Assessing the FPL appeal of top Deadline Day signings

With the Premier League summer transfer window closed, we go through the six biggest deadline day signings, and whether they should be in consideration for your Fantasy Premier League team.

Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) – £12.5m FWD

Ronaldo is officially back in the Premier League! FPL has priced him accordingly at £12.5m, but given the quality of the 4-time Ballon d’Or winner, he could easily make a mockery of this price tag.

Despite now being 36 years old, he made 44 appearances for Juventus last season, registering 36 goals and 4 assists. Clearly, age is no factor for Ronaldo, who continues to score goals for fun at the highest level.

Some have doubted the fitness of Ronaldo due to the lack of game time since The Euros, but CR7 has put those doubts to rest after he comfortably played 90 minutes for Portugal and scored a brace against Ireland in the World Cup Qualifiers.

Clearly, Ronaldo is match-fit and should be ready to start his first Premier League in 12 years as Manchester United host Newcastle at Old Trafford in GW4. This is a prime fixture for Ronaldo, and he could already punish non-owners in his first game back.

Verdict: If you can bring him in, do it!

Odsonne Edouard (Crystal Palace) – £6.5m FWD

Arriving from Celtic, Edouard is just what Crystal Palace needs to increase their attacking spark. Under new manager Patrick Vieira, the Eagles have transitioned to a more free-flowing, attacking style than they previously were under Roy Hodgson.

Throughout last season, Edouard made a total of 40 appearances for Celtic – registering an impressive 22 goals and 6 assists.

The France international is a goalscorer by nature, which should translate well in FPL terms. Once settled into the team, he should be a consistent starter every week due to the quality he possesses.

For now, Palace’s fixtures aren’t great, as they have a lot of tough games ahead. However, once their fixtures turn around from GW9, he should definitely become a viable budget forward option.

Verdict: Potential bargain, one for the watchlist

Nikola Vlasic (West Ham United) – £6.0 MID

West Ham continues to strengthen their squad through a range of big signings this summer, including Nikola Vlasic.

Despite spending almost all of his time in a central attacking role last season for CSKA Moscow, the Croatian is a very versatile attacking player. Vlasic managed 12 goals and 6 assists from 34 appearances last season, which are very decent returns for an attacking midfielder.

Due to his versatility, Vlasic could be utilised by David Moyes anywhere in the attacking third for West Ham – whether it be central, left, right, or even as a striker.

However, considering Moyes has been set with the current front 4 of Antonio, Benrahma, Bowen & Fornals in all of the league games this season, we need to monitor where Vlasic will exactly fit in, and who now becomes a rotation risk.

If given regular starts, he could become a potential budget gem in midfield, similarly to Benrahma at the beginning of this season.

Verdict: Monitor position, and see where he fits in

Saul Niguez (Chelsea) – £5.5m MID

Against the odds, Chelsea managed to snap up Saul Niguez in the final hours of the summer transfer window, further strengthen their squad in an attempt to win the Premier League title this season.

Throughout the whole of last season for Atletico Madrid, Saul returned just 2 goals and 1 assist in 41 appearances, whilst also receiving a staggering 12 yellow cards. This should be a giveaway that his FPL prospects are not too great.

What further hinders his appeal is the abundance of competition in the Chelsea midfield. Saul will need to compete with Kante, Joriginho and Kovacic for just 2 midfield spots in the first XI.

Verdict: Avoid, too much competition and lack of attacking appeal

Marc Cucurella (Brighton) – £5.0m DEF

A versatile left-sided player is definitely going to serve Brighton well this season, and this is what Marc Cucurella provides.

The Spanish international was a regular in La Liga last season, primarily playing in a left midfield role.

All English Premier League

In a season total of 39 appearances, he registered 3 goals and 2 assists for a struggling Getafe side that finished the season with the second-least amount of goals scored in the league – so we shouldn’t look too much into his attacking returns.

However, a more promising statistic that showcases his talent is the 84 key passes he’s managed over the last 2 seasons – the sixth highest in La Liga.

As Brighton play with a wingback system, we will likely see him slot straight in at left wingback this season, with many Brighton fans expecting him to displace Solly March in the starting XI.

With Brighton’s wingbacks also having the freedom to get forward a lot, we should expect plenty of attacking returns from Cucurella this season. With Lamptey’s ongoing injury concerns, Cucurella provides a very good FPL alternative on the other flank.

Verdict: Strong appeal, an attacking player in a defensively solid Brighton team

Emerson Royal (Tottenham) – £5.0m DEF

Tottenham have focused on reinforcing their defence this season, with two of their biggest summer signings being defenders – Christian Romero & Emerson Royal.

Emerson Royal returned a very decent 2 goals and 4 assists in 38 appearances for Real Betis last season, which shows he has plenty of attacking potential.

This can translate well into FPL points this season, with Spurs securing 3 clean sheets in their first 3 league games. Nuno appears to be focused on solidifying their defence, similarly to what Mourinho did last season.

With Aurier departing the club, and both Doherty and Tanganga not being completely natural right backs, it would be expected to see Emerson Royal slot straight in as the first choice right back at Spurs.

However, it may be worth waiting until either GW7 or GW11 to bring in the new Spurs right back, as this is when Tottenham’s fixtures turn very favourable.

Verdict: Add to watchlist, a good option during Spurs’ fixture turn.