return then it might be best to look
elsewhere for a defender who can provide attacking returns. Like Baines
but 0.5 cheaper, Charlie Daniels is a defender who takes penalties and
now Ritchie has left Bournemouth he is likely to take free kicks too.
The New Terry: Williams
John Terry is no longer a certain starter in the Chelsea side, but look
no further than the Swansea captain for a replacement. We saw at the
Euros what a commanding centre back Williams is. He is dominant in the
air, strong in the tackle and makes vital interceptions.
This is how he managed 24 bonus points (2nd most of all defenders) for
his defensive work last season despite only 2 goals and 1 assist. He
will be gunning for more goals from corners this season after the threat
he showed for Wales this summer.
The New Ivanovic: Van Dijk
Ivanovic's best days are behind him and will likely have less game time
than in his previous 7 seasons in a Chelsea shirt with Ola Aina playing
well in pre-season. The new goalscoring defender on the block is
Southampton's Virgil Van Dijk, who came into the
Premier League after scoring 6 goals in a season for Celtic. He only
scored 3 in his debut season, but now he's adapted to life in the
Premier League he will score more to go with many clean sheets as part
of a solid and settled defence.
The New Mata: Mkhitaryan
Mkhitaryan cost United £30m because he is the all-round attacking
midfielder. The Armenian scores and creates goals and will take Juan
Mata's place in the United team. His 11 league goals and 15 assists in
the Bundesliga last season is similar to that of Mata's
peak in 2012/13.
The New Silva: Sane
Leroy Sane could be another straight swap for a previously fruitful FPL
player. Silva struggled with an ankle injury last season, which meant he
was in and out of the City team. If the same happens this season Sane
could get the chance to prove his lauded potential.
His stats for Schalke could mean he hits Silva's heights of 12 goals
and 12 assists early in his career. Sane has an eye for a pass as well
as being more of a clinical goalscorer than the Spaniard, with more
goals and assists per 90 mins of De Bruyne, Silva,
Nolito and Sterling last season, so he could hit the ground running for
Guardiola's team.
The New Yaya Toure: Alli
Alli has quickly become a stand-out midfielder in his 28 Premier League
starts. His willingness to dribble with the ball and shoot from the
centre of the pitch is similar to Yaya Toure of 2014/15. Alli scored 10
goals and layed on 9 more, which are better stats
than Yaya Toure in the same number of appearances. Toure seems to have
dropped to a deeper midfield role with less freedom to get forward and
get FPL points, while Alli has moved into an attacking midfield role, so
big things are expected of Dele Alli in FPL
this season.
The New Ramsey: Feghouli
Every season there is a 5.5 midfielder who performs as well as the
high-end players. Last season it was Mahrez, in 2013/14 it was Downing,
in 2012/13 it was Ramsey. This season it could be West Ham's Sofiane
Feghouli. He is touted by many as this season's Mahrez
and has obvious comparisons as an Algerian winger. Last season proved a
difficult one for Valencia and Feghouli failed to deliver, which might
be the reason he is priced so low, but it was his attacking returns in
previous seasons that earned him a move to
West Ham. He reached 6 Gs and 6 As in 2014/15 and 4 Gs and 8 As in
2013/14. Playing in the same team as Dimitri Payet can only help his
returns.
The New Van Persie: Ibrahimovic
It is clear that 34 year old Ibrahimovic is a short-term solution to
United's lack of goals, but if he can be as prolific as Van Persie was
in his first season at Old Trafford in 2012/13 when he scored 26 league
goals then he will run Aguero close for the golden
boot. He finished the most prolific debut season in Man Utd history as
the league's top scorer and helped United win the title. If anyone can
match or better that, it's Zlatan.
The New Kane: Musa
In three seasons Harry Kane has gone from a budget striker to the third
most expensive player in the game. Many previous Kane owners might feel
11.0 is too expensive to also fit Aguero and Ibra into their team, so
they scout the lower priced strikers for someone
who might make a similar price increase. That man might be Leicester's
new forward Ahmed Musa, who comes in at just 7.5. The Nigerian is
blessed with lightning pace and scored 13 goals in 30 games last season
in the Russian league. He has improved year on
year at CSKA between impressive performances at the World Cup, scoring
twice against Argentina. The signs are there from his 45 minute brace
against Barcelona that he could become a reliable goalscorer for the
Foxes.
The New Rooney: Kane or Vardy
He has had his testimonial and this could be Rooney's last season at Man
Utd after a decline in form over the past few seasons. Kane and Vardy
are his natural successors as players who will take his place at
international level, and also in people's FPL teams.
They are both expected to hit at least 20 goals again this season, but
who will go on to fair better this season to become a must-have is up
for debate. Kane is 1.0 more having had an extra season of proven
goalscoring, but Vardy is able to assist as well
as score like Rooney. It may depend on who of Spurs and Leicester best
continues their breathtaking form from the previous campaign.
Kyle Norbury, obsessive
fantasy football manager and have been for many years. Bit of a nerd
when it comes to stats. #TeamIbra.
