Here’s our FPL new players to watch article where we evaluate 3 players who are new to FPL in Man Utd defender Raphael Varane, Spurs winger Bryan Gil and Spurs GK Pierluigi Gollini. We look at their stats and FPL prospects
FPL New Players To Watch – 3 Players New To FPL That We Evaluate
Additional content on the FFGeek Patreon site
£2 plus Vat per calendar month
* Weekly podcasts with myself and the FFGeek Contributors
* All the articles on www.fantasyfootballgeek.co.uk advert free
£2.50 plus Vat per Calender month (plus the above)
* access to the FFGeek Contributor tracker team incl live transfers (OR 8k 20/21)
*access to Joseph Crilleys transfer planner and points projection tool
* Imaginary wildcard articles
*Bandwagon and Sinking Ships articles
*Slack Channel access
*Match analysis
*The FFGeek team with live transfers will this season be on the Patreon site last 5 seasons ORs 17k, 17k, 36k, 17k & 21k
No Commitment beyond 1 Calender month although 16% discounted annual membership available
https://www.patreon.com/fantasyfootballgeek
Subscribe to FFGeek on Youtube
Introduction
Here we look at 3 new players to Fantasy Premier League and assess their stats plus their prospects for the FPL season ahead
Raphael Varane – Man Utd Defender unpriced in FPL
Manchester United have agreed the transfer of the French 28 year old 1.91m (6’3″) right footed Centre Back from Real Madrid for a reported £42.7m. Varane played in every minute of Frances Euro 2020 campaign where they surprisingly went out in the round of 16. He has played 79 times for France and 236 times in La Liga. He will be officially unveiled this week
The Stats
These are for Real Madrid
So from an attacking point of view these numbers certainly aren’t that exciting. In my ranking of attacking defenders for the 20/21 season I would probably have ranked him around 20th behind the likes of James Tarkowski.
I personally find it difficult to predict how players will get bonus points but it’s probably worth noting that the top 7 defender bonus point earners for last season were full backs rather than Centre Backs. Varane didn’t feature in the La Liga whoscored team of the season or in the top 10 stats for any defensive actions if that means anything
The one thing that’s worth mentioning is that his injury record is very good. He missed very few games due to injury which is a positive for your FPL team
FPL Prospects
The first question to ask is will he be in the starting 11 for GW1. That is a tricky one for me as although he has been training with Madrid but the transfer has yet to be completed and he also has quarantine obligations. United have 1 more friendly vs Everton on the 7 August so unless he starts then it’s certainly questionable whether he will start GW1. The additional problem though is that Maguire and Shaw could also be late back so you have 3 of the back 4 potentially out. Maguire looks like he could start given he has returned and is in the training camp in Scotland. Shaw also has an injury to contend with.
The August 7 friendly will be the decisive game for me in that decision. However once Varane is physically ready then he will undoubtedly be the first choice CB this season next to Harry Maguire.
Man Utd’s defensive stats last season were that of a roughly 4th placed team. They were 5th in goals conceded, 4th in xG conceded, 8th in shots per game against, 4th in clean sheets with 13 and 5th in possession.
It’s hard to believe that Varane wont improve United’s defence. He will give speed to the CB partnership as a coverer for the more proactive front footed Maguire. That will allow Man Utd to play higher up the pitch and hopefully be a more front foot team rather than the more passive counter attacking version of last season. Henderson once he gets over Covid will also give a more reliable GK than De Gea of late.
The United fixtures are good to start the season at least
I’m hoping his price will be £5.5m as he certainly doesn’t have the attacking stats to warrant £6.0m and United have more to do to be an 18 clean sheet team to warrant £6.0m.
If you’re getting him you’re doing it for improved clean sheet stats and the hope that he will be fit for GW1 which the August 7 friendly will give some clues. Shaw has far better attacking stats for the same price but if you’re choosing Varane you’re hoping his very good injury record will allow him to be set and forget which is difficult to say for Shaw.
Our Spanish Expert’s Sergio Torija’s view:
Varane has always been a class defender, excels with great positioning and ball delivery. For sure an upgrade to the United defence. Little to no attacking threat though, and at Real he was always number two to Ramos, where he had a few dubious performances on big games where Ramos was missing. If he is priced 6.0 is an overspend for me, even at 5.5 I would rather go with the more attacking threat of all other United defenders.
Bryan Gil Spurs £6.0m mid
Spurs have completed the transfer in of the Spanish 20 year old 1.75m (5’9″) left footed Left Winger from Sevilla for a reported £21.6m as part of the deal with Lamela going the other way. Gil has played 54 times in La Liga and 3 times for the Spanish National side. He went to Euro 2020 but was not in the matchday squad for any of the games.
The stats
The 20/21 season was with Eibar, 19/20 with Leganes and 18/19 with Sevilla
So there’s nothing exciting in the stats that’s for sure. The underlying stats are also pretty ordinary and although these stats were with teams fighting relegation there’s nothing to suggest there’s an FPL £6.0m mid there at all.
FPL prospects
Firstly Gil is with the Spain Olympic squad so he definitely won’t be back for GW1 that’s for sure
In friendlies to date Nuno has mainly played a 4-2-3-1 and with Son, Moura, Bergwijn, Dele and even Lo Celso and Ndombele able to play as AMs then it’s hard to see Gil commanding a regular place. He seems more one for the future so an unlikely FPL option for now.
Our Spanish Expert’s Sergio Torija’s view:
Bryan Gil is a 20 year pacy winger with good future prospects. The key caveat to make is that he is not in the elite yet, he’s had two seasons on loan at La Liga lesser sides and Sevilla decided not to keep grab of him? Sevilla do have a good eye for business, they are not pressured to sell, so if they are selling in the low £20m is that they don’t see much more value on Brian I would say. Likewise, Brian is currently at the Olympics with Spain and he is not first nor second choice at the Olympics, which puts him behind the likes of Oyarzabal, Asensio or Rafa Mir. So potentially a good future move for Spurs but unlikely to be FPL relevant in the near term.
Monchi is great for business, they have had Kounde offers for a while, and they just keep going up. If he thought Brian would become a regular at Sevilla and improve market value, they wouldn’t be selling now at £20m
Pierluigi Gollini – £4.5m GK for Spurs
Spurs have completed the loan with an option to buy of the Italian 26 year old 1.94m (6’4″) right footed Goalkeeper from Atalanta. He was part of the Italy squad for Euro 2020 but didn’t make any of the matchday squads. He played 25 times for Atalanta in Serie A last season and has made 118 Serie A and interestingly 20 appearances for Aston Villa in the Championship in the 16/17 season. He has made 1 appearance for the Italian National side.
FPL prospects
Gollini is a good loan to transfer option for Spurs in a number of ways. With Lloris entering into the final year of his contract this deal gives an option for Spurs to replace him if an extension can’t be agreed with Lloris. Also with Joe Hart supposedly Celtic bound he also fills the role of deputy this season.
His FPL starting prospects this season probably depend on what happens with Hugo Lloris. It would seem very un Daniel Levy to allow Lloris to got for free next summer but there have been few recent rumours that’s for sure. The transfer window is open until the end of August so we could go into GW1 with no resolution so a £4.5m Spurs GK before GW1 seems unlikely. It went unnoticed with the Kane drama that Lloris also didn’t turn up to training on the Monday. He has been on the bench for a friendly though so that probably does not mean anything. Gollini has started training though.
Spurs have 2 more friendlies vs Chelsea and Arsenal before GW1 so they should be fairly instructive but I would be incredibly surprised if he is a GW1 option
Our Spurs expert Joseph Crilley says “I personally don’t think Lloris will be sold. Pretty sure Gollini will be the cup keeper with lloris in the league. It’s effectively a try before you buy transfer with the view of replacing Hugo next year”
Other posts
Subscribe to FFGeek on Youtube
Other posts
Attacking players fixture difficulty Schedule
Defensive players fixture difficulty schedule
Kev and Rob’s first draft teams
An overview of Promoted Norwich City
Players who could miss GW1 due to International tournaments
The FFGeek Pre-season watchlist
Andrew Whitfield’s latest draft team
The Youtube and Twitter template
A team with 3 premium captain picks
4 more FFGeek Contributors drafts
Follow us on Social Media and auto join the FFGeek League
Auto join the FFGeek League or use the league code mcuqbo
Follow FFGeek on YouTube twitter and facebook and instagram for article updates and news
