A week into January and I think it’s clear we have most likely seen the best game of the year this week. Newport County beating Leicester in the cup was sensational and City vs Liverpool wasn’t too shabby either. A short week of Premier League fixtures means not much has changed since last week’s waiver wire, except through the January transfer window. This week, in the Premier League transfer wire, I will be looking at the fantasy implications of the transfer window and whether these players are worth making a waiver wire claim for.
FantraxHQ will be featuring more FPL Draft content than ever before. Check out the full archive and let us know what you think.
Week 1 Premier League Transfer Wire
1. Dominic Solanke – Forward – Liverpool > Bournemouth
After hearing the names, Bournemouth ran out in the cup this week it appears that their signing strategy is to sign players that would have won the league in Football Manager two years ago. As a young forward with Chelsea, Solanke had bags of potential. However, that promise he once had has somewhat dwindled in recent years.
It may be the case however that Solanke is a very good player, who is not quite good enough to play for a top-6 team. Bournemouth is a high flying team this season and could be where Solanke finally finds his feet. Solanke is quick off the mark and decent with the ball at his feet. He will, however, battle with Callum Wilson, Josh King, and Lys Mousset for a starting role. It might take an injury or a run of bad form for one of the other forwards for Solanke to get playing time, but it’s worth monitoring. Solanke could be more than just a useful fantasy player if all breaks well for him at Bournemouth. He is a stash player from the Premier League transfer wire this week.
2. Nathaniel Clyne – Defender – Liverpool > Bournemouth (loan)
Didn’t I already mention a player with huge potential moving from Liverpool to Bournemouth? Clyne is the defender version of Solanke with a slightly more proven track record. Before the emergence of Robertson and Alexander-Arnold, Clyne was considered as a decent starting fullback for Liverpool.
Similarly to Solanke, perhaps the move from an elite team will do wonders for Nathaniel. He has always had pace and is solid defensively, but has always lacked a little bit of a creative spark going forward. There’s no one at Bournemouth that I would expect to challenge Clyne for playing time at fullback so we should quite quickly get a chance to see how good he can be. Elite fullbacks seem to be the key for fantasy this year, and Clyne now has the potential to join those ranks. He’s worth picking up on the Premier League transfer wire this week.
3. Samir Nasri – Midfielder – Free Agent > West Ham
Now there’s a name I haven’t heard in a while. Nasri has supposedly been training with West Ham since the start of December and started for them in the FA Cup this week. Previously, Nasri has been serving a twelve-month drug ban from all football. It appears now though that the once-elite Premier League midfielder is back in the league.
To be honest, the last thing West Ham needs is another washed up midfielder, but perhaps Nasri has more left than we give him credit for. Nasri is only 31 and I suppose you could say that he hasn’t put any professional football mileage on his body in the last year. He played under Pellegrini at City, and the manager appears to continue to back him in his return to professional football. There’s a lot Nasri would need to do to be a fantasy starter, but the window of opportunity is there. He is purely a speculative Premier League transfer wire add at this time.
4. Christian Pulisic – Midfielder – Borussia Dortmund > Chelsea
‘Wonderboy’, ‘phenom’, and ‘teenage prodigy’ are just a few of the terms used to overhype the 22-year-old American. Pulisic has been playing on the right side of Dortmund’s midfield or as an advanced inside forward. Unfortunately, upon completion of Pulisic’s transfer, he was loaned back to Dortmund until the end of the season. He will not impact fantasy teams this season, but he is worth monitoring as a potentially elite sleeper next season.
Not using Fantrax to host your fantasy soccer league? Check out the Fantrax EPL Commissioner and see why you should for next season.
Fantrax is one the fastest growing fantasy sites in 2018. With multi-team trades, designated commissioner/league managers, and drag/drop easy click methods, Fantrax is sure to excite the serious fantasy sports fan – sign up now for a free year at Fantrax.com.