Transfer dribble #4: City signed wonderkid Nypan, Xavi Simons rumours, and Brentford in trouble
Things happening in the transfer market...
The pre-season format of this will be as free-flowing as peak Kevin De Bruyne, covering Premier League transfers, all sorts of FPL stuff, or weird things people say about football data. Once we enter the regular season, it will be more about actionable fantasy advice, which will help you better understand the data and make sounder managerial decisions. So, bear with me.
Sverre Nypan to Manchester City is… pretty exciting stuff
Sorry, this transfer doesn’t have any immediate impact on the Premier League or FPL, but I just can’t contain myself.
To set the scene, Sverre Nypan is an 18-year-old midfielder who signed for Manchester City from the Norwegian top-tier side Rosenborg. They reportedly paid €15 million for him.
But enough with formalities, let’s kick this off with two interesting stats:
In the 2023 season, at just 16 years old, he:
already accumulated 1,600 minutes in Eliteserien
was a midfielder with the most pressures per game
I want to feel the same energy after overdoing it with three gin & tonics at the bar the night before. At 36, it’s no longer a walk in the park.
Not only is he fast, intense, and explosive, but he also dominated the league in nearly every imaginable metric. In terms of the average height of touches with the ball, he is a box-to-box midfielder capable of carrying, dribbling, creating, and scoring goals. To be more precise, his role was LCM in 4-3-3.
He is a fine dribbler who can beat an opponent 1v1 or dribble into the space, and according to advanced data metrics, his carries significantly increase the team’s likelihood of scoring a goal—he is ranked in the 95th percentile for goal probability added from those actions. In other words, his runs create dangerous goal-scoring opportunities. Nypan either sets them up for his teammates or takes a shot himself.
In deeper areas, he has an excellent vision for diagonal passes into the cutback zones and on the far post. Higher up the pitch, he can execute some great through-balls to players running behind.
He averaged 2 shots, 0.25 xG, and 0.17 xA per 90 minutes.
If you realise how large a volume of other things he does, this is an exceptional final product. He recorded 8 goals and 7 assists over 2,200 minutes last season.
Although he is young, he is also strong. He wins an above-average number of duels with a success rate in the 95th percentile. Given his speed and physical attributes, it’s no wonder he was one of the most fouled players in the Eliteserien.
Note that it is a physically demanding league, where players run a lot and engage in numerous duels, which is beneficial for his potential future adaptation to Premier League football.
Essentially, he can play anywhere in midfield, except for some destroyer-type roles. Obviously.
He is likely to go out on loan now, so let’s see what the future holds.
There are also arrivals who clearly won’t be leaving. I discussed them here: Reijnders, Aït-Nouri, and Cherki: Introducing City’s new signings.
Xavi Simons rumours: Pedro’s and Palmers stonks go up?
I’m not going to lie, this transfer window is crazy.
The rumour that has gained significant momentum in the last 24 hours is that Chelsea are talking personal terms with highly valued Dutch international Xavi Simons.
This seems a bit unnecessary, especially when your name is Jamie Gittens. But don’t worry, Jamie, you two will be able to play together, as you’ll soon find out.
I suppose it’s a fine deal to pursue when you spot an opportunity after observing what City, Liverpool, and Arsenal do in the transfer market…
However, I expected they would target a more goal-scoring type of player, because Gittens, Neto, and young Estêvão are either still raw or their strengths currently lie elsewhere. Or both.
Simons probably isn’t a player who would have a direct impact on FPL, given his fairly average goal threat. Nevertheless, he’s definitely one who improves the team and helps bring out the best in his teammates.
His best position is number 10, and he’s also doing well as a free-flowing left (attacking) midfielder. He’s not really a winger, nor even a touchline winger (you see, Jamie?).
A good way to describe him is as a player who works hard, recovers many balls, and then, in the same spell of possession, creates something very dangerous. He can execute all kinds of vertical passes from half-spaces effectively.
When you have this kind of security and creative support from your teammate, you can attack more.
Imagine Cole Palmer on the right getting into more goal-scoring positions.
Or João Pedro, who won’t need to drop deep that often.
Lovely.
It doesn’t matter if he actually becomes a new Chelsea player.
Currently, Chelsea’s squad suggests that Palmer (£10.5m MID) and Pedro (£7.5m FWD) remain the top attacking FPL picks (and I also believe they will perform well defensively). Both in terms of security and the output.
I still feel that Pedro’s FPL popularity comes from that one great performance in the Club World Cup final, and it’s probably overblown. At the moment, he’s the most owned player in the game. Nevertheless, it’s certainly difficult to imagine starting without Palmer.
But hey, FPL is only live for three days. There’s still plenty to learn during pre-season and the early stages of the season.
Brentford: Is the situation truly that dire?
Apparently, Yoane Wissa left Brentford’s training camp in Portugal.
This understandably makes Brentford fans quite nervous.
The Bees have already lost manager Thomas Frank, their captain Christian Nørgaard, top goal scorer Bryan Mbeumo, and number one goalkeeper Mark Flekken.
Wissa’s potential departure would be another huge loss.
They are stripped of their goals, defensive security, and a man who held it all together. It sounds dramatic, but is it really THAT dramatic?
Look, 35-year-old Jordan Henderson is likely not the answer to their problems.
However, although the situation appears bleak at first glance, there are also positives. Most importantly, they still possess a great deal of talent.
Nathan Collins, Mikkel Damsgaard, Kevin Schade, and Keane Lewis-Potter delivered some impressive performances.
Both Michael Kayode and Yehor Yarmolyuk also looked quite promising. The former has a strong chance of becoming a genuine FPL prospect, producing a significant threat in the final third. The latter showed some good defensive displays.
Both could truly step up this season.
You could argue that Caoimhin Kelleher might be an upgrade to Mark Flekken when it comes to shot-stopping.
Young Dutch midfielder Antoni Milambo is someone with solid potential, although data suggest he will need time to adapt.
With Mbeumo’s and Wissa’s (likely) departure, the team needs to replace their goals — ideally with someone who can both score and create — which will be challenging but not impossible. Their recruitment hasn’t disappeared into thin air overnight.
They plan transfers well in advance and already have some ideas to resolve this. Their track record suggests they could handle this.
It’s disrespectful to label them as a relegated team at this moment.
There is still much that can happen during the summer.