The summer transfer window is now officially open, so expect the Premier League ins and outs to ratchet up.
Some moves have already been announced, from free transfers and loan deals made permanent to big-money signings like Alexis Mac Allister.
We’ll round up the key acquisitions so far on this page and continue to keep abreast of the deals in the close-season.
The more noteworthy signings will be given their own Scout Reports, while regular round-ups like this one will recap everything else.
Our Transfer Centre page lists all the noteworthy moves by date, while our Pre-Season Guide chronicles them club by club.
And if it’s hearsay, gossip and chip-shop sightings you’re after, our sister site, Fantasy Football Community, has a regular Rumour Mill feature.
LATEST FPL SCOUT REPORTS
FPL TRANSFER ROUND-UP
YOURI TIELEMANS (LEICESTER CITY TO ASTON VILLA, FREE)
He wasn’t alone at Leicester City but 2022/23 was a very underwhelming year for Youri Tielemans, who could only scrape together six attacking returns and 2.8 points per match from 31 appearances. At £6.5m, the same starting price as Martin Odegaard and Marcus Rashford, it simply wasn’t enough in FPL terms.
In fact, not once has he hit more than 10 goals and assists combined in four-and-a-half-seasons as a Premier League player.
Lambasted by some of the Foxes’ own support for a perceived lack of effort as his contract wound down and moves elsewhere failed to materialise, there were also concerns over his fitness levels.
It wasn’t as if he was that unlucky on the FPL front, either: Tielemans could point to the fact that most of the 10 big chances he created were wasted by team-mates but even then, his season-long non-penalty expected goal involvement (NPxGI) was a paltry 4.23 – the same as Brighton and Hove Albion’s defensive midfielder Moises Caicedo, for context.
There is some hope, however.
Aston Villa’s own midfield came in for plenty of criticism before Unai Emery arrived and sprinkled his magic dust, the transformation of John McGinn from maligned presence to crowd favourite a testimony of the Spaniard’s Midas touch.
“He has probably transformed me as a player; taken me to a level that I probably didn’t think I was capable of; made me adapt in so many ways I probably didn’t think I was capable of. He is so intense, so passionate about football, so detailed. He just wants to improve every single player.” – John McGinn on Unai Emery
A full pre-season with the demanding Emery should also address any lingering stamina issues surrounding Tielemans.
The big question is over where exactly he fits into his new manager’s 4-4-2 system, with Douglas Luiz and Boubacar Kamara pivotal in central midfield. It could be that he’s an initial back-up to the pair and fielded in the UEFA Europa Conference League, reinvented a la McGinn in a slightly wider role or, more attractively to FPL bosses, pushed into the Emi Buendia position just off Ollie Watkins. The pre-season friendlies, again, will be worth paying attention to in that regard.
One final thought: with Watkins missing from the spot in Gameweek 37, might Tielemans come into the reckoning for penalties at his new club? The Belgian’s own record from 12 yards had been excellent for Leicester (7/7) but the campaign just gone saw him miss two successive spot-kicks in league and cup.
KEVIN SCHADE (FREIBURG TO BRENTFORD, £22M)
Not a new signing per se but rather a loan move made permanent, with Kevin Schade penning a five-year deal with Brentford.
We previously ran the rule over the German following his temporary move to west London in January, highlighting his versatility in playing across the frontline. To date, he has mostly been starting on the left flank.
The 21-year-old attacker has not exactly hit the ground running with Thomas Frank’s side, failing to score in any of his seven starts or 11 substitute appearances. A minutes-per-shot average of 64.2 was also the worst of the five main options (Ivan Toney, Yoane Wissa, Bryan Mbeumo, Keane Lewis-Potter and Schade) that Frank had at his disposal in the front three.
He’s still highly thought of (hence the club-record £22m fee) and it’s worth pointing out that he’s still very much a rookie, with only 15 top-flight starts to his name in his entire career.
More opportunities look set to arrive this season with Toney suspended, although it’s worth keeping an eye on any more incomings at Brentford. Wissa looks like he’s currently at the front of the queue for the centre-forward role whenever Frank opts for a 4-3-3, with Schade battling with Lewis-Potter for left-wing duties.
Not a name for any immediate FPL target list, then, but a situation to monitor as the season progresses if he again gets priced at £5.0m.
JEFFERSON LERMA (BOURNEMOUTH TO CRYSTAL PALACE, FREE)
A player historically avoided even in the budget midfield bracket, Lerma’s first two seasons at Bournemouth saw him pick up a combined 23 bookings and one red card – effectively wiping out the seven attacking returns he had chipped in with.
The defensive midfielder contributed a career-best five goals to the Cherries’ survival bid this time around, however, only one fewer than Dominic Solanke managed. Lerma was subsequently named the club’s Player of the Year.
His remit at Crystal Palace is still going to be more on stopping goals than scoring them.
He was ranked second among FPL midfielders for clearances, blocks and interceptions (CBIs) in 2022/23, also sitting fourth for recoveries.
While someone best swerved from a Fantasy perspective, Lerma’s capture should further boost the clean-sheet potential of a Crystal Palace side that very quietly went and finished fourth for expected goals conceded (xGC) last season. The Eagles’ xGC tally of 48.83 was better than sides like Liverpool, Manchester United and Brighton and Hove Albion.
