Now that the summer transfer window has closed, let’s shift our focus to its impact on Premier League teams.
It was certainly a fruitful and highly entertaining one, and the deadline day was no exception – all the biggest moves would merit a proper deep dive, but as we need to discuss Wildcard and Free Hit 3 in the next article, let’s keep this lean for now.
Anyway, looking at what happened over the past few weeks, you don’t want to wildcard in Gameweek 3 unless you planned for it (and tailored your GW1 and GW2 selection to fit that).
I don’t want to tell you what to do, but… I will. Play it only if you must.
They did it more times than Britney did
When you think about it, it’s not as if Brighton invented the wheel.
But they’re strictly methodical, have set out a clear club philosophy, and understand that each transfer must fulfil a specific purpose, solve a problem, and, when possible, be paired with good resale value.
What makes them (and some others) stand out in the market is that the decision-making at some other clubs is… questionable?
So, who did they get yesterday?
Chema Andrés
The 21-year-old Spanish number six comes from Stuttgart, after what was his debut season in the top 5 league. Let’s not count those two games for Real Madrid.
He’s often compared to Rodri, but those shortcuts are mostly stupid – remember when Sandro Tonali was compared to Andrea Pirlo because he’s Italian and has long hair?
Yeah…
I didn’t track his career at Real, but from a limited sample of about 1,500 minutes at Stuttgart, he’s far from matching Rodri’s on-ball value.
He’s not bad technically and has a good eye for a line-breaking pass to a runner behind when he’s advanced in the half-space, but he doesn’t do it often. And you can’t expect him to play many creative passes from deep. He’s rather someone who sets the tempo and does his thing.
And by his thing, I mean defending.
The guy is smart and can anticipate where the ball will go. In the Bundesliga, he averaged an absurd volume of intercepted and blocked passes (95th+ percentile) and had a massive tackling success rate (again, 95th+ percentile), which helped him win:
a lot of balls
a lot of balls in important areas
He stops dangerous actions or, even better, prevents them. On top of that, he’s amazing in the air, both in terms of volume and a high success rate.
Andrés is not very strong in duels, so he’ll need some time to adapt to the Premier League’s intensity and physical demands. Once he does, he’ll slot into that MID DEFCON baddies player pool (13.70 defensive contributions p90 last season).
Femi Azeez
Alright.
Brighton signed a member of the Championship Team of the Season for a reported £15 million. That’s essentially zero risk with nice upside.
We’re talking about a winger who dominated in the Championship, providing a dual threat in the final third of the pitch, scoring 11 goals and adding 7 assists for Millwall.
The surface numbers looked great – 2.60 non-penalty shots, 0.27 non-penalty expected goals, and 0.29 expected assists per 90 minutes.
Looking deeper, he’s not a super standout ball carrier, but he crushed goal probability added passing models in the Championship. Although a good chunk of his creativity stemmed from sharing set-piece duties with Alfie Doughty, Aidomo Emakhu and Barry Bannan, he does a lot from open play too – 12 of his key passes came from set-pieces, whereas 53 came from open play.
He’s a fantastic crosser from wide areas, which is his greatest creative asset.
His deep crossing is also good, though not as standout as from the byline. He played most of the season on the right, but he can shoot with both feet and scored roughly the same number of goals with each, so I think he can play on the left.
Maxim De Cuyper (£4.7m) and Diego Gómez (£5.0m) are likely still fine in the short term, but Azeez’s involvement is something to monitor now. Chema Andrés will probably need more time to adapt than him, but with Brighton’s lack of options in midfield, anything can happen.
Newcastle saving the best for last?
This Newcastle rebuild is great fun.
Before deadline day, they signed Nico González, Amar Dedič, Lukáš Horníček, Aladji Bamba, Sean Steur, and Bazoumana Toure, a nice way to tackle their current problems with high-ceiling young signings, all under the oversight of 38-year-old Matthias Jaissle.
They finished the window by introducing another highly-rated youngster: 21-year-old Matias Fernandez-Pardo, who came from Lille in a €60 million deal and will find his way into the starting eleven fairly quickly.
Last season, he played about 2,600 minutes, scoring 8 goals and assisting on 5. He can play as a number nine, on both wings, and potentially also as a second striker or a number 10. That likely makes Yoane Wissa’s (£6.1m) minutes secure now that Nick Woltemade has been loaned out to Juventus and William Osula is injured indefinitely.
Pardo averaged 2.60 shots, 0.27 non-penalty xG, and 0.18 xA last season, which is a nice final product. He’s right-footed, not very threatening in the air, and often arrives in the box to distribute final passes.
A good chunk of his creativity also comes in the form of cutbacks – oh, he loves a good cutback, which is certainly good news.
Remember the Wissa and Mbeumo partnership?
Newcastle fans will now hope Wissa and Pardo can build up a nice on-pitch chemistry between them.
Let’s see.
A huge one for Liverpool
Reading through comments on FPL Twitter, most see Bradley Barcola (£8.0m) as either overpriced or fairly priced.
Well, I wouldn’t be so sure about that.
I’m okay with accepting that he’s priced well right now, but I’m not buying that he’s overpriced. He’s a top-tier signing in terms of his ceiling in Andoni Iraola’s gung ho team.
Also, he’s firmly in an elite category in terms of his ability and final product. The Palmer, Saka, Bruno category, even, whisper it quietly. Which makes me think that, at a certain stage of the season, he might very well become a bandwagon.
You can have as many comments about “farmers league” and “it was PSG, bro” as you want, but averaging 3.20 non-penalty shots, 0.50 non-penalty xG, and 0.23 xA per 90 isn’t normal for a winger over 2,000 minutes, even in an elite team.
Same as 2.80 shots, 0.50 xG, and 0.34 xA a season before.
Sure, Ligue 1 tax will apply, but he’s a 24-year-old peak-performance player ready to contribute right away – he wasn’t playing only in the domestic league, but also had 2,500 minutes in the Champions League, where he was regularly getting into those quality goal-scoring opportunities.
His runs behind the defence, fed by the creative passing of Florian Wirtz (£7.5m) and Dominik Szoboszlai (£7.0m)… old FPL might be back.
I’m not saying buy Bradley Barcola right away in FPL, but constantly monitoring and having some plans/wiggle room certainly helps.
Liverpool’s fixtures don’t look particularly appealing, with no standout fixture swing after Ipswich and Fulham.
However, coping with such an intense team that is dangerous both in transitions and in unlocking low blocks with Barcola, Isak, Wirtz, Szoboszlai, Gakpo, Munoz or Ngumoha will be difficult for anyone.
Other transfers and brief notes
What else is there?
Manchester City: Enzo Fernández, Iliman Ndiaye, and Allan on deadline day. Elliot Anderson and Ayyoub Bouaddi earlier.
My commentary: What a window. You already know what I think about Elliot Anderson and Ayyoub Bouaddi, and the deadline day business has improved the team even further.
From an FPL perspective, it’s a minefield, though – Iliman Ndiaye ceased to exist as a pick overnight, and xMins are shady mid/long-term across the midfield.
One thing I’d monitor closely is whether Enzo will play in a number 10/box-crashing role, as that could be interesting for £6.9 million. But it’s chaotic right now.
Spurs: Mykhailo Mudryk and Tosin Adarabioyo
My commentary: A backup centre-back. Plus someone who played his last competitive match in November 2024. At the same time, Mudryk worked with De Zerbi in the past and has an undeniable creative x-factor. He’s likely someone who improves the team but isn’t a good fantasy pick.
Everton: Jack Grealish, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, no Folarin Balogun
My commentary: Thierno Barry and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall stonks up. My bullish-o-meter is rising. Goal threat imminent. xMins good. Creativity boost. Promoted teams soon. I’ll discuss more in Premium.
Leeds: Jean-Mattéo Bahoya and Melvin Bard
My commentary: Imagine Jérémy Doku and Iliman Ndiaye had a child. That’s Jean-Mattéo Bahoya. Melvin Bard is one of the coolest names in the Premier League. Apart from that, he has almost 14,000 minutes of experience in Ligue 1 and is a great defensive-minded full-back. Leeds’ transfer window makes so much sense.
Aston Villa: Ibrahim Mbaye and Taylor Harwood-Bellis, with several others, including Nicolas Jackson, Johan Manzambi, João Gomes, and Zion Suzuki before that.
My commentary: Once things settle, there will be options. Simple as that.
Crystal Palace: Darío Osorio, Quinten Timber, Ben Chilwell, Honest Ahanor
My commentary: I’m puzzled about this. Honest-ly
Fulham: David Affengruber, Hugo Larsson, Manuel Ángel
My commentary: Still a defensive unit to target with your attacking picks. Re-evaluate later if Shea Charles and David Affengruber prove influential. Still, it’s a long shot. LONG shot.
Hull City: Ilyas Ansah, Sorba Thomas, Tim Iroegbunam, Christos Mouzakitis, Brooke Norton-Cuffy, Robinio Vaz
My commentary: My tendons hurt from writing all those names. There is fierce competition in the middle of the pitch, and for Oli McBurnie.
Sunderland: Malick Fofana and Kevin Danso
Ipswich: Zian Flemming
Liverpool: Lucca Brughmans
Turning data into decisions that clubs use on the transfer market was something I did for a living for 8 years, so I’ll definitely discuss many of the players above in more detail over the coming weeks, just like several other transfers that happened earlier (looking at you, Exequiel Palacios).
There’s so much to unpack.
