The transfer window slammed shut on leagues around the continent on Monday evening, and with some big deals coming along – as well as some surprising ones – we have many players in our Euro Fantasy League game who will be hoping to add to their existing tallies whilst wearing the shirts of a new club. Premier League outfit Man Utd seemed undoubtedly one of the busiest clubs, if not by way of quantity of players signed then certainly by way of engineering some big moves in the final days of the window, and capped it all off with a massive coup by signing Monaco striker Radamel Falcao on loan for the rest of the season. That was one of just several big deals that went through, however, so let’s take a quick look and see how these players may fare in their new surroundings.
We will start off with Falcao, as that was generally considered one of the biggest deals in Europe to go through on deadline day. The deal was confirmed just a few hours after the window itself shut, and the Colombian will be plying his trade in the Premier League after a fair few links to the league in recent years. The likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea have long since been reported as admirers, but new United boss Louis van Gaal was able to finally take the 28-year-old to English shores by way of a fairly big-money loan deal, which could be made permanent pending a further transaction in the region of some €45.00m in the summer according to some sources.
Falcao already has 40 points under his belt from his first three appearances of the season for parent club Monaco, though only one of those came as a starter, with two sub appearances. He also missed their 1-1 draw with Lille at the weekend, which sparked much speculation that he was on the move – and so it came to pass. He finds himself joining an already strong forward line, with new England captain Wayne Rooney featuring alongside Netherlands international Robin van Persie and Spaniard Juan Mata, with Belgian Adnan Januzaj another regular face at the heart of the Red Devils’ attack. There are plenty of quality attacking options now available to van Gaal, with Falcao’s arrival making those options look more and more daunting for opponents.
One man who will not be vying for a place among that group is Danny Welbeck, who completed a deadline-day £16m move from Old Trafford to Arsenal. Welbeck was said to be being courted by three Premier League clubs, with two looking at a permanent move and one – thought to be Sunderland – looking for a loan deal. The England international ultimately moved to north London to join Arsene Wenger’s side, and will link up with the likes of Lukas Podolski, Yaya Sanogo and former Barcelona star Alexis Sánchez in the competition for a starting berth, with Olivier Giroud presently sidelined.
Welbeck has only managed two appearances as a sub for United so far, and does not have any points to his name just yet – but at £16m he will certainly get his chances in the Gunners’ first team, and with a supply line provided by the likes of Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain it seems unlikely that the former Everton loanee will not make his mark this season and warrant an inclusion in our fantasy managers’ teams. Only 1% of managers have him in their squads, but at a value of only €6.50m in our game that figure will likely rise as the season progresses.
Another name not in contention for a place in the Man Utd front line is Mexican star Javier Hernandez, who also left the north west on deadline day, swapping Old Trafford for the Bernabeu as he completed a season-long loan deal to Real Madrid. Much like Welbeck, Hernandez has found opportunities at the Reds limited thus far under van Gaal’s tutelage, and with European champions Real interested it is unsurprising that the 26-year-old would take the opportunity. He hasn’t managed to register a single point in our competition yet, but – much like former team-mate Welbeck – that figure will likely rise, especially with Gareth Bale getting balls in from one wing and Cristiano Ronaldo from the other. Given time he will likely settle in well at the club, so this could be a move that proves a good one for all parties concerned – Real have conducted a cracking bit of business there.