With no top flight action since the August 28, Fantasy Premier League Managers will be glad to see game week 4 get underway with what promises to be an explosive Manchester derby on Saturday lunch time.
During the international break, the transfer window also closed and Premier League clubs were required to submit their final lists of 25 for the season ahead.
Which of the last-minute arrivals will have the biggest impact on the game? Who looks like value for money? Could some of the signings mean existing picks become deadwood?
Interestingly, it was a defender who stole the headlines on deadline day, as Antonio Conte’s pursuit of reinforcements finally ended with the sensational return of David Luiz to Stamford Bridge.
Love him or hate him, the Brazilian certainly gets people talking and as far as fantasy managers are concerned, he always has the possibility of delivering a few extra points by popping up with a goal.
However, Chelsea’s defence has been fairly solid over the first three weeks of the season meaning there is no need for Conte to make immediate changes.
For that reason, managers would be wise to wait and see before adding either Luiz or fellow new arrival Marcus Alonso to their squads. Both are priced at £6 million, which is the same as teammates Gary Cahill or Cesar Azpilicueta – the two most expensive components of the backline prior to their arrival.
After months of what is now seemingly an annual ritual of threatening to make signings without actually following through, Arsenal produced the goods at the 11th hour by landing Shkodran Mustafi and Lucas Perez from La Liga.
Perez, a late developer that had a fine season with Deportivo La Coruna last term, looks a little pricy with an initial value of £8.5m – especially given the fact that Arsene Wenger is likely to use him as back-up for Olivier Giroud and Alexis Sanchez.
Elsewhere, teams have as usual been keen to bolster their attacking ranks in the hope that goals will mean points.
As far as Fantasy Premier League goes, that is definitely the case. Enner Valencia (£5.5m) swapped West Ham for Everton in the final hours of the window but is likely to find himself on the bench in favour of Romelu Lukaku.
Leicester also spent big on Islam Slimani (£8.5m) who, despite his formidable reputation, is likely to be limited to cameo roles as long as Jamie Vardy continues to find the net with regularity. This lack of guaranteed starts makes the new boy looks very overpriced.
Simone Zaza will be remembered for his shocking penalty miss at Euro 2016 but shrewd players might have identified that at £7m he represents a promising calculated risk, especially with Hammers team mates Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho both currently struggling for fitness.
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