The summer transfer window closes today and late developments in the market could potentially shape Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers’ thinking going into Gameweek 6 and beyond.

Amid the carnival of yellow ties, made-up sightings in chip shops and besieged television reporters with phallic objects in their ears, this live blog will be rounding up the confirmed deals that could present Fantasy bosses with new targets or have a negative impact on existing assets.

SELECTED INCOMINGS

• Antony (Ajax to Man Utd)
• Manuel Akanji (Dortmund to Man City)
• Wout Faes (Reims to Leicester)

(click the link to jump to each player)

TRANSFER DEADLINE DAY – AS IT HAPPENS

23:45 – DANIEL JAMES (LEEDS UNITED TO FULHAM, LOAN)

Daniel James (£6.0m) was in the Leeds starting XI as recently as Gameweek 4 and a late substitute in midweek but he’s been deemed expendable by Jesse Marsch.

James makes the temporary to move to Fulham, who are starved of wing options in the absence of the injured Harry Wilson (£5.8m) and Manor Solomon (£5.0m).

The Wales international has never hit double figures for attacking returns or 100 points in a single FPL season, so is arguably overpriced at £6.0m. A minutes-per-chance-created average of 96 last season was poor, as was his shot-to-goal conversion rate of 7.4%.

When Andreas Pereira (£4.5m) is available for so much less money, there’s little incentive to venture anywhere near James if you’re after a Fulham midfielder.

23:30 – BOUBACAR TRAORE (METZ TO WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS, LOAN)

The departure of Leander Dendoncker (see below) did leave Wolves looking a bit short in midfield, so they’ve added to their options with the signing of the highly rated Boubacar Traore from Ligue II side Metz.

“A pressing and dribbling machine”, he’s a central midfielder by trade and another deadline-day capture who will have little direct appeal to Fantasy managers: just one goal and one assist arrived in 2021/22, with the young Mali international registering only three shots in the box all season.

23:00 – JAN BEDNAREK (SOUTHAMPTON TO ASTON VILLA, LOAN), DUJE CALETA-CAR (MARSEILLE TO SOUTHAMPTON)

It’s one in, one out at centre-half for Southampton.

Jan Bednarek (£4.4m) has completed a loan move to Aston Villa, while Saints have swooped to sign Croatia international Duje Caleta-Car from Marseille.

It was only 19 months ago that Liverpool tried to capture the 25-year-old Caleta-Car, only for the deal to fall through at a late stage.

“Duje is already a very established and experienced player, who has done an impressive job at his previous clubs.

“He is a big presence on the pitch and he will bring even more quality into our centre-back group. It is important we have good depth and options in this position, and he gives us another very strong one.” – Ralph Hasenhuttl

Bednarek has operated on both the left and right sides of central defence at Southampton but is more commonly a right-sided stopper, so he looks set to challenge Ezri Konsa (£4.4m) and Calum Chambers (£4.4m) for a place alongside Tyrone Mings (£4.3m).

22:50 – Carlos Vinicius (BENFICA TO FULHAM, UNDISCLOSED)

Fulham have signed Benfica striker Carlos Vinicius for an undisclosed fee.

The 27-year-old Brazilian previously had a fairly unremarkable loan spell with Spurs in 2020/21, scoring just once in nine Premier League run-outs.

Six strikes in 23 league appearances for PSV in another loan stint last season hardly sets the pulses racing, although only 10 of those run-outs came from the start.

This signing smacks of ‘back-up to Aleksandar Mitrovic (£6.7m)’, then, something the Serbian striker had little of before today.

22:15 – JUAN LARIOS (MANCHESTER CITY TO SOUTHAMPTON, £6m)

Another hour and another Southampton signing from Manchester City.

Spain under-19 international Juan Larios is the latest to jump ship, with the teenager departing Manchester having never made a first-team appearance.

He’s a left-back by trade, so will provide competition for Romain Perraud (£4.5m). It’s much-needed competition, too, as when Perraud was injured at the start of 2022/23, winger Moussa Djenepo (£5.0m) had to fill in at full-back.

He’s also played at right-back and on the wing, something Ralph Hasenhuttl alluded to:

“We hope to be able to give Juan the opportunity to play Premier League football, and his adaptability in being able to play in different positions can definitely help us this season and in the future.” – Ralph Hasenhuttl

22:15 – JAMES GARNER (MANCHESTER UNITED TO EVERTON, £15m)

Nottingham Forest fans will know all about James Garner (£4.5m), who was a key part of the Forest side that got promoted from the Championship last season.

“I’m a box-to-box midfielder who can play in different roles and can support in defence and attack. I like to support with goals and assists but can do the hard work, too, which is equally important.

“I feel like I can bring real energy to the team – it is something that Everton definitely demands and I can add that in abundance. I have got quality as well so hopefully I can be a big part of us having a good season.” – James Garner

He’s more his own box than the opposition’s, perhaps: he averaged a goal attempt only once every 72.9 minutes last season, with just under 80% of his efforts coming from outside the area.

Four goals and eight assists did arrive in the English second tier in 2021/22, however, so there’ll be a modicum of interest from FPL managers given his cheap price tag.

His creativity stats also stood out (an average of two chances created per appearance), although his assist potential perhaps hinges on whether he’ll be given free-kicks and corners at Goodison Park: seven of his eight assists came from set plays. That’ll be the difference between an Andreas Pereira (£4.5m) and a Harrison Reed (£4.5m).

22:00 – ARTHUR MELO (JUVENTUS TO LIVERPOOL, LOAN)

An ongoing injury crisis in central midfield has prompted Liverpool to add to their options in the middle of the park.

Arthur Melo arrives on loan from Juventus, where he made 42 league appearances over two seasons – scoring one goal and assisting none.

He’s effectively another Thiago Alcantara (£5.3m), a “press-resistant pass-master” who won’t offer much to FPL managers directly but who at least can ensure that the personnel crisis that hit over the last few Gameweeks doesn’t adversely affect the Fantasy assets we do care about.

“We’ve seen Juventus players go to the Premier League in the last six months, Dejan Kulusevski, Rodrigo Bentancur and do well, better for Tottenham than they did for Juventus. Is this what’s going to happen with Arthur at Liverpool?

“On the other hand, Arthur has had two seasons at Juventus to do something, he hasn’t really done anything. That’s largely because he hasn’t been able to get on the pitch, he’s had long protracted injury problems. This time last year he underwent surgery which kept him out.

“It’s a fresh start for Arthur but Liverpool will be hoping they get the player that Barcelona thought they were getting from Gremio rather than the player who has had two lacklustre years at Juventus.” – Italian football expert James Horncastle, via the BBC

21:30 – SAMUEL EDOZIE (MANCHESTER CITY TO SOUTHAMPTON, £10m)

Southampton’s raiding of the Manchester City academy has continued with the capture of young winger Samuel Edozie.

We’re going off very little with the 19-year-old attacking midfielder as he hasn’t made a league appearance at any level, although we did see him over a year ago on a rare start for City in the 2021 Community Shield.

“I’d say I’m an exciting player – very direct, I like to attack players at pace, but I like to do the defensive side as well, get back and defend, and help the team. I like to go on a lot of one v ones and get the crowd off their seat, so hopefully, that’s something I can do here.

“I’d say I’m most comfortable on the left, but I like to play on the right as well and I like to develop that side of the game. I think a player that has versatility and can play both left and right is a better player as a whole.” – Samuel Edozie

21:05 – AINSLEY MAITLAND-NILES (ARSENAL TO SOUTHAMPTON, LOAN)

The versatile Ainsley Maitland-Niles (£4.8m) has made his third loan move in as many seasons, joining Southampton for the rest of 2022/23.

We’ve seen Maitland-Niles operate everywhere from full-back to right-wing over the years but the departure of Oriol Romeu and an injury picked up by Romeo Lavia (£4.5m) perhaps hints at where the England international (yes, he is) will be spending the bulk of his time at Southampton, at least initially – as one of the ‘number sixes’ in front of the back four.

Maitland-Niles has scored just one goal in his entire Premier League career, so is another Fantasy footnote on the move on deadline day.

“Ainsley is at a good point in his career, with a lot of experience already, but he is also still a player with potential, and he is someone who can definitely help us.

“I think he fits well with us and can develop his game even further during his time here. He can also play in different positions, which is always a good thing, and I am pleased to welcome him as part of our squad.” – Ralph Hasenhuttl

20:20 – LEANDER DENDONCKER (WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS TO ASTON VILLA,£13m)

The once cult £4.5m FPL bench fodder hero has moved across the Midlands after being shunted down the midfield pecking order by Bruno Lage at Wolves.

Leander Dendoncker (£4.9m) has joined Aston Villa, where he’ll likely compete for one of the two central midfield spots outside of ‘number six’ Boubacar Kamara (£4.9m) – and be of precious little interest to FPL managers.

17:30 – MARTIN DUBRAVKA (NEWCASTLE UNITED TO MANCHESTER UNITED, LOAN)

Manchester United had the Premier League’s best understudy in Dean Henderson (£4.6m) last season and now may be able to claim that accolade again.

Martin Dubravka (£4.4m) has joined the Red Devils on loan from Newcastle United for the rest of 2022/23 and will very likely play back-up to David de Gea (£4.9m) at first, although Erik ten Hag has shown that he can be ruthless through his treatment of Aaron Wan-Bissaka (£4.3m), Harry Maguire (£4.7m) and Cristiano Ronaldo (£10.3m).

17:30 – WILLIAN (Free transfer to Fulham)

Just when we thought we’d seen the last of Willian (£5.5m) as an FPL asset, the 34-year-old Brazilian pops up for a swansong at Fulham.

Maligned by some Arsenal and Chelsea fans for his inconsistency but capable of delivering the goods on occasions, his Fantasy high was a 168-point campaign for the Blues in 2019/20.

A promising to start life at Arsenal saw him deliver a hat-trick of assists in Gameweek 1 of 2020/21 but things quickly went downhill from then on, with his one and only goal coming in his final league appearance for the Gunners.

He’s struck only once for Corinthians since then in his native Brazil, with the dream move back home turning sour and ending up with the winger on the receiving end of death threats.

16:50 – IDRISSA GUEYE (Paris St-Germain to Everton)

There’ll be precious little interest in Everton’s recapture of Idrissa Gueye (£5.0m) in the Fantasy world, with the defensive midfielder averaging fewer than three attacking returns a season in his previous four years with the Toffees.

His powers might be on the wane slightly as he nears his 33rd birthday but it was only a year ago that he was a regular starter for Mauricio Pochettino’s side and there’ll be hope that he can rediscover some of that old spark that helped Everton on their way to a now-unthinkable 14 clean sheets in 2018/19.

No first-choice midfielder won more tackles per 90 minutes (4.5) than Gueye in his previous campaign on Merseyside.

16:40 – Layvin Kurzawa (Paris St-Germain to Fulham)

Fulham’s first new signing of deadline day will be a name familiar to UCL Fantasy managers. Layvun Kurzawa (£4.5m) hit five attacking returns, including a hat-trick, in PSG’s 2017/18 Champions League group-stage campaign, although has never been able to truly nail down a place for the French side in his seven years with the club and didn’t feature at all in 2021/22.

A total of 25 attacking returns arrived across 86 starts and 20 substitute appearances for PSG in Ligue I, so the 29-year-old left-back does have plenty of dormant attacking quality – even if match fitness will surely be an issue initially.

13:30 – JACK STEPHENS (SOUTHAMPTON TO BOURNEMOUTH)

Jack Stephens (£4.4m) has shuffled across the south coast to join Bournemouth on loan, where he should see plenty more game-time.

The managerless Cherries, incongruously, have actually kept more clean sheets (two) than Liverpool (one), the side that thrashed them 9-0 in Gameweek 4.

13:00 – WILLY BOLY (WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS TO NOTTINGHAM FOREST)

Willy Boly (£4.3m) has become the latest new player on the Nottingham Forest payroll, signing from Wolves on a two-year deal.

Moussa Niakhate’s (£4.4m) medium-term absence with a muscle problem has no doubt influenced Steve Cooper’s 19th capture of the summer but there is still plenty of competition for places at centre-half, with Steve Cook (£4.5m), Joe Worrall (£4.4m), Scott McKenna (£4.5m), Cheikhou Kouyate (£4.5m) and Giulian Biancone (£4.4m) all options in the three-man backline.

Forest’s fixtures are about to get very good indeed but even if we were sure of Boly’s place at the back, the attacking threat and cheaper price tag of Neco Williams (£4.1m) effectively makes any other Forest defender a non-starter.

12:00 – WOUT FAES (REIMS TO LEICESTER CITY)

Leicester City have moved swiftly to replace Wesley Fofana (£4.4m), snapping up Belgium defender Wout Faes (£4.5m) from Reims on a five-year deal.

The 24-year-old centre-half is Leicester’s first real major signing of the summer and he’s not got much competition for his place, with Daniel Amartey (£4.4m) unconvincingly operating as a makeshift stopper in Fofana’s recent absence and the likes of Caglar Soyuncu (£4.3m) and Jannik Vestergaard (£3.9m) out of favour.

Faes, a once-capped Belgium international, was Reims’ player of the year last season as the French outfit finished mid-table in Ligue 1 but with the seventh-best defensive record in the division.

Four goals – from 22 attempts – in 37 league appearances was a good return for a centre-half, even if it did buck the trend of previous goal-shy campaigns.

The main hope from an FPL perspective is that he can boost the Foxes’ clean sheet potential in time for their appealing fixture run from Gameweek 9, with goalkeeper Danny Ward (£4.0m) so far flattering to deceive despite his attractive price.

10:00 – MANUEL AKANJI (BORUSSIA DORTMUND TO MANCHESTER CITY)

Manchester City’s centre-half pool has now grown to five, with Switzerland international Manuel Akanji (£5.0m) making the move from Borussia Dortmund.

Akanji has been out of favour at the German club this season after refusing to sign a new deal but he was a regular before then, making 119 league appearances in a sometimes injury-interrupted four years with Dortmund.

He has also been capped 41 times his country.

Akanji has typically played as a right-sided centre-half for Dortmund, meaning more medium-term competition for John Stones (£5.4m) and Ruben Dias (£6.0m) on the surface, but his pace and distribution could allow Akanji to play the inverted Kyle Walker (£5.1m) role whenever Guardiola opts for his patented 3-2-5 on-the-ball set-up.

“Manuel has plenty of experience playing at the top level of European football and we are confident he will be a valuable addition to our squad.

“We have been impressed with his performances during his time at Dortmund, where he has developed into a very good defender and one who is ready to perform in both the Premier League and Champions League.

“He has everything we want in a centre-back. He is strong, quick, comfortable in possession, has an excellent passing range and he will complement the other defenders in this team and our style of play.” – Txiki Begiristain

09:30 – ANTONY (AJAX TO MANCHESTER UNITED, £85m)

The first deal of the day was the mere confirmation of a transfer we were already aware of, with Antony (£7.5m) now officially a Manchester United player.

The 22-year-old winger joins from Ajax on a five-year deal for a fee somewhere in the region of £85m and reunites with former boss Erik ten Hag.

“Playing under Erik ten Hag at Ajax was perfect for me and my development. His style of football and coaching brings out the best in me, and I am excited by what he has told me about his plans and ambitions in Manchester.” – Antony

Antony registered 32 attacking returns in 57 league appearances for the Dutch giants, as well as three goals and four assists in 11 Champions League run-outs.

A left-footer who has played almost exclusively on the right flank, expect to hear the word ‘inverted’ bandied around whenever his name is mentioned.

Underlying stats-wise, his shot count leaps out but around half of his efforts have tended to be low-percentage attempts from distance, while the rate of chances created wasn’t as eye-popping as the likes of Kevin De Bruyne (£12.2m) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.5m) managed in a superior league in 2021/22 (one every 25 and 32 minutes respectively).

ANTONY IN 2021/22 (LEAGUE ONLY)

As for the impact on existing United assets, we can probably expect to see Jadon Sancho (£7.3m) swap flanks so that ten Hag can emulate his tactics in the Netherlands.

“Ten Hag’s Ajax sides often used a right-footed player on the left and a left-footer on the right: Sancho and Antony would continue his preference for inverted goal creators who can cause overloads and multi-faceted attacking moves. 

“Sancho’s move to the left would mean Marcus Rashford could become a bench option for the left wing or centre-forward positions. Rashford’s best performances as a No 9 come when he plays ahead of two (or more) on-ball creators. Antony’s arrival could make this a more feasible option in-game where one of Martial or Ronaldo is rested.” – Carl Anka, The Athletic

As the ‘inverted’ tag suggests, Anthony isn’t really a touchline hugger or crosser of the ball from out wide. Many of the chances he created at Ajax resulted from his receiving the ball on the flank and then cutting infield to deliver a pass or cross from a narrower position. But ten Hag’s system at Ajax did promote underlapping runs from his full-backs, so Diogo Dalot (£4.4m) and Tyrell Malacia (£4.4m) could see more penalty-box prominence as a results – something we saw a bit of in pre-season.

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