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EPL January Transfer Round-Up

The winter is over, at least with respect to entries into the Premiership. Which players can make an immediate impact both on the pitch and in fantasy?

Bruno Fernandes - Manchester United - Premier League
Manchester United splashed the cash to bring Bruno Fernandes over from Sporting CP. Will he make the biggest impact from the crop of January transfers?
Photo by Paulo Nascimento/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Living in Los Angeles has plenty of perks. One of my favorites is that whenever I go, to a music show or stand-up comedy performance, there’s always an outside chance of a recognizable star unexpectedly jumping onstage for a bonus cameo. Recently in fact, while attending an Irish music show, an unannounced John C. Reilly unexpectedly joined the fun by performing two songs with charming aplomb. And yes, as he passed by yours truly on the way to the microphone; it took the greatest willpower imaginable to resist the urge of shouting “Shake and bake! Shake... and... bake!”

The summer transfer period frequently brings superstars following months of fevered speculation, but the winter window more often is littered with surprises of the more low wattage variety. That leaves fantasy managers hoping for an unexpected boost, along the same lines of a shock celebrity cameo.

For a full list of EPL January transfers, feel free to take a look at the official fantasy Premier League site. Let’s run down the biggest newcomers and figure out who brings a good chance at delivering a fun guest starring role, and which players instead are more likely to be afterthoughts lost in the crowd (e.g. riding pine).

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Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)

  • POSITION: Midfielder
  • FPL PRICE: £8.0m
  • FORMER TEAM: Sporting CP (Portugal’s Liga NOS)
  • NATIONALITY: Portugal
  • TRANSFER FEE: $61.0m
  • AGE: 25
  • 2019-20 STATISTICS: 8 goals, 7 assists in 17 Liga NOS games
  • CAREER STATISTICS: 39 goals, 30 assists in 83 Liga NOS games

PROGNOSIS: Manchester United under Ed Woodward in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era have been defined by a comical litany of expensive transfer busts: Angel di Maria, Ander Herrera, Memphis Depay, Morgan Schneiderlin, Eric Bailly, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku... and is it too early to pass judgment on Fred, Harry Maguire, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka? They may yet be added to the list. Enter the latest attempt at buying fourth spot in the EPL table: Bruno Fernandes.

With Marcus Rashford, Paul Pogba, and Scott McTominay out injured, the late signing was pressed into immediate starting action in the scoreless draw against Wolves on Saturday. While he failed to crack the net, Fernandes exhibited plenty of confidence, shooting at will. That included plenty of set pieces (5 shots, 3 SOT), suggesting he may be a phantom magnet. Fernandes has put up eye-popping numbers not just in Portugal’s top league, but also in Europa League (11 goals, 9 assists in 19 games). Of course, Liga NOS is not up to the same level as La Liga or the Bundlesliga, and Europa League is not Champions League, so there is no guarantee of translating his brilliance from Portugal to England.

Fernandes’ entry price isn’t as low as I’d like to see it; after all, he’s actually a tick more expensive than fellow Red Devils’ midfielder Anthony Martial, a proven EPL performer. The key for whether or not the newcomer can deliver for fantasy managers may hinge on if he can earn the team’s #1 PK duty. The Red Devils have had notable problems this season converting from the spot, as Marcus Rashford (5 for 7 in the EPL), Anthony Martial (0 for 1) and Paul Pogba (0 for 1) have not inspired much confidence. Bruno has converted 20 of 22 chances in all competitions over his career, so with Rashford out injured at the moment, the newcomer may seize the chance to take over the mantle.

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Steven Bergwijn (Tottenham)

  • POSITION: Midfielder
  • FPL PRICE: £7.5m
  • FORMER TEAM: PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands’ Eredivisie)
  • NATIONALITY: Netherlands
  • TRANSFER FEE: $34.3m
  • AGE: 22
  • 2019-20 STATISTICS: 5 goals, 10 assists in 16 Eredivisie games
  • CAREER STATISTICS: 29 goals, 35 assists in 112 Eredivisie games
Steven Bergwijn - Tottenham Hotspur - Premier League
Steven Bergwijn got off to a dream start for Spurs following a long spell in the Eredivisie.
Photo by Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images

PROGNOSIS: After swinging and missing with Clinton N’Jie, Vincent Janssen and Fernando Llorente, maybe the Spurs’ brass decided they really didn’t want to risk another attempt at finding a true back-up for currently injured superstar front man Harry Kane. Instead, the first big-money addition under Jose Mourinho is a versatile winger who actually had more assists than goals to his credit in the Eredivisie.

Speaking of the Eredivisie, it has seen more than its fair share of major flops when transferring players into the EPL — such as Janssen for Spurs, Memphis Depay for Manchester United, and Jozy Altidore for Sunderland. Then again, the Premier League bought Luis Suarez, Christian Eriksen, and Jan Vertonghen from the Eredivisie... so fantasy managers (and Tottenham fans) should assume the worst while hoping for the best.

Mourinho started the newcomer immediately at wing along with Lucas Moura, Son Heung-Min and Dele Alli in attack on Sunday against Manchester City, a promising sign that his playing time should be assured at least until Kane’s return to fitness. Cementing his spot, he scored the opening goal of the 2-0 victory, becoming an immediate hero to the overjoyed London fans. If Bergwijn can keep up his exploits, he will pay off very nicely for FPL managers (and perhaps Fantrax managers as well). But be advised that he comes in at about the same price as Leicester’s James Maddison, the 7th highest scorer at the position, and Bergwijn’s actually costlier than Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish and Leicester’s Ayoze Perez just behind Maddison in the top 10.

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Sander Berge (Sheffield United)

  • POSITION: Midfielder
  • FPL PRICE: £5.0m
  • FORMER TEAM: Genk (Belgium’s Jupiler Pro League)
  • NATIONALITY: Norway
  • TRANSFER FEE: $24.5m
  • AGE: 21
  • 2019-20 STATISTICS: 4 goals, no assists in 23 Jupiler Pro League games
  • CAREER STATISTICS: 4 goals, 3 assists in 63 Jupiler Pro League games

PROGNOSIS: A young talent with an international pedigree, Berge should prove an extremely strong signing for the Blades on the pitch, but as a defensive midfielder on a defensive-minded team, he probably won’t do much of anything in fantasy. I could see taking a flyer on him if he were priced at £4.5m, but you can easily get someone who contributes more on offense for £5.0m (just look at teammate John Fleck who has 5 goals and 2 assists).

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Daniel Podence (Wolves)

  • POSITION: Midfielder
  • FPL PRICE: £5.5m
  • FORMER TEAM: Olympiacos (Greece Super League)
  • NATIONALITY: Czech Republic
  • TRANSFER FEE: $21.7m
  • AGE: 24
  • 2019-20 STATISTICS: 3 goals, 4 assists in 15 Super League games
  • CAREER STATISTICS: 8 goals, 12 assists in 42 Super League games

PROGNOSIS: Podence was pressed into immediate action when Adama Traore left the Manchester United game injured in the second half, earning 14’ of match time and looking fairly bright. Injury to a regular such as Traore may be the only hope that Podence has for minutes going forward in a crowded Wolves’ midfield.

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Mbwana Samatta (Aston Villa)

  • POSITION: Forward
  • FPL PRICE: £6.0m
  • FORMER TEAM: KRC Genk (Belgium Jupiler Pro League)
  • NATIONALITY: Tanzania
  • TRANSFER FEE: $11.97m
  • AGE: 27
  • 2019-20 STATISTICS: 7 goals, no assists in 20 Jupiler Pro League
  • CAREER STATISTICS: 44 goals, 7 assists in 101 Jupiler Pro League games
Mbwana Samatta - Aston Villa - Premier League
One EPL game, one goal for Mbwana Samatta.
Photo by Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images

PROGNOSIS: Aston Villa is currently bubble-boy in this season’s relegation scrap. The defense can take most of the blame, but the offense cannot be completely absolved. Midfielder Jack Grealish leads the team with 7 scores, while the supposedly big summer striker signing, Wesley (who?), has contributed only 5. With Wesley-who out injured, Samatta earned an immediate start at Bournemouth and scored the team’s only goal, a header in the 2-1 loss, taking three shots (2 SOT) in an active performance. However, it will be difficult to expect a consistent boost from Samatta, as he only scored 7 goals this campaign facing a lower level of competition in Belgium. There are loads of budget forward options who have already proven themselves in the EPL (e.g. Burnley’s Chris Wood, Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Norwich’s Teemu Pukki, and Watford’s pair of Gerard Deulofeu and Troy Deeney).

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Takumi Minamino (Liverpool)

  • POSITION: Midfielder
  • FPL PRICE: £6.5m
  • FORMER TEAM: RB Salzburg (Germany’s Bundesliga)
  • NATIONALITY: Japan
  • TRANSFER FEE: $9.7m
  • AGE: 25
  • 2019-20 STATISTICS: 5 goals, 6 assists in 14 Bundesliga games
  • CAREER STATISTICS: 42 goals, 30 assists in 136 Bundesliga games

PROGNOSIS: Liverpool has suffered plenty of man-hours lost to injury this season in the midfield engine room, but the Reds have been luckier in attack; the big three of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mo Salah have been mostly healthy. With Divock Origi as Firmino’s ostensible back-up, Minamino offers high quality insurance (on the cheap, in a brilliant bit of business) if Mane or Salah ever suffers an extended absence. This transfer reminds me of when Lucas Moura was brought to Spurs over the winter a couple of years ago; I’m not expecting a huge amount of immediate EPL playing time straightaway, but I will be excited to see more of what the dynamic winger can do next season.

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Ignacio Pussetto (Watford)

  • POSITION: Midfielder
  • FPL PRICE: £5.0m
  • FORMER TEAM: Udinese (Italy’s Serie A)
  • NATIONALITY: Argentina
  • TRANSFER FEE: $8.9m
  • AGE: 24
  • 2019-20 STATISTICS: 1 goal, no assists in 12 Serie A games
  • CAREER STATISTICS: 5 goals, 5 assists in 47 Serie A games

PROGNOSIS: Following a decent 4-goal, 5-assist season in 2018-19, Pussetto fell off harshly this campaign for Udinese. Pussetto has appeared in three games with Watford so far — all as a substitute — and with Roberto Pereyra, Gerard Deulofeu, and Ismaila Sarr ahead of him in the pecking order, it’s difficult to imagine the newcomer being productive in FPL.

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Lukas Rupp (Norwich City)

  • POSITION: Midfielder
  • FPL PRICE: £4.5m
  • FORMER TEAM: TSG Hoffenheim (Germany’s Bundesliga)
  • NATIONALITY: Germany
  • TRANSFER FEE: $570k
  • AGE: 29
  • 2019-20 STATISTICS: no goals, no assists in 7 Bundesliga games
  • CAREER STATISTICS: 14 goals, 12 assists in 137 Bundesliga games

PROGNOSIS: Rupp scored 14 goals and added 11 assists with Paderborn 07, Stuttgart and Hoffenheim from 2014-15 through 2017-18, but has been silent in only 8 appearances since then. It’s difficult to imagine him contributing much in a crowded midfield already featuring Todd Cantwell, Emiliano Buendia and fellow newcomer Ondrej Duda, but it’s impossible to fault the Canaries’ brass for adding a quality player like Rupp for peanuts as depth in their fight to avoid relegation.

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Jack Robinson (Sheffield United)

  • POSITION: Defender
  • FPL PRICE: £4.0m
  • FORMER TEAM: Nottingham Forest (England’s Championship)
  • NATIONALITY: England
  • TRANSFER FEE: Undisclosed
  • AGE: 26
  • 2019-20 STATISTICS: no goals, 1 assist in 18 Championship games
  • CAREER STATISTICS: 4 goals, 10 assists in 170 Championship games

PROGNOSIS: Considering the Blades’ fine form overall and especially in defense, the versatile left back/central defender from a lower-level league would seem to be a depth signing. He’s not worth adding straightaway, but if an injury gives Robinson a shot, go ahead and pounce. As we’ve seen with John Lundstram, a £4.0m starting Sheffield United defender who gets forward can pay off handsomely.

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Pepe Reina (Aston Villa)

  • POSITION: Goalkeeper
  • FPL PRICE: £4.5m
  • FORMER TEAM: AC Milan (Italy’s Serie A)
  • NATIONALITY: Spain
  • TRANSFER FEE: N/A (loan)
  • AGE: 37
  • 2019-20 STATISTICS: 1 goal conceded, no clean sheets in 1 Serie A game; 2 goals conceded, 2 saves, no clean sheets in 2 EPL games
  • CAREER STATISTICS: 228 goals conceded, 553 saves, 134 clean sheets in 287 EPL games

PROGNOSIS: Tom Heaton’s injury forced Villa’s hand. With the Villans looking to avoid relegation, Reina has been pressed into action immediately, featuring in the 1-1 draw at Brighton and the 2-1 victory over Watford. The recent return of star defender Tyrone Mings from injury helps a bit, but considering that the team has given up the second most goals in the league, it would take a shocking turnaround to make Reina a worthwhile option in fantasy, despite a solid EPL pedigree for the former longtime Liverpool backstop.

Heaton averaged only 2.81 ppg in FPL (which would translate to a paltry 107 points in a full 38-game season), and Reina will certainly be considered a downgrade. Thus far, Reina has unimpressively scored 2 points in each of his three appearances for Villa. If you’re not personally related to him, there’s no reason to add him. After all, Burnley’s Nick Pope has scored 105 points in 25 games (4.2 ppg), and can be had for just £0.1m more than Reina’s entry price.

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Pablo Mari (Arsenal)

  • POSITION: Defender
  • FPL PRICE: TBD (not yet in system)
  • FORMER TEAM: Flamengo (Brazil’s Serie A)
  • NATIONALITY: Spain
  • TRANSFER FEE: N/A (loan)
  • AGE: 26
  • 2019-20 STATISTICS: 2 goals, 1 assist in 22 Brazilian Serie A games.
  • CAREER STATISTICS: 2 goals, 1 assist in 22 Brazilian Serie A games

PROGNOSIS: Arsenal desperately needs help in central defense, but Mari has not played at an elite level. Despite his age, most of Mari’s experience has been in lower leagues, so it would be a surprise to see him start immediately. But somebody at Arsenal must have seen something in Mari to make this loan move. As mentioned at the time (by nearly everybody including myself of course), perhaps the Gunners should have used some of the money they splashed on Nicolas Pepe last summer on a quality central defender, or saved it for now?

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Cedric Soares (Arsenal)

  • POSITION: Defender
  • FPL PRICE: £4.8m
  • FORMER TEAM: Southampton (England)
  • NATIONALITY: Portugal
  • TRANSFER FEE: N/A (loan)
  • AGE: 28
  • 2019-20 STATISTICS: no goals, 1 assist, 3 clean sheets in 16 EPL games
  • CAREER STATISTICS: 1 goal, 11 assist, 28 clean sheets in 120 EPL games

PROGNOSIS: Kieran Tierney and Hector Bellerin have had trouble staying healthy, so bringing in fellow wing back Cedric makes sense. Unfortunately, Cedric is currently injured, so his Gunners’ debut may have to wait a little while. The Arsenal defense has been horrible in terms of fantasy production though, so even if Cedric becomes a regular starter (which is no sure thing), a word of caution is in order.

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Danny Drinkwater (Aston Villa)

  • POSITION: Midfielder
  • FPL PRICE: £4.4m
  • FORMER TEAM: Chelsea (England’s EPL)
  • NATIONALITY: England
  • TRANSFER FEE: N/A (loan)
  • AGE: 29
  • 2019-20 STATISTICS: no goals, no assists in 4 EPL games
  • CAREER STATISTICS: 4 goals, 8 assists in 103 EPL games

PROGNOSIS: Drinkwater had 2 goals and 7 assists with Leicester in 2015-16, his only productive season. Nobody except Villa diehards with the rosiest of glasses will be banking on another now.

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Cenk Tosun (Crystal Palace)

  • POSITION: Forward
  • FPL PRICE: £5.7m
  • FORMER TEAM: Everton (England’s EPL)
  • NATIONALITY: Turkey
  • TRANSFER FEE: N/A (loan)
  • AGE: 28
  • 2019-20 STATISTICS: 2 goals, no assists in 8 EPL games
  • CAREER STATISTICS: 10 goals, 3 assists in 47 EPL games

PROGNOSIS: Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s fine form has made Tosun surplus to Carlo Ancelotti’s plans at Everton. At Palace, Tosun certainly can’t be any worse than Christian “BCM” Benteke, who has failed to score in 16 games this season and has only 4 goals with 26 (!!!) big chances missed (yes that is an official EPL statistic) in the past three years. Tosun has already scored once in his three appearances with the Eagles, so it’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility that he can gel with Jordan Ayew and Wilfried Zaha and provide a boost to the dormant Palace attack. While Tosun’s price is accommodating, if you’re interested in a Palace forward, Ayew would seem to be more attractive since he’s even cheaper, especially since Tosun is currently out injured.

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Odion Ighalo (Manchester United)

  • POSITION: Forward
  • FPL PRICE: TBD (not yet in system)
  • FORMER TEAM: Shanghai Greenland Shenhua (China’s Super League)
  • NATIONALITY: Nigeria
  • TRANSFER FEE: N/A (loan)
  • AGE: 30
  • 2019-20 STATISTICS: 10 goals, no assists in 17 Chinese Super League games
  • CAREER STATISTICS: 16 goals, 4 assists in 55 EPL games

PROGNOSIS: We all fondly remember the Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney show when Watford burst onto the EPL scene back in 2015-16, when the dynamic duo combined to score 28 goals (15 for Ighalo, 13 for Deeney). What may not be quite as memorable was Ighalo’s immediate plunge to only 1 goal in 18 games the next season. Now he returns after surely making a boatload of money in China, but even with Marcus Rashford out, it is doubtful that Ighalo will either get a huge amount of playing time now or do much with it even if he does.

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Nabil Bentaleb (Newcastle)

  • POSITION: Midfielder
  • FPL PRICE: £5.0m
  • FORMER TEAM: Schalke 04 (Germany’s Bundesliga)
  • NATIONALITY: Algeria
  • TRANSFER FEE: N/A (loan)
  • AGE: 25
  • 2019-20 STATISTICS: N/A
  • CAREER STATISTICS: 0 goals, 3 assists in 49 EPL games; 12 goals, 8 assists in 73 Bundesliga games

PROGNOSIS: Bentaleb has been afterthought at Schalke this season following a three goal, one assist campaign in 2018-19. He immediately cracked Steve Bruce’s XI for the scorelesss draw with Norwich, but the former Spurs man has just never produced enough in England to warrant FPL interest.

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Valentino Lazaro (Newcastle United)

  • POSITION: Midfielder
  • FPL PRICE: £5.5m
  • FORMER TEAM: Inter Milan (Italy’s Serie A)
  • NATIONALITY: Austria
  • TRANSFER FEE: N/A (loan)
  • AGE: 23
  • 2019-20 STATISTICS: no goals, 1 assist in 6 Serie A games
  • CAREER STATISTICS: 5 goals, 12 assists in 57 Bundesliga games

PROGNOSIS: Lazaro showed promise with Germany’s Hertha BSC in 2017-18 and 2018-19, earning him a move to Inter Milan over the summer, but Antonio Conte has rarely called on the midfielder’s services. While the Magpies’ engine room is certainly crowded, it is not overly talented, so it would not be a surprise to see the newcomer get playing time. However, we have seen other promising newcomers struggle to produce in FPL at the midfield position right away with Newcastle, as with Allan Saint-Maximin this past summer and Miguel Almiron last winter, so let’s not get too excited about Lazaro setting St. James’ Park on fire.

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Danny Rose (Newcastle United)

  • POSITION: Defender
  • FPL PRICE: £5.3m
  • FORMER TEAM: Tottenham (England’s EPL)
  • NATIONALITY: England
  • TRANSFER FEE: N/A (loan)
  • AGE: 29
  • 2019-20 STATISTICS: no goals, no assists, no clean sheets in 13 EPL games
  • CAREER STATISTICS: 9 goals, 17 assists, 38 clean sheets in 184 EPL games

PROGNOSIS: Broadway Danny Rose was part of a large contingent of Spurs who didn’t seem to want to stay this season, including manager Mauricio Pochettino. While Poch often started Rose, the wing defender largely languished on the bench under Jose Mourinho. It’s probably safe to say that Newcastle wasn’t what Rose had in mind for his next destination, but surely he’ll try to make the most out the situation in the hopes of getting a better ultimate stop. Rose played 11 minutes off the bench in Saturday’s draw with Norwich as Matt Ritchie started at left back and went the full 90. It does not seem likely that Rose will be able to displace Ritchie unless the Magpies’ veteran has a recurrence of his injury that kept him out much of this season, so Rose may have to settle for substitute appearances.

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Ondrej Duda (Norwich City)

  • POSITION: Midfielder
  • FPL PRICE: £5.0m
  • FORMER TEAM: Hertha BSC (Germany’s Bundesliga)
  • NATIONALITY: Slovakia
  • TRANSFER FEE: N/A (loan)
  • AGE: 25
  • 2019-20 STATISTICS: no goals, 1 assist in 7 Bundesliga games
  • CAREER STATISTICS: 12 goals, 7 assists in 59 Bundesliga games

PROGNOSIS: For an in-depth look at Duda, read David’s Scouting Report by clicking here.

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Jack Rodwell (Sheffield United)

  • POSITION: Midfielder
  • FPL PRICE: £4.5m
  • FORMER TEAM: N/A (unattached)
  • NATIONALITY: England
  • TRANSFER FEE: N/A (unattached)
  • AGE: 28
  • 2019-20 STATISTICS: N/A
  • CAREER STATISTICS: 10 goals, 4 assists in 166 EPL games

PROGNOSIS: Jack Rodwell makes me think of Sunderland, which I’d really rather not do. Anyway, Rodwell last appeared in the EPL in 2016-17, when he failed to score, contributing but a single assist in 20 games for the Black Cats. In 2018-19, when Rodwell last played, he scored one goal and no assists in 21 games for Blackburn Rovers of the Championship. There’s a reason defensive midfielders tend to come in at around the minimum price, but there are better budget options such as Newcastle’s Isaac Hayden, Wolves’ Leander Dendoncker or Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz.

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Kyle Walker-Peters (Southampton)

  • POSITION: Defender
  • FPL PRICE: £4.4m
  • FORMER TEAM: Tottenham (England’s EPL)
  • NATIONALITY: England
  • TRANSFER FEE: N/A (loan)
  • AGE: 22
  • 2019-20 STATISTICS: no goals, no assists, no clean sheets in 3 EPL games
  • CAREER STATISTICS: 0 goals, 5 assists, 3 assists in 12 EPL games
Kyle Walker-Peters - Tottenham Hotspur - Premier League
Tottenham’s Kyle Walker-Peters and Danny Rose are part of this January’s big wing defender loan movement within the EPL.
Photo by Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images

PROGNOSIS: Cedric Shares leaves on loan, Kyle Walker-Peters comes in. Easy swap, right? Maybe, or maybe not. KWP has not played a single minute of EPL action since GW3 with Spurs, so it was probably not a shocker that Ralph Hasenhuttl decided to leave the newcomer on the bench for the 4-0 defeat at Anfield, while giving a rare start to defensive midfielder Oriol Romeu. There is a pretty good chance that when KWP gets up to speed, he will become a regular starter at right wing back, and £4.4m isn’t too bad at all. However, you really can’t expect much from Saints’ defenders in fantasy, and if you do feel like grabbing a Southampton defender, left wing back Ryan Bertrand has a proven track record and doesn’t cost much more at £4.8m.

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Gedson Fernandes (Tottenham)

  • POSITION: Midfielder
  • FPL PRICE: £5.0m
  • FORMER TEAM: Benfica (Portugal’s Liga NOS)
  • NATIONALITY: Portugal
  • TRANSFER FEE: N/A (loan)
  • AGE: 21
  • 2019-20 STATISTICS: no goals, no assists in 7 Liga NOS games
  • CAREER STATISTICS: no goals, three assists in 29 Liga NOS games

PROGNOSIS: Given Fernandes’ nationality, the biggest surprise has to be that he’s coming over to any team other than Nuno Espirito Santo’s Wolves. Now that star playmaker Christian Eriksen has finally departed for Inter Milan, it is possible that Fernandes can fill the void. However, Giovani Lo Celso seems to have already plugged that gap, and furthermore Fernandes has never shown the ability to score goals or rack up assists which are the keys to FPL success.

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Tomas Soucek (West Ham)

  • POSITION: Midfielder
  • FPL PRICE: £5.0m
  • FORMER TEAM: Slavia Prague (Slovakia’s Fortuna Liga)
  • NATIONALITY: Czech Republic
  • TRANSFER FEE: N/A (loan)
  • AGE: 24
  • 2019-20 STATISTICS: 8 goals, 3 assists in 17 Fortuna Liga games
  • CAREER STATISTICS: 28 goals, 12 assists in 121 Fortuna Liga games

PROGNOSIS: In less than two seasons with Slavia Prague, Soucek scored 18 goals and added 8 assists in league play, while he also added two scores in six Champions League affairs, which is quite remarkable for a defensive midfielder. Clearly he wasn’t especially limited to the defensive end! His first EPL game was a barn burner, a 3-3 draw for West Ham with Brighton, and while Soucek failed to score or provide an assist, he did have two shots — one SOT — and one big chance missed. For just £5.0m, Soucek could prove an interesting flyer.

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[NOTE: Transfer fees (excluding possible add-on bonuses) and non-EPL statistics came via Transfermarkt; FPL pricing/stats and EPL statistics came from the official Fantasy Premier League and official Premier League sites.]

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Poll

Who will be the most impactful winter transfer in FPL the rest of the season?

This poll is closed

  • 0%
    Cedric Soares
    (0 votes)
  • 4%
    Mbwana Samatta
    (2 votes)
  • 6%
    Cenk Tosun
    (3 votes)
  • 4%
    Takumi Minamino
    (2 votes)
  • 46%
    Bruno Fernandes
    (20 votes)
  • 0%
    Valentino Lazaro
    (0 votes)
  • 9%
    Ondrej Duda
    (4 votes)
  • 23%
    Steven Bergwijn
    (10 votes)
  • 2%
    Tomas Soucek
    (1 vote)
  • 2%
    Daniel Podence
    (1 vote)
  • 0%
    Someone else (name in comments)
    (0 votes)
43 votes total Vote Now