Here we look at the stats and FPL prospects of 3 new FPL players to the Premier League
Arsenal’s attacking midfielder Fabio Vieira, Newcastle’s Centre Back Sven Botman and Nottingham Forest Striker Taiwo Awoniyi.
New FPL players – Fábio Vieira, Sven Botman and Taiwo Awoniyi
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Fábio Vieira – Arsenal Mid £6.0m
The Stats
Fabio Vieira to Arsenal from Porto completed for £30m.
Vieira is a 22yo 1.70m Portuguese attacking midfielder who plays Primarily as a RAM and CAM
He made 15 starts plus 12 as sub for Porto in Portugal’s Primeira Liga 21/22. That saw a return of 6 goals plus 14 assists. That’s an incredible goal or assist every 66 minutes. De Bruyne for example made a goal or assist every 96 minutes. Obviously it’s difficult to compare the PL and Portugal and someone who spent alot of time coming off the bench at the end of games but still it looks very impressive.
He’s also got 21 caps for Portugals U21 but has yet to play for the National Team. He also has played very limited UCL and Europa League minutes.
FPL prospects
The problem for Vieira is going to be gametime certainty. In Arsenal’s likely 4-2-3-1 there are 5 midfielders for 3 positions.
They are Saka £8.0m, Odegaard (£6.5m), Smith Rowe (£6.0m), Martinelli (£6.0m) and now Vieira. There’s also new signing Marquinhos and Pepe who I’ve discounted due to age and gametime last season respectively. It seems at least that Raphinha won’t be coming to Arsenal to create further competition.
Now it’s possible that Odegaard could play in the 2 CM position which would reduce it to 4 places for 3 positions.
These are things we will only know by following pre-season but he has potential given Arsenals opening fixtures (see below) and his stats last season. However I just can’t see that he will be gametime secure given the competition.
Summary
Vieira is a possible pick given his stats and Arsenals good fixtures but it is very much dependent on perceived gametime security after pre-season and price. I personally can’t see there being enough gametime security for him to be an option
Here’s the attacking player fixture ease schedule which shows Arsenal having the 6th best attacking fixtures over the first 6 gameweeks.
Sven Botman – Newcastle Def – not priced
The Stats
Sven Botman to Newcastle from Lille completed for £31.9m.
Botman is a 22yo 1.95m Dutch Centre Back
He made 25 starts plus 0 as sub for Lille in Frances Ligue 1 in 21/22. That saw a return of 3 goals plus 1 assists. That’s a pretty ordinary goal or assist every 562 minutes. On the positive side for a defender he only received 4 Yellow Cards which is the result of him committing very few fouls.
He’s also got 12 caps for the Netherland’s U21 team but has yet to play for the National Team. He has played around 1,000 minutes in the UCL and Europa League.
FPL prospects
The Newcastle defence improved significantly after Eddie Howe joined and they signed Targett (£5.0m), Burn (£4.5m) and Trippier (£5.0m). However, despite all the hype they were still only 13th ranked in xG conceded after his appointment although that improved to 7th if you take it from the 1st of January. The recent signing of GK Nick Pope should also improve the defence.
Given his reputation then it’s hard to see Botman not starting in the Newcastle back 4. He is a left sided CB so that will mean Dan Burn is the player he would naturally replace with Schar probably the other player at RCB. However Dan Burn has been good since his arrival so again pre-season will sort out who Botmans likely defensive partner will be.
Botman wasn’t in the Newcastle FPL price reveal. Botman’s attraction will be very price dependent. While Botman maybe a good gametime security pick and be fairly bonus friendly due to his passing his attacking record isn’t great. Compare those options to Trippier and Targett who offer much more attacking potential. Livefpl are currently predicting Botman as £5.0m which is the same as Targett and Trippier who would be better options for me.
Below is the defensive player fixture ease schedule which shows Newcastle having the 9th best attacking fixtures over the first 6 gameweeks. They rotate home and away with Southampton which isn’t particularly helpful given Southampton’s defensive record
Summary
He could be an option given the improvement in the Newcastle defence if he is £4.5m but even then Trippier and Targett are better options for me
Taiwo Awoniyi – Notts Forest Fwd – not priced
Taiwo Awoniyi to Notts Forest from Union Berlin completed for £17m.
He’s a 24 year old 1.83m Nigerian CF
He made 29 starts plus 2 as sub for Union Berlin in The Bundesliga 21/22. 15 goals plus 2 assists. Goal or assist every 130 minutes. That’s pretty good
His underlying stats are good. xG90 .60 and xA 90 .09 and Sh90 2.71.and KP 90 1.09
His underlying stats were consistent over 3 seasons but he underperformed his xG by 13% over 3 years although last season managed to pretty much perform at that level
He’s got 4 caps for Nigeria
FPL Prospects
It’s hard to see him not starting given the fee.
Live FPL have predicted him at £6.0m which seems fair.
The first problem is the adjustment from the Bundesliga to the Premier League.
Strikers from the Bundesliga who haven’t gone to top 6 Premier League sides have struggled. There isn’t a big data pool but 3 who standout are Haller at West Ham, Joelinton at Newcastle and Weghorst at Burnley. They were all flop strikers.
That’s an immediate issue for me.
Second is the fixtures which see’s Forest ranked 12th over the first 6 gameweeks. I would prefer a promoted team striker with a really good fixture run.
Summary
The fixtures and the problems with forwards coming from the Bundesliga to non top 6 sides makes him a no for me. If he burns it up in pre-season then maybe. His best prospect would be because of lack of other FPL forward alternatives. However, it would take a lot to convince me.
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