Fernandinho is a Brazilian midfielder who has signed for Manchester City from Ukranian side Shaktar Donesk for a fee of £30m. Below we assess his fantasy premier league prospects for the upcoming 2013/2014 season
Background
Fernandinho is 28 years old and 5 foot 9 inches. In short he’s played 72 games for Brazilian side Atletico Paranaense between 2002 and 2005 before moving to Shaktar where he played 184 games before his transfer this month to Manchester City. He’s played 6 times for the Brazilian national team.
Essentially he’s been described as a primarily defensive central midfielder although he appears to have the energy and strength to be box to box. He has good long range shooting but also has good short passing skills which seem ideal for Pellegrinis footballing revolution at City. He has been compared to his compatriot Ramires but with better passing skills.
No real insights in his quotes which just spin out the usual enthusiasm for his new team
“Playing in the Premier League for City is like a dream.
“My ambition here is to win all the titles, the team here is strong, and so is the greatness of the club and the supporters.
“I know I will face challenges but I am prepared for them. Every player at a high level faces pressure and must respond and I am ready for that too.”
Stats
| Fernandinho stats | ||||
| Season | Team | Matches | goals | assists |
| 2012/13 | Shaktar Donesk | 23 | 2 | 7 |
| 2011/12 | Shaktar Donesk | 24 | 4 | 9 |
| 2010/11 | Shaktar Donesk | 15 | 3 | 1 |
| 200910 | Shaktar Donesk | 24 | 4 | 4 |
| 2008/09 | Shaktar Donesk | 21 | 5 | 1 |
| 2007/08 | Shaktar Donesk | 29 | 11 | 7 |
| 2006/07 | Shaktar Donesk | 25 | 1 | 7 |
| 2005/06 | Shaktar Donesk | 23 | 1 | 2 |
| Total | 184 | 31 | 38 | |
In European competitions his record is 13 goals and 7 assists in 72 games. For Brazil he’s played 6 times for 2 assists
Fantasy premier league perspective
There’s no doubt that Man city need to fix the central defensive side of their midfield. Garcia hasnt worked out and Gareth Barry just cant fill this position for a title and Champions league winning team. City have certainly pushed the boat out to rectify the position with £30m spent. It seems at best he will be a box to box player and YYT goes back to the screening job he did at Barcelona. At worst he becomes a sitting defensive midfielder who can pass in the deep lying position. Only pre season will let us know but in any case starting from the double pivot in a 4-2-3-1- or the midfield 3 in 4-3-3 isnt not ideal for fantasy premier league. Gerrard and Lampard have managed to get reasonable returns (although aided by pens and set pieces) and Fellaini has also managed at times to drift forward like Lampard when starting from the deeper position. However in a fantasy premier league midfielder you want someone playing consistently as adavanced as possible not starting from deep.
Looking at his average returns over his carrer for Shaktar (quite generous given last season was below par on returns) and extrapolating them to a fantasy premier league season would give you 6 goals and 8 assists. An adjustment for bonus and yellow cards would leave him with 140 points. This would be a similar return to YYT and make him the 18th ranked midfielder. Hardly a recipe for running to the transfer button.
So unless some thing drastically happens in pre season then its a no for me
