Fantasy Insight : New Signings

With the launch of the Yahoo game for the 2012 - 13 season , we have seen many players come into the game from different leagues and therefore providing plenty of bargain opportunities. Its surprising to see so many talented players come in and it makes the task of a fantasy manager even more interesting.

We have got here a list of the best transfers made from out of the league and who are launched in the Yahoo fantasy game with base values.

Eden Hazard

Chelsea beat both the Manchester clubs for the signature of Eden Hazard and paid a price of 32 million pounds. Hazard is undoubtedly a highly talented prospect and its great to see players of his caliber in the premier league.

In his tenure with Lille he scored 50 goals and 38 assists. Last season he scored 20 goals along with 15 assists.The numbers do tell you that he has lots to offer from the word go.

He can play in the flanks, in the middle and also just behind the strikers.It will be interesting how Roberto Di Matteo sets the formation but there is no doubt that Hazard will be productive in terms of goals and assists.

A great fantasy pick for matchday 1 where Chelsea play twice and I would consider him as a season long choice even though he is listed as a forward.

Shinji Kagawa

Manchester United made their first signing of the summer with the capture of highly rated Shinji Kagawa from Dortmund in a 4 year deal.

The 23 year old Japanese midfielder was instrumental as he scored 13 goals and 8 assists in Dortmund’s successful season last year where they won both the league and the German cup.

Tipped to play just behind the strikers, he will be a great prospect for United in the coming campaign.It will be interesting how united shape up as its been a long time ive seen them play with a genuine attacking midfielder.

He comes into the game as a bargain price and is a must have in your team.

Jan Vertonghen

This former Ajax skipper is the 2^nd signing for Tottenham under AVB after the acquisition of Gylfi Sigurdsson.

Jan Vertonghen is expected to go straight into the starting lineup and will take his place in the heart of Tottenham’s defence.With Nelsen moving to QPR and Ledley King retiring after spending 15 years with the club, Vertonghen will be key to Spurs defence alongside Kaboul / Dawson.

In the 155 league appearences for Ajax he has scored 26 goals and provided 9 assists which is great for a central defender. Last season he was voted the Dutch player of the year and also scored 8 goals in the title winning season.

Great defensive option at 5.94 and with the ability of scoring and assisting , it makes him a great pick in your fantasy teams.

Lukas Podolski

Arsenal signed the 26 yr old German international from FC Cologne for around 11 million pounds.

Coming of a good season with 18 goals and 7 assists for FC Cologne , he has proven to be a great forward for both club and country.He is another great name to come to the premier league and im sure he will have lots to offer for Arsenal.He has been scoring 10+ goals every season for the last 4-5 years which shows consistency.

But there will be lots asked from him in this league where you need to score more than 20+ goals to really make an impact both on a personal and team level.

Consistency will be key and that what all fantasy managers will be looking for. Nevertheless a great pick as he will be put on the left side ( if Rvp stays ) or else you could see him play a more central role which could pay rich returns.

Olivier Giroud

Arsenal brought him in from Ligue 1 winners Montpellier after a very successful season.

Last season has been the highlight in his career where he scored 21 goals and provided 9 assists in 36 appearences which helped his side win the Ligue title for the very first time.He was the joint top scorer and with that got himself a call up in the French side for Euros.

Lots will depend on the status of Van Persie and if he ends up leaving, it will give Giroud a great opportunity to show what he has got to play in this league.

He is tall 6’2 and well built which is much needed in this league and he will have to show his talents from the word go as many strikers have come to Emirates and not managed to live up to the expectations.

Michu


Swansea City completed the signing of Michu from RayoVallecano for a sum of 2 million pounds.The 26 year old has signed a 3 year deal and is the third signing for Swansea under Laudrup.


Michu notched 15 goals last season in the La Liga and 17 in all competitions becoming the highest scoring midfielder in the league.


Michu is viewed by Laudrup as a perfect replacement for Sigurdsson and when available in the game for a bargain price, he will be a great pick.


Fabio Borini

Fabio joint Liverpool from Roma and this will be his third spell under Rodgers.The first two were at the Chelsea Youth academy and the other was at Swansea ( on loan ) in the championship.

Fabio played a crucial part in helping Swansea gain promotion with his productive short spell of 9 games where he scored 6 goals and 3 assists including some important goals in the play offs.

Lots depend on the departure of Andy Carroll and im sure Rodgers would be tempted to put him straight in on the left side of attack.

Undoubtedly one to watch out for.

Brett Holman

Signed from AZ Alkmaar where the 28 yr old Australian made 96 appearances and scored 15 goals and 20 assists.

Last season was a decent one where he scored 5 goals and created 11 assists. He was also voted the player of the year by Australian media and professional football Australia.

On the positive front, Lambert’s attacking formation will be good for Holman and we could see a lots of goals for Aston Villa. With the likes of N’Zogbia and Bent , he will have his chances and all us fantasy managers will be watching out for this one.

Aston Villa have a good run up in the first 6 fixtures where they play Everton, Swansea and WBA at home with trips to West Ham and Southampton.

Mladen Petric

Fulham have made their first signing of the summer with the capture of Petric  from SV Hamburg on a 1 year deal.

Petric re unites with Martin Jol after working under him previously in the Bundesliga.

Fulham have seen most of their forwards leave.Andy Johnson signed for QPR and Pogrebnyak joined newly promoted side Reading.Therefore Petric is instrumental in this Fulham side and lots will depend on how quickly he adapts to this league.

In his 99 appearences for Hamburg he has scored 38 times and also created 15 goals in his tenure.

Im sure lots of Fantasy managers will have an eye on him and he could well be the dark horse for the season to come.

Jose Manuel Flores “Chico”

Flores, Laudrup’s first signing, has been bought from Serie A team Genoa.

He is set to partner Ashley Williams in central defence.Having played under Laudrup at Mallorca ( where he was loaned by his parent club Genoa )

His ability to intercept the opponents play is something which stands out and could be looked at as Swansea have a relatively easy first set of games with home fixtures against West Ham, Sunderland and Everton and away fixtures against QPR and Aston Villa.

Marko Marin

Chelsea made their first signing of the summer when they signed the former Wender Bremen man on a 5 year deal.

He has played as a playmaker in his previous clubs where he has created several assists in the process.Close to 10 assists in each of his last 3 season is remarkable.

Lots will depend on Robert Di Matteo’s formation and rotation.It will be interesting to see how he rotates the likes of Lampard, Essien, Oscar ( If he signs ).

However Marin is one for the future and he will get his time during the course of the season.

Steven Naismith

Everton has made their first signing of the summer with the signing of the former Rangers forward Steven Naismith on a 4 year deal.

He has had his share of injuries at his time with Rangers but has ended making 98 appearances scoring 28 goals and creating 23 goals.Last season he was hit by injury and played on 11 games in which he scored 9 goals.

Naismith partnership with Jelavic will be one to watch out for but lots will depend on their further acquisitions which will have an impact on whether Everton play a 4-5-1 formation or play Naismith along side Jelavic in a 4-4-2 formation.

That's the best of the signing made so far. It does not include players who have switched teams with in the league like Sigurdsson, Park etc as their valuations are not similar to new players. In our next article we shall be mentioning all transfers made within the league.

Do let us know what you feel about these bargain picks who have lots to offer through out the season.Im sure some of them are no brainers and have made a place in your fantasy teams straight away.

Cheers

AM