FPL Post-Season | What's happened this week? (Ep. 5)

The stuff you might’ve missed this week.

✍️ Brentford appoint their set-piece coach, Keith Andrews, as manager in place of Thomas Frank.

🤝 Milos Kerkez joins Liverpool.

🔁 Kepa Arrizabalaga and Christian Norgaard will join Arsenal, according to Fabrizio Romano.

👀 Joao Pedro to Chelsea gets a “Here we go!” from Fabrizio Romano.

💰 Leeds, Burnley and Crystal Palace also confirm defensive signings.

Alright?

Captain’s log: it’s Gameweek -7 and we’ve started turning everything into a fantasy game to cope. All eyes on tomorrow, where I’ll score double points if Judith at No. 28 takes her bins out before anyone else.

If you’re reading this, please reply and tell us how you’re spending your summer. We’ll share our favourite answers next week.

Today, we’ll mostly talk about new signings as we edge a little bit closer to Gameweek 1.

(Btw, Wimbledon starts today and, yes, there’s a fantasy game.)

The big done deals.

This section will only include transfers that have been confirmed by an official source.

Milos Kerkez ➡️ Liverpool

Last week’s “Here we go!” becomes this week’s confirmed news, as Liverpool sign yet another interesting FPL prospect in Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez.

Here’s what this randomly selected but incredibly insightful (and handsome) FPL newsletter had to say about it:

So the question isn’t really “Will Milos Kerkez be a good pick?” but rather “Will Milos Kerkez be priced reasonably enough to be a good buy?”.

It’s almost like we can’t talk extensively about the value of an FPL pick until we know how much they actually cost. Funny, that.

Other signings:

Jaka Bijol ➡️ Leeds. The 26-year-old centre-back joins from Udinese on a five-year deal and has a jawline sharp enough to slice a hole in your Triple Captain next season:

Quilindschy Hartman and Axel Tuanzebe ➡️ Burnley. Two defensive signings for Burnley, who are looking to consolidate an incredible defensive performance last season (they conceded just 16 goals).

Walter Benitez ➡️ Crystal Palace. The Argentine goalkeeper joins Palace on a free.

The rumour mill.

This section will include transfers that are strongly rumoured by reliable sources. We won’t include pure speculation, and will always try to verify the rumour with multiple sources.

Joao Pedro ➡️ Chelsea

Having received the “Here we go!” from Fabrizio Romano on Sunday, Joao Pedro to Chelsea looks like it’s happening.

The response amongst FPL managers is mooted. Pedro is clearly a good player, but five of his 10 goals last season came from the penalty spot: A responsibility he won’t be entrusted with at his new club so long as Cole Palmer remains at Chelsea.

This, combined with his patchy injury record and Chelsea’s other options, means he’s unlikely to find his way into many Gameweek 1 squads unless he has a heck of a pre-season.

Christian Norgaard + Kepa Arrizabalaga ➡️ Arsenal

These defensive additions to Arsenal’s squad are good signings for Arteta’s side, but don’t exactly wet the FPL palate. The intrigue here is two-fold:

1) Will it make Arsenal better at keeping clean sheets? Answer: probably not in a conspicuous way, but it can’t hurt.

2) Are Brentford being gutted beyond repair? With Bryan Mbeumo likely to join Man United, Thomas Frank joining Spurs, and now Christian Norgaard on his way out, some Brentford fans are worried that too many club stalwarts are leaving.

Key dates this summer.

June 10th - Mini Transfer Window closes.

June 14th - The Club World Cup kicks off with the two best teams in the world: Al Ahly vs. Inter Miami. Chelsea and Manchester City are the Premier League’s representatives.

June 16th - The Summer Transfer Window opens.

June 18th - Premier League fixtures released.

~Early-mid July - The 25/26 FPL game is likely to launch.

We did a bit of research on previous game launches. Sound the infographic klaxon:

On this basis, the 25/26 season is expected to launch around 14th - 18th July, giving it an xLaunch of 2-3 weeks from now.

Mid-July - Pre-season friendlies begin.

August 10th - The Community Shield (Liverpool vs Crystal Palace)

August 16th - The 25/26 season begins 😍

Other stuff we found interesting.

1. Brentford have appointed their set-piece coach, Keith Andrews, as the new manager. He’s never managed a team before.

2. Chelsea have advanced to the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup after (eventually) beating Benfica 4-1 AET. Pedro Neto, Christopher Nkunku and Reece James were amongst the scorers. Palmer got an assist.

3. Harvey Elliott starred in England’s 3-2 win against Germany in the Under-21 Euros final. He also won the player of the tournament.

We’re back next week. Remember, reply if you can be arsed.

Stay lazy.

The LazyFPL Team.