Transfer Deadline Day: Players To Watch

Jack Wilshere

In a rather surprising development, the future of English football™ has left his boyhood club for a season long loan to AFC Bournemouth. Health is always the concern with Wilshere as his 19 Premier League appearances over the course of the last 2-and-a-bit seasons would suggest. The constant injuries (and penchant for smoking) over the past few years have threatened to completely derail his career, but there is still an extremely talented footballer in there somewhere.

If he can stay healthy, Wilshere figures to be the creative hub of this Bournemouth side and Eddie Howe's brand of football certainly suits him. The most interesting wrinkle in this move will be how Wilshere handles being a bigger fish in a much smaller pond, but if I know anything about Jack Wilshere as an Arsenal supporter, I think he will relish the chance to be a key player and leader for this young team. The official game has Wilshere listed at £5.9m currently and that could prove to be a steal. Just pray for his ankles.

Wilfried Bony

So his Manchester City experience has been a disaster thus far. Unfortunately for Bony he just cannot get ahead of Sergio Agüero and Kelechi Iheanacho in the pecking order at the Etihad Stadium, but that's not exactly a huge embarrassment. Much like other good-but-not-great players who followed the money trail to City, Bony hasn't been able to crack the starting lineup on a regular basis. As a result his career has stalled and is in need of a jolt. For him, a loan to Stoke was a great option.

He still gets his City wages but he's also going to get regular football, and with Xherdan Shaqiri and Marko Arnautovic providing for him, he should get goals. During his one and a half seasons at Swansea, he found the back of the net 26 times and Stoke have a better supporting cast for him. He gives the Potters a more powerful, proven option up front and he also gives them the option of playing two strikers with either Bojan or Mame Diouf partnering the big Ivorian. At £7.3m on the official he represents real value.

Marcos Alonso

A lot of pundits were scratching their head at this one, but it makes perfect sense for Chelsea and Antonio Conte if they begin to utilize a 3-5-2 system as many anticipate. Alonso's experience playing as both a left back and a left midfielder for Fiorentina over the past couple of seasons suggest that he could slot in neatly as a wing back in a 3-5-2 as well as having the versatility to play as a left back in a more traditional 4 man defense.

He will more than likely start on the left with César Azpilicueta moving over to the right side at the expense of Branislav Ivanović regardless of formation. So with the kind of minutes he stands to play and the number of clean sheets Chelsea are likely to keep, Alonso could be a very consistent contributor. Official has him listed at £6m currently, which is on the steep side for a defender, but if he performs well that number could go up.

Islam Slimani

Goals, goals, goals. That is why Leicester City broke their transfer record for the 28 year old Algerian forward. Slimani has 23 in 43 caps for the Algerian national side and 57 in 109 appearances across all competitions for Sporting Lisbon. He also scored a staggering 27 goals in 33 league appearances for the Portuguese club last season. The champions are off to a slow start so they'll be hoping Slimani can help remedy that by replicating the same sort of form in the Premier League.

Having spent that much on him, you would expect Slimani to slot straight into the starting lineup alongside Jamie Vardy. However, having already brought in Ahmed Musa and still possessing the hard working Shinji Okazaki, perhaps Claudio Ranieri will be a little more cautious in working Slimani into the starting lineup as he acclimatizes to English football. His price on the official is £8.5m currently and that could skyrocket if he hits the ground running, but I would be a little more cautious given Leicester's crowded strike force.

Georges-Kévin N'Koudou

Tottenham Hotspur finally got the deal done for N'Koudou on deadline day, 40 days after the French winger had passed his medical with the club. It appears to be another astute signing of a young player with bags of potential whom Mauricio Pochettino can weave his magic with. N'Koudou offers, as has been repeated ad nauseam, pace and lots of it. But he also hit 10 goals in all competitions and was generally very impressive for Marseille last season. He even has some Europa League experience, which will suit Tottenham down to the ground after December.

N'Koudou will compete with Moussa Sissoko and Erik Lamela for a spot on the wings. While Tottenham's outlay on Sissoko was alarmingly large, if his last season with Newcastle is anything to go by, he will have a stretch this season where he drifts through games. Pochettino's pressing system will not tolerate that and there is every chance that he will prefer the younger N'Koudou in that instance. N'koudou is going for £7m on the official game, at that price it may be best to hold off and see where Tottenham go from here. If he starts in week 4, I would snatch him up.

5 Others To Watch For

Moussa Sissoko (Tottenham Hotspur), Hal Robson-Kanu (West Bromwich Albion), David Luiz (Chelsea), Markus Henriksen (Hull City), Enner Valencia (Everton).  Who are your players to watch?