Transfer Talk: Early Bird Transfer Wrap-up

As the calendar flips to July, it brings about many major events. This weekend, in the United States, the focus will be on Independence Day and all of the fireworks, funnel cakes and backyard barbeques that go along with it. It is the height of summer, in the northern hemisphere anyway, but there is one big event that kicks off today that every corner of the globe is affected by – the official opening of the summer transfer window. For the next two months, while tournaments wrap up, preseason friendlies get underway and the season itself gets started, this is the time of year where players will be moving from one club to another as managers look to implement a hopefully perfect reshuffling of personnel.

Though July 1 is the official beginning of this window, deals can be done in advance. Generally, deals are not finalizes until July 1 because that is when a player’s contract expires for that season with their current club. However, if two clubs can work out an agreement before hand, which usually entails the team selling a player being totally satisfied with the offer from the team who is buying, then a deal can get done beforehand. Getting a deal done early allows clubs who are selling to have a better idea of the amount of money they can look to spend for the remainder of the summer and get a head start on targeting specific players and addressing specific needs. Clubs who are buying, conversely, will have an extra amount of time to plan how they want their roster arranged. A new big-name signing usually spells doom for a current player on the club that new player is joining and the club will want to start advertising a player’s availability as soon as possible to balance the books and give that departing player ample time to work out a deal with a new club.

There have not been an incredible amount of pre-July 1 signings that are official, but some names are pretty significant and now would be an ideal time to look at these players and what their prospects look like in their new homes while also analyzing what sort of impact a new player will have on the squad already in place. Included in this column are players that are definitely joining new clubs today – where deals were confirmed but players will not officially depart for their new clubs until today as their contract expires. The most notable example of this situation would be Valencia’s Sofiane Feghouli, who is officially is already joining West Ham United, but he will not depart Valencia for his new environs until today. Let’s take a look at some of these new faces then…

Player/position – Granit Xhaka – midfielder

Former club – Borussia Monchengladbach

New club – Arsenal

Transfer fee – £30m

Most summers are spent with Arsenal fans asking questions as to why Arsene Wenger is not being aggressive with his summer shopping. Last season, for example, the only significant player brought in was Chelsea’s Petr Cech. Though, to be fair, it was an excellent signing for the Gunners, upgrading a position that needed it while simultaneously removing a player of Cech’s quality from a rival club. This summer, Wenger has already dipped into the market with the acquisition of Switzerland international Xhaka who, at 23-years-old, could be an vastly influential piece of the Gunners’ midfield puzzle. With Mikel Arteta retiring and Mathieu Flamini released last month, Xhaka more than adequately replaces the loss of those two. However, there is still plenty of talent in that area of the pitch and a big name is going to be in store for less playing time this season should Xhaka prove himself indispensable. Wenger will more often than not deploy two in his defensive midfield and there are two very good players in the mix already with Frances Coquelin and Jack Wilshere, though the latter has much to prove after an injury-riddled prior season followed by a less-than-impressive showing for England in this summer’s Euros. Xhaka has many superior qualities that should see him be a regular from Wenger from the opening weekend on. He has a leadership mentality despite his relatively young age. He was among the league leaders while playing in the Bundesliga for successful tackles and interceptions and has a very solid pass completion percentage rate. He should do well in being the middle man as the Gunners build up play from one end of the pitch to the other. His only eye-catching negative quality may he his occassionally overly-aggressive physicality. His three red cards in the Bundesliga last season led the league and he ranked 2nd in the league for fouls committed. When it comes to fantasy, Xhaka is not very attractive, especially in the FPL format. But, even in leagues that award for his style of play, with tackles and interceptions – that has to be countered with his disciplinary issues. Bottom line, he should be immensely helpful to Arsenal in reality, but his fantasy appeal will not come close to matching the reality appeal.

Player/position – Ilkay Gundogan – midfielder

Former club – Borussia Dortmund

New club – Manchester City

Transfer fee – £21m

Another star midfielder from the Bundesliga is making the move to the Premier League and, like Xhaka, is being purchased by a big club. Manchester City fell a bit short of their expectations last season and, with Manuel Pellegrini moving on, new boss Pep Guardiola is understandably anxious to begin importing players that will fit his system and style. Gundongan’s career really began to take off when Jurgen Klopp, manager of Borussia Dortmund at the time, brought the then 20-year-old into his side back in 2011. Gundogan proceeded to blossom into one of the better jack-of-all-trades midfielders in the Bundesliga, establishing himself as a central figure in the club’s title seasons of 2011 and 2012. Gundogan’s career took a bit of a spill in recent years though with a barrage of injuries and that will certainly be something to monitor with his move to the Etihad and should give pause to fantasy managers who want to bring in a big new name. The fact is, his final year at Dortmund, he was playing in a deeper position than he was under Klopp and he scored just once in league play. Still, he was able to help out in other areas, averaging better than two interceptions per game and offering a very solid pass completion percentage. It will depend on how Guardiola intends to use him, but with Kevin de Bruyne and Sergio Aguero likely to be leading the way in the goals department this coming season, Gundogan looks like his best chance as an attacking player to make a contribution in fantasy is with some assists. Depending on how prolific’s City’s attack this season is, there could be enough to go around to make Gundogan appealing in fantasy, and a key injury to a teammate could boost his appeal even further, but Gundogan is probably not worth reaching for in draft leagues and not worth a spot on the Week 1 squad of an FPL team.

Player/position – Sadio Mane – midfielder/forward

Former club – Southampton

New club – Liverpool

Transfer fee – £34m

The biggest pre-window move, at least from a transfer fee perspective, is Liverpool’s acquisition of Sadio Mane. Mane made a a huge impression when Ronald Koeman brought him in two seasons ago and he looked to be one of the big breakout stars going into last season. It did not quite work out that way for him though, as form was hard to come by for long stretches of the season and, he surprisingly demonstrated some disciplinary issues that caused him to miss some time. Still, the talent is oozing with this 24-year-old from Senegal who looks like he can develop into an even better player in the right atmosphere. His new boss, Jurgen Klopp has a reputation for providing that necessary atmosphere and getting the most out of a player’s potential. Klopp also likely targeted Mane for his versatility. Mane can be deployed on either side out wide or straight down the middle. He offers blinding speed and is very good at creating space to set up chances for himself or his teammates. Klopp has shown to be a fan of shifting players around and rotating players in and out and Mane’s versatility will only add to the manager’s tactical options. Still, there is an abundance of big name, high-wage talent in the attacking end of the pitch, with names like Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino, Adam Lallana, Daniel Sturridge, Divock Origi and Jordan Ibe all in the mix and all will want regular playing time. It would seem a player like Lallana is surplus to requirements and, since he was a pre-Klopp signing, he may be at risk of getting shipped elsewhere. Lallana might be better served on a club where he is guaranteed playing time and perhaps he can return to his best, which were the days he played for the Saints. Jordan Ibe clearly showed progress and potential when given the opportunity last season, but will probably be lowest on the depth chart assuming all players are fit. Klopp may use three attacking midfielders and two holding midfielders more often than not this coming season, a reverse of how he usually set up last season, affording Mane, Firmino and Coutinho a chance to play behind a lone striker, either Sturridge or Origi. Mane should be a relatively high target in draft leagues, but potential owners must be content knowing that Klopp will shuffle the XI and Mane will play his share of matches starting from the bench. Massive upside here though.

Player/position – Nathan Redmond – midfielder

Former club – Norwich City

New club – Southampton

Transfer fee – £11m

Since their promotion to the top flight a few seasons back, Southampton has shown a knack for being able to let go of their top talent and finding ways to replace them adequately while pocketing a profit at the same time and maintaining a respectable position in the league table. This appears to be the case again this summer with the selling off of Mane and getting Redmond in as a replacement. Redmond comes in two years younger and £20m cheaper than Mane and, while the two players are perfectly suited as a direct comparison, it would seem Redmond has the potential to at least come close to Mane’s attacking influence while the Saints are left with £20m extra to upgrade elsewhere. Redmond was Norwich City’s prized young talent for the past few seasons, with great expectations laying in wait for him, but, after the club were relegated this season, the time was right for Redmond to take a step forward in his career rather than a step backward into the Championship yet again. He may not offer the physicality that Mane does but he can match him in the pace department. The unknown quantity here is the new management situation. Claude Puel, who’s managerial career has been spent entirely in Frances Ligue 1, may need time to adjust to the style of play that goes with English club football and he will have to make many evaluations over the summer to determine which players in the current squad fit his vision. As of right now, assuming Jay Rodriguez is fit for the majority of the season, and that is a big if, one would imaging that best talent Puel currently has from an attacking three would be J-Rod wide left, Dusan Tadic playing centrally and Redmond on the right, with Graziano Pelle and Shane Long looking to share duties up top. There is some flexibility there though, as Long can occasionally play out wide, Rodriguez has experience playing up top and Steven Davis can be moved around playing deep in central midfield or out wide. If Redmond is afforded the same budget price in the FPL game that he was given in his seasons with the Canaries, he would seem an excellent choice as a fifth midfielder for fantasy purposes and should certainly be owned in all but the shallowest of draft leagues. He will need to show more consistency than he did last season if he is to get the regular starts that fantasy managers crave.

Player/position – Victor Wanyama – midfielder

Former club – Southampton

New club – Tottenham

Transfer fee – Undisclosed but thought to be in the range of £11m

The Saints make another sale as the Claude Puel era begins as Tottenham, who had been eyeing the Kenyan since last summer, finally land their target. Wanyama embodies the sort of qualities Mauricio Pochettino looks for from a player at his position. Young, with an agressive bulldog mentality in the middle of the pitch, helping to stop opponent from waltzing into Tottenham’ final third. With the future of Nabil Bentaleb a bit of a question mark at White Hart Lane and with Mousa Dembele serving a lengthy suspension to begin the season along with the depth needed to make a run through Champions League play this season, Wanyama seems a signing to address an important need, though Spurs supporters would argue the top priority for their squad is the same now as it was a year ago, to add another striker. Still, Wanyama should provide a buffer for an absent Dembele and allow Eric Dier a bit of time to rest here and there, a luxury he wasn’t afforded this past season and it somewhat showed in his recent appearances for England in Euro 2016. From a fantasy perspective, there really is nothing appealing about Wanyama in virtually any format. Even in leagues that reward his contributions with tacking and intercepting passes, his disciplinary record is his worst attribute. He is a card magnet and, more often than not, a foul deemed card-worthy will cancel out the work he puts in in other areas for fantasy production. Pochettiino shouldn’t mind too much about Wanyama racking up yellow cards as the season goes on – it would validate keeping the Dier/Dembele combo together while Wanyama serves the occasional suspension. Hopefully though, Wanyama can refrain from seeing red and costing Spurs matches in the process.

Player/position – Sofiane Feghouli- midfielder

Former club – Valencia

New club – West Ham United

Transfer fee – Undisclosed, officially joins new club July 1

If Slaven Bilic can manage to hang on to the coveted Dimitri Payet, he looks poised to have one of the more attractive midfields in the Premier League, rivaling with that from any of the big clubs. Feghouli, who was born in France but switched allegiances back in 2011 to be a star player for the Algerian national team. In the past six seasons with Valencia, the now 26-year-old scored 42 goals, averaging seven per season, not to bad for a midfielder. The Hammers have also completed the permanent transfer of Manuel Lanzini from Al Jazira Club, giving Bilic a midfield attacking trident with plenty of creativity and trickery. Michail Antonio, who was no slouch himself when playing out wide, looks to be shifted to right back, where he looked adequate enough as a defender while still getting forward and offering yet another attacking threat. In the FPL game, Payet looks to be a must-own and having two West Ham attacking midfielders might be a bit of overkill, so Feghouli may not get much attention in that format when the season begins, especially if his price tag turns out to be a bit inflated. He is certainly worth a look in draft leagues though. In a format where the value of the player is determined by the round you take him in, Feghouli may be one of those players new to the PL that will fly a bit under people’s radars and can be a very useful midfield option for one lucky owner. Apparently, West Ham are setting aside an additional £20m-£30m to bring in a world-class striker. The Hammers are indeed looking like an attractive club from which to invest in attacking players, even at this very early stage of the summer.

Player/position – Loris Karius – goalkeeper

Former club – FC Mainz

New club – Liverpool

Transfer fee – £4.7m

Before Jurgen Klopp made his recent big splash signing of Sadio Mane in recent days, he went out and plucked Karius from Bundesliga side FC Mainz a few weeks back. Karius may not carry the name recognition that some of the other players mentioned in this column do, but he has the potential to be just as important from a fantasy perspective when all is said and done for this upcoming season. In a poll conducted by a German news outlet at the end of this past season, Karius was ranked as the second best keeper in the league, ranked only behind Germany’s #1 and, perhaps the #1 goalkeeper in the world, Manuel Neuer. That is pretty select company. One of, if not the biggest criticisms of Liverpool’s XI in the past season or two has been Simon Mignolet. Perhaps Mignolet has gotten more flak than he truly deserves, but at the age of 28 and having been given the #1 shirt for the Reds for a few seasons now, it seems we have witnessed the full potential of Mignolet and that potential may not be quality enough for a club with high aspirations. In comes Karius, aged 23, who has an opportunity to step in and immediately take the shirt away from Mignolet when this season kicks off. There is no guarantee it will work out that way and the competition might be just what the doctor ordered to get the best out of Mignolet, but Klopp will want to look to improve on Liverpool’s defensive record for the coming season and whoever is anointed as the keeper of choice may be a quality fantasy commodity. Whatever happens, whoever winds up being second fiddle will be a massive upgrade over Adam Bogdan who was a total flop in that role last season and whose exit looks imminent with the arrival of Karius.

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