It’s been a few days now since the price release and launch. Finally, I found the time to sit down and write a thread on what I think about the pricing of Newcastle United assets. In this article, I will be looking at prices based on positions, price changes, and the rationale in selecting Newcastle players, if any, for your GW1 FPL squad. It’s still early days, and we expect more signings to come. I will come back with more analysis when we are closer to the start of the season.

GOALKEEPERS

Since Pope was the third highest-scoring ‘keeper last season, just nine points behind Raya and five points behind Alisson, it’s inevitable that his price rose to £5.5m. If we look at his production in past seasons, including his time with Burnley, he has always been consistent, averaging 150.6 points per season over the past five campaigns. He also had the second-highest number of clean sheets last season (just behind De Gea) and the joint-highest number of penalty saves (2). However, he ranked 14th in terms of total saves, with only 17 save points (compared to Raya’s 39), partly due to the impressive Newcastle backline which conceded fewer shots. Other than the tough starting fixtures, another reason I wouldn’t recommend starting with Pope is the availability of many impressive £5.0m keepers like Ramsdale, Martinez and Kepa.

DEFENDERS

First we focus on last season’s top-scoring defender, Trippier. Just two points away from the 200-point mark, his starting price of £5.0m made him a must-have for all managers. However, his price has jumped to £6.5m this season, making him the second-highest-priced defender alongside Robertson. Right now, I assume no one would pay £6.5m for Robbo, but is Trippier worth the money?

Let’s look at some of his stats from last season: he ranked third in total minutes played (absolutely nailed on and rarely injured), had nine assists (second among defenders), kept 16 clean sheets (first among defenders) and had the best xGI among defenders (even better than Alexander-Arnold). He took the most number of corners among defenders (216 in total, with Trent in second place with only 98!) and completed 25 successful crosses from free kicks (again, the most among defenders). He was also a bonus points magnet, leading all defenders with a total of 39 bonus points (over 1 point per game!).

However, I do have some concerns that Tonali will share some of the set-piece duties with him, and it’s impossible for him to play in all games now that we are in the Champions League (he is 32 now!). But when I look at the options we have at right back, Manquillo, who mainly plays cup games, a young Ashby, and Krath returning from a serious injury, we are lacking in options unless we sign someone. So, for now, I think £6.5m for Trippier is worth every cent!

As for other defenders, Schar’s rise to £5.0m from £4.5m last season isn’t a surprise, considering his xGI last season (7.01, fifth among all defenders, the highest among center-backs, even higher than Gabriel!). Among defenders, he recorded the highest number of shots in the box (40, with the next highest being Perisic with 23), the most big chances and the most shots on target. From an eye test perspective, he was threatening in the majority of set pieces, occasionally getting into dangerous positions. Unfortunately, the conversion rate was low, and he ended the season with only 1 goal.

Burn and Botman are both priced at £4.5m, which makes them both great options. Burn less so if we sign a new left back. Compared to Schar, Botman is a lesser threat at set pieces, but he still ranked fifth in terms of BPS total among defenders. He only scored a total of eight bonus points, though, due to Trippier claiming most of those points ahead of him. For me, Botman is one of the best £4.5m options in the game (over similarly priced defenders in promoted teams), and because of his price, it is perfectly fine to bench him for some of the tougher fixtures.

MIDFIELDERS

Picking a Newcastle midfielder is tougher in FPL. Our top-scoring midfielder from last season, Almiron, scored the 10th highest points among midfielders (158 points). However, most of his points came from his scoring runs in the first half of the season, and as expected, he couldn’t sustain it towards the end. Priced at £6.5m now (a big rise from last season’s £5.0m), you can’t help but think there are better options elsewhere with the same price, such as Mitoma, Eze, Mbeumo, Gross, March and Gibbs-White, so I can’t see people starting with him in GW1.

The central midfield core last season was Bruno G, Longstaff and Willock, with Joelinton capable of dropping into the midfield three when someone is out. With the signing of Tonali, I have to say we now have one of the best midfield combinations in the league, with Bruno, Tonali and Joelinton all capable of playing the box-to-box role. Until we watch a few friendlies, we cannot be sure whether Bruno or Tonali will be the one playing the holding role. If Tonali plays in front of Bruno and takes some of the set pieces (which he is quite good at), he could emerge as an option with a price of £5.5m. We are also not sure if Tonali starting will push Joelinton and Willock into more attacking roles or make them lose their starting spots (especially Willock).

Other notable midfielders relevant to FPL are Saint-Maximin, Gordon and Murphy. Gordon struggled after his big move (mostly due to fitness issues) but seemed to regain some form in the recent Under-21 Championship. ASM struggled last season with injuries as well. For me, it’s a wait-and-see situation, as none of the midfielders are particularly appealing right now from an FPL perspective.

FORWARDS

Finally, let’s discuss Wilson vs Isak, one of the hottest debates towards the end of last season, which decided the fate of many managers. Both have had a limited number of starts due to injuries and sickness, with Wilson starting 18 games and Isak 17 games. In fact, Wilson managed to get 157 points despite the limited minutes, which makes you wonder what he is capable of achieving if he manages to stay healthy for an entire season (which he has failed to do for quite a few years now).

I expected both of them to be priced the same, so Wilson priced at £8.0m, £0.5m more than Isak, came as a minor surprise to me. However, it is understandable given that Wilson is the one taking penalties if both of them are on the pitch together (his career penalty conversion rate is 93.3%!!). Wilson also takes the central role, pushing Isak wide left if both of them start together. Wilson’s xG per 90 minutes is high as well. In fact, he is the second-highest among strikers in this category, second only to the man called Erling Haaland. His goal conversion rate is also the third-highest among strikers, only behind Haaland and Awoniyi. He’s clinical!

However, doubts over his fitness continue to put people off, and there will be questions about how often Eddie Howe will start both of them together, who will start in the league and who in the Champions League, and who will play the central role. So, for me, it’s a high-risk, high-reward move if you decide to start with Wilson! I am also interested to see how much Isak improves this season after being given enough time to adapt to the Premier League. Last season, he was unplayable at times!

FINAL THOUGHTS

In conclusion, I wouldn’t start with more than two Newcastle players given our tough first few fixtures. Botman can start against Villa at home in GW1, and then maybe be benched for the next few games. The second Newcastle spot (if you plan to have one) can go to Trippier (though you will have to manage the budget) or Wilson (if you are willing to gamble). As for other players, it’s a wait-and-see situation for me.