Armed with unhealthy snacks and a thriving interest in fictional relationships, television audiences all over the world slumped onto their sofas in 2004 to witness the grand finale of the beloved American sitcom Friends. The colossal climax of the ten year series played host to the absolute pinnacle of any on-again off-again romantic saga, with national sweetheart Rachel Green aborting her Parisian fashion plans to share her life with nerdy palaeontologist and three-time divorcee Ross Geller.
The emotional strain of anticipation that precedes the almost inevitable happy ending that scriptwriters promise their viewership eclipses the heartache of being a Fantasy Premier League manager, particularly following an international break. The transfer window slammed shut in its ever-increasingly dramatic style with completed deadline day deals aplenty. Of these rushed late signings, there is an aching to learn which of the fresh players will be immediately introduced into the starting line ups of their respective unaccustomed environments. This Fantasy Premier League Tips article will individually rate a trio of signings on the probability of being initially fielded during the incoming game week.
Jonny Evans (WBA) 4.8m
Performances don't get much more theatrical than Northern Ireland's latest Euro 2016 qualifier at home to Hungary. The ‘not-so-mighty Magyars' were leading until Kyle Lafferty's stoppage-time equaliser following a rebounded effort from a corner, sending the crowd into complete hysteria. The team managed by Michael O'Neill are now just one win away from qualifying for their first ever European Championships, an incredible feat if it were to be achieved.
Anchoring the Northern Irish backline throughout the campaign have been Gareth McAuley and his newest team mate at West Bromwich Albion Jonny Evans, who joined from Manchester United for £6m plus £2m in add-ons. Manager Tony Pulis is renowned for his bullish emphasis on defensive superiority, reinforced by his instant organisation of the West Brom protective four and reintroduction of tough tackler Claudio Yacob upon his arrival.
Pulis also has a recent history of bringing new signings straight into his team sheets. Rickie Lambert scored twice within hours of joining The Baggies and James Chester started in the 3-0 defeat at home to Manchester City, just over a week after putting pen to paper on a four year deal. Currently priced at £4.8m on the Fantasy Premier League website with only 0.3% ownership, Evans may potentially be an ingenious addition to any squad considering his manager's insistence on ramparting the WBA goal with defensive class, and what better way to do it than with a centre back pairing that has been tried and tested on numerous occasions at international level.
Likelihood of starting Gamweek 5 verdict: 4 out of 5
Nicolás Otamendi (MCI) 6.5m
There are few words that dilate the pupils of Fantasy Premier League managers more than “goal scoring defender.” The mere purring of these six illustrious syllables is enough to make the mouths of millions of hopeful managers water uncontrollably. Looking back over the years, defenders that score goals have in-turn ranked amongst the highest point scorers. Examples of this include John Terry's consistent performances last season and Martin Skrtel during Brendan Rodgers' halcyon days at Liverpool during their title challenge of 2013/14.
Manchester City signed Nicolás Otamendi from Valencia on the 20th August for £32m. The Argentinian scored six times for his club in the league, keeping twelve clean sheets in the process. Although this statistic does instinctively whet the point-hungry appetites of many, Otamendi's price tag is to be approached with serious caution. Club captain Vincent Kompany is a pre-decided sure starter for Manuel Pellegrini's outfit and £0.1m cheaper than his team mate who is valued at a whopping £6.5m.
As of yet, goalkeeper Joe Hart has not conceded a single goal for club or country so far this season and as a result, one would suspect that Pellegrini will adopt an “if it ain't broke don't fix it” mentality going into the next match away at Crystal Palace. However, it would appear as if a slight issue has arisen at right back. Bacary Sagna picked up a minor knock to his ankle on 7th September whilst playing for France against Serbia and was subsequently substituted at half time. Although this was considered to have been precautionary rather than a forced swap, questions have been raised over who may replace him in a sky blue jersey.
As a result of regular first choice Pablo Zabaleta's ongoing injury concerns, Pellegrini would be forced to choose between either novice Pablo Maffeo or Otamendi to fill in what the Argentine would consider to be the nightmarish right back role, considering his clumsy history with the position on the international stage. However, the most feasible outcome of this matter would be that Sagna will begin the match at Selhurst Park, rendering Otamendi to the side-line in the hope of eventually replacing former Porto partner Elaquim Mangala as Kompany's consistent right hand man.
Likelihood of starting Gameweek 5 verdict: 2 out of 5
Anthony Martial (MUN) 8.0m
Manchester United are no strangers to the exciting and bizarre during recent transfer opportunities. Now plying his trade in League One with Wigan Athletic, Andy Kellett was mysteriously loaned away from Bolton in February having only made four senior appearances for his parent club to ‘The Theatre of Dreams'. This move had a handful of overly biased and relatively ignorant Red Devils supporters singing the twenty one year old's praises and touting him as the next Javier Zanetti. The reality was, unfortunately for Kellett not quite as glamorous, who merely acted as a temporary replacement for Saidy Janko who had been loaned the other way.
Arguably the most offbeat transfer of the entire summer transfer debacle, nineteen year old Anthony Martial joined Manchester United from AS Monaco for £36m, rising to £58m. The Frenchman scored nine league goals for his previous employers last season and registered three assists in 1830 minutes of football. An impressive tally for the teenager, but perhaps not worthy of the enormous price tag placed on his inexperienced head.
Assuming that Louis van Gaal continues to play a 4-3-3 formation, Martial will most likely feature as a replacement for either Wayne Rooney in the central striker role or for one of Memphis Depay and Juan Mata in the wider areas as a substitute, depending on their respective performances or the match score. It is this considerable footballing flexibility that partly attracted Ed Woodward to spend so generously on the promising starlet. Priced at £8.0m on the Fantasy Premier League website, it may be worth erring on the side of caution for the upcoming game week and waiting to see how or even if Martial plays against Liverpool before making any prompt and potentially impetuous decisions.
Likelihood of starting Gameweek 5 verdict: 1 out of 5
Bringing new signings into an FPL squad generally comes with some degree of risk. However, fielding non-starters may be considered a punishable and unforgiving error of judgement, particularly at this stage of the season as time weeds out those with only a flickering interest in fantasy football. The excuse of, “we were on an international break,” just won't cut it. Make sure you tune in next week for another Fantasy Premier League Tips article.
