Fantasy Premier League 2026/27 Transfers: Biggest Summer Moves & FPL Impact
The 2026 summer transfer window is underway and is already impacting Fantasy Premier League managers. Five top-six managers have changed or recently changed. Mohamed Salah, the highest-scoring player in FPL history by points per season, has left Liverpool. Three transfers in the same window have broken the British transfer record. And the clubs doing the most business are operating under brand new managers who have not yet played a competitive minute in their new roles, which means almost every FPL assumption from last season has to be rebuilt from scratch.
This guide covers every transfer that matters so far for the 2026/27 FPL season, from eight clubs, with role analysis and a verdict on whether each new arrival is worth spending your budget on. The window does not close until Sept. 1, and there will be more moves. But the shape of the season is already visible, and if you wait too long to make sense of it, Wildcard season will catch you flat-footed.
In This Guide
- Chelsea
- Manchester City
- Aston Villa
- Tottenham
- Liverpool
- Arsenal
- Newcastle
- Manchester United
- Premium Picks
- Wait-and-See Players
- Biggest Losers
- Final FPL Strategy
Biggest Fantasy Winners
Biggest Fantasy Losers
- Liverpool attackers (without Salah)
- Chelsea defenders
- Newcastle midfield
Best Early Bargains
The State of Play: Managers, Finances and the New Premier League
Before getting into individual transfers, the scale of what has changed needs to be understood. Coach Pep Guardiola departed Manchester City in May after a trophied but physically diminishing final season, handing the reins to manager Enzo Maresca, who left Chelsea earlier in the season. Maresca then watched Chelsea choose Xabi Alonso, who arrives with nice experience from Bayer Leverkusen but a struggling journey coaching Real Madrid and has never managed in England. Liverpool lost Arne Slot, the manager who delivered consecutive title challenges, and brought in Andoni Iraola from Bournemouth. Tottenham appointed Roberto De Zerbi at the end of last season and Manchester United confirmed Michael Carrick as permanent manager after a promising spell as interim.
That is five of the usual top six changing manager or starting a full new campaign with a new one and this in a single summer. Arsenal, who won the Premier League title under manager Mikel Arteta and Unai Emery's Aston Villa, are the exception. The impact on FPL pricing, rotation risk, system identities and player value cannot be overstated. Players who were gold-standard assets under one manager become question marks under a different one. Players who were bench fodder last season might find themselves playing 90 minutes every week under a system that suits their profile. The first month of the season is going to be as informative as any in recent FPL memory.
The spending figures add another dimension. Premier League clubs have already committed well over a billion pounds combined in a window that has not yet closed, with three transfers above £85 million completed before the season has started. The British transfer record has moved three times in a matter of weeks. Chelsea paid £117 million for Morgan Rogers, breaking the record set by Manchester City just days earlier when they signed Elliot Anderson for £116 million. Anderson's fee eclipsed Sandro Tonali's move from Newcastle to Tottenham for £92.5 million, which had itself been the biggest deal of the first half of the window.
These are the numbers that define the summer. Now let's talk about what they mean for your FPL team.
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Chelsea: The Xabi Alonso Era Begins
Key signings:Morgan Rogers (£117m, from Aston Villa), Marco Palestra (£47m, from Atalanta), Geovany Quenda (£44m, from Sporting Lisbon) Key departures:Marc Cucurella (£47.5m, to Real Madrid), Andrey Santos (£48m, to Manchester United) Manager: Xabi Alonso (new)
Morgan Rogers: The £117m Question
Morgan Rogers is the most expensive British footballer in history and the most important FPL question mark of the summer. He scored 24 combined goals and assists in his final season at Aston Villa, established himself in coach Thomas Tuchel's England setup, and featured in the World Cup semifinals. He is 23 years old and arriving at a club in crisis that has no Champions League football, a squad built almost entirely of players in their early twenties, and a new manager who has never managed in England before.
Under recent coaches, Chelsea operated with Cole Palmer as the attacking center of everything. Rogers at Villa played his best football as a free-moving number ten or left-sided attacking midfielder, drifting inside from wide positions to get on the ball in creative areas. The structural tension at Stamford Bridge is obvious: both Rogers and Palmer want to operate in the same spaces, and manager Xabi Alonso has to find a way to accommodate both of them without neutering either.
Alonso's preferred system at Bayer Leverkusen was built around wing-backs who pushed extremely high and wide, creating the width that freed up the central players to combine. His two signature wing-backs, Jeremie Frimpong and Alex Grimaldo, were among the most productive attacking defenders in European football. Marco Palestra, the Serie A defender of the year from Atalanta, arrives as the first Alonso signing and is exactly the kind of ball-playing, forward-carrying wing-back Alonso builds his teams around. Geovany Quenda, the 19-year-old Portuguese winger from Sporting CP, had only just returned from a metatarsal injury last season but contributed four goals and seven assists in limited appearances.
The working theory is that Rogers starts as Alonso's left-side advanced midfielder in a 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 variant, with Palmer operating centrally and Quenda eventually competing on the right. Whether that translates into FPL points depends entirely on whether Rogers produces attacking returns from that role, and whether Alonso's Chelsea is competitive enough to pile into opponents' defensive thirds regularly.
FPL verdict on Rogers: Tempting but risky in Gameweek 1. He is a premium midfielder who starts every game under a new system with no pre-season data. Wait for at least three or four matches before committing. If Alonso's wing-backs are as advanced as they were at Leverkusen, Rogers could end up with less penalty-box time than he had at Villa. At a price around £7.5m, he is not cheap enough to take a chance on without clarity.
FPL verdict on Quenda: Exciting budget option if he gets regular minutes from the off. His injury history is the concern. Listed as a midfielder at most clubs, he offers goal contributions from wide areas. Monitor pre-season before committing.
FPL verdict on Palmer: If Alonso keeps him central and builds the team around him, Palmer remains one of the three or four must-owns in the game at his price point. New manager risk is real but the talent has not changed. He should start the season in your team.
Who Leaves and Why It Matters
Marc Cucurella's departure to Real Madrid for £47.5 million removes last season's most productive defensive FPL asset from Chelsea in one move. Andrey Santos departing to Manchester United frees up a central midfield slot that Alonso will need to fill from within the squad.
Manchester City: Life After Guardiola
Key signings:Elliot Anderson (£116m, from Nottingham Forest) Key departures: Various fringe players, broader rebuild ongoing Manager: Enzo Maresca (new)
Elliot Anderson: City's Most Expensive Signing Ever
Elliot Anderson cost Manchester City £116 million in a fixed-fee deal with no add-ons, making him the joint-most expensive British player in history alongside Morgan Rogers. He is 23 years old, recorded four goals and four assists across 3,334 minutes for Nottingham Forest last season, and was one of England's most important players at the 2026 World Cup, starting consistently alongside Declan Rice in the double pivot that manager Thomas Tuchel trusted through the knockout rounds.
Manchester City's director of football Hugo Viana has been specific about what he wants from the rebuild following coach Guardiola's departure. Anderson addresses the most pressing gap: a dynamic central midfielder who can press, carry, pass and contribute at both ends of the pitch. He had the most ball touches and won more individual duels than any other Premier League midfielder last season, which is the profile manager Enzo Maresca wants at the base of his midfield.
Maresca's system at Chelsea last season was built around two very different central midfielders: a deeper defensive anchor and a more advanced ball-carrier who could arrive into the box late. Anderson fits the ball-carrier profile better than the anchor one, which suggests he could operate as the more advanced of the two pivots rather than the deepest midfielder. That role could yield FPL returns if the supply lines at City remain as generous as they were under Guardiola's system.
The City attack remains the key variable. Erling Haaland's involvement as the headline FPL asset at the Etihad is unchanged by the managerial transition, and any midfielder who plays regularly behind him benefits from the structure that has made City's attacking players the most productive in the game across six consecutive Premier League campaigns.
FPL verdict on Anderson: Do not rush. He is a central midfielder in a new system under a new manager at a new club after a World Cup. Four goals and four assists at Forest is a respectable baseline for an FPL midfielder, but the City price tag (£6.5m) means he needs to be significantly better than Forest-Anderson to justify his cost. Wait for pre-season data on his exact role before deciding.
FPL verdict on Haaland: Untouched. Manager Maresca ran a striker-centric system at Chelsea with Nicolas Jackson, and the natural extension of that under a motivated, fully fit Haaland is a striker who is even better supplied than he was in Guardiola's final, difficult season. Start him.
Aston Villa: The Champions League Returns, Minus Rogers and Tielemans
Key signings:Johan Manzambi (£59.5m, from Freiburg), Joao Gomes (£40m, from Wolverhampton) Key departures:Morgan Rogers (£117m, to Chelsea), Youri Tielemans (£35m, to Manchester United), Amadou Onana (ACL injury, season in doubt) Manager: Unai Emery
Johan Manzambi: The World Cup Breakout Arrives in Birmingham
Johan Manzambi had three goals and two assists at the 2026 World Cup at the age of 20 and announced himself to FPL managers who had never watched a Freiburg game in their lives. He beat Newcastle United to his signature in what became a protracted saga, with Villa ultimately matching the agreed fee and convincing the player to join the club that had beaten Freiburg in the Europa League final the previous season.
His role at Freiburg was as the free-ranging number 10 or advanced central midfielder who operated between the lines, received in tight spaces, progressed the ball quickly and contributed goals at both ends of the pitch. His World Cup performances showed a player comfortable receiving under pressure, creating for runners, and arriving into the box from deeper positions to score. He managed three goals and two assists in five tournament appearances despite missing the Round of 16 against Colombia entirely with a knee injury.
At Aston Villa, Manzambi's most likely starting position is the number 10 role behind the striker, with Joao Gomes and one of Villa's existing central midfielders providing the defensive foundation. Emery's Villa typically operates in a 4-2-3-1 with the wingers providing secondary goal threats behind the central striker. Manzambi in the 10 position gives manager Emery an attacking midfielder who can combine centrally with Ollie Watkins and create from deeper than a conventional wide forward would.
The concern for FPL purposes is that Manzambi has never played in the Premier League and enters a team that has also lost its most productive midfielder from last season in Rogers, as well as Tielemans and now facing an extended period without Onana following his ACL injury at the World Cup.
FPL verdict on Manzambi: Do not price him in at launch until you see how Emery uses him and whether the chemistry with Watkins develops quickly. If he nails down the 10 role and Villa's Champions League run keeps them in high-scoring matches, his ceiling is enormous. His floor if he does not adapt quickly is a £6.0m player who starts eight games before a rotation issue emerges. Give it four to six gameweeks before committing.
FPL verdict on Watkins: If Manzambi and the existing wide players supply him the way the 2024/25 squad did, Watkins remains one of the most reliable FPL forwards in the game. Villa's Champions League fixture list will create some difficult weeks, but Emery rotates his strikers carefully and Watkins is his number one. His price is high (£8.0m), but he starts every week and is one of the best strikers in the league when confidence is with him.
FPL verdict on Joao Gomes: A defensive midfielder with a history of yellow cards and limited attacking contribution. Monitor whether he is truly the first-choice defensive pivot or whether Emery uses him in rotation. Not an FPL target.
Tottenham Hotspur: De Zerbi's Revolution
Key signings:Sandro Tonali (£92.5m, from Newcastle), Mateus Fernandes (£85m, from West Ham), Jan Paul van Hecke (£52m, from Brighton), Andrew Robertson (free, from Liverpool), Marcos Senesi (free, from Bournemouth) Key departures: None. Manager: Roberto De Zerbi (new)
The Biggest Summer Rebuild in the League
Tottenham have spent more money this summer than any other Premier League club and have done it under a manager who has a fixed setup in mind. Roberto De Zerbi's appointment at the end of the 2025/26 season allowed the Spurs to avoid relegation. His Brighton teams routinely produced the most unexpected FPL assets in the game, with players like Pascal Gross, Danny Welbeck and Pervis Estupinan generating elite returns at budget prices because De Zerbi's pressing, positional system created chances constantly for whoever occupied his preferred roles.
At Spurs, De Zerbi has significantly more resources than he had at Brighton and is working at a club whose stated ambition is to compete for the top four under the first genuinely exciting tactical appointment the club has made in years.
Sandro Tonali arrives from Newcastle at £92.5 million as the anchor of De Zerbi's midfield. At his best, Tonali is one of the best box-to-box midfielders in Europe: progressive, physically imposing, capable of arriving late into the penalty area from deeper midfield positions. He had shown flashes of that quality at Newcastle before the season ended, and the combination of a new challenge and a manager who will specifically build a system around his strengths makes him potentially the best-value premium midfielder in the game if the price point lands where expected. A midfielder in De Zerbi's system who scores goals is an elite FPL asset, and Tonali has shown he can do it.
Mateus Fernandes is the more advanced of Tottenham's two major midfield signings. At West Ham, the 21-year-old Portuguese international contributed three goals and four assists in 35 Premier League starts, with 37 chances created across the season. Under De Zerbi, a midfielder operating in the advanced half-space role who creates chances and arrives into the box is a regular double-digit scorer in FPL terms. The question is whether Fernandes hits those numbers in his first Premier League season under a new manager at a big club, having previously played at a relegated West Ham.
Jan Paul van Hecke is a centre-back who generated substantial FPL returns at Brighton under coach Fabian Hurzeler. Arriving at Spurs for £52 million, he gives coach De Zerbi a ball-playing defender who is comfortable being high up the pitch when the team has possession. In De Zerbi's system, centre-backs are not passive FPL assets. They contribute to the press and can receive the ball in positions that generate attacking opportunities. van Hecke's clean sheet potential combined with his goals from set pieces makes him a genuine consideration at the right price.
Andrew Robertson joins Spurs on a free transfer, providing experienced left-back cover and competition for the starting position. Robertson was Liverpool's most effective delivery option from wide areas for years, and in De Zerbi's wing-back or attacking full-back role, he could produce assist returns if he nails down the starting spot. At free-transfer pricing in FPL, he is a high-upside budget option.
FPL verdict on Tonali: One of the most exciting premium midfielders of the pre-season. If De Zerbi uses him as a goal-scoring midfield runner and he stays healthy, he is a season-defining pick. The risk is that Spurs underperform in the opening month and his price drops before you can sell. Own him from the start if the price allows.
FPL verdict on Fernandes: A strong mid-price midfielder target if his role is confirmed as the advanced creative option in De Zerbi's midfield. His chances-created rate at West Ham (37 in 35 starts) would make him an elite FPL asset if he converts more regularly. Start small, increase your stake as his role clarifies.
FPL verdict on van Hecke: A budget defender in the De Zerbi mould. Brighton defenders under De Zerbi frequently scored in double digits on minimal budgets. The same system at a higher-resource club could produce even better returns. Target him as the fourth or fifth defender in your starting XI.
Liverpool: The End of an Era
Key signings:Jeremy Jacquet (£55-60m, from Rennes), Victor Munoz (£34.5m, from Osasuna) Key departures:Mohamed Salah (released, free), Ibrahima Konate (free, to Real Madrid), Andrew Robertson (free, to Tottenham) Manager: Andoni Iraola (new, from Bournemouth)
The Salah-Shaped Hole
Mohamed Salah is gone and that fact deserves to sit on its own for a moment. He finished the 2025/26 Premier League season with 344 FPL points, more than a hundred clear of the second-highest scorer. He returned double-digit FPL hauls 18 times across his final season at Anfield. He has been the single most consistent premium FPL asset in the game's history across six seasons. His departure is not a transfer story, it is an FPL crisis.
The question for Liverpool managers is not who replaces Salah at his output ceiling. Nobody does. The question is who inherits his starting role and whether that player, at a significantly lower FPL price, generates enough attacking returns to make him a budget-friendly alternative to premium options elsewhere.
Liverpool signed Victor Munoz from Osasuna for £34.5 million. Munoz is a World Cup champion but was managing a knock throughout the tournament and didn't feature a single minute. At Osasuna, he was a consistent creative threat from wide right positions, and manager Andoni Iraola at Bournemouth built his teams around energetic, direct wide players who could deliver end product on a regular basis.
Under Iraola, Munoz could likely occupy the right-wing starting role that Salah owned for most of the previous decade. He arrives without Salah's goal-scoring record, his set-piece dominance or his penalty habit, but he has a legitimate pathway to starting every week for a team with a strong squad, a confident pre-season, and a Spanish manager who values the same qualities Munoz displayed at Osasuna.
Jeremy Jacquet arrives as Liverpool's answer to the Konate departure. The 20-year-old French centre-back was signed from Rennes for around £55-60 million and is expected to partner Virgil van Dijk in Liverpool's back line once he returns from a mid term injury sustained earlier in the calendar year. He was the most expensive transfer in Rennes' history, and Liverpool beat Chelsea and Bayern Munich to his signature. He is not an FPL target in the conventional sense, a 20-year-old defender arriving from Ligue 1 is going to take time to settle, but his arrival secures Liverpool's defensive structure and protects the value of their other defenders.
Florian Wirtz continues at Liverpool as the headline creative asset, having joined last summer in one of the biggest signings in Premier League history. His continued presence gives Iraola a world-class creative outlet, and Alexander Isak remains as the starting striker in the absence of Hugo Ekitike (Achilles). Both are premium FPL assets whose value is, if anything, enhanced by Salah's departure: with Salah gone, more chances flow through the central and left-channel positions that Wirtz and Isak occupy.
FPL verdict on Munoz: A compelling mid-price buy at the right number. He does not have Salah's ceiling but he fills the starting right-wing role at Liverpool at a fraction of Salah's £14.5m cost. His price is £6.5m and if Iraola builds an attack-minded system similar to what he ran at Bournemouth, Munoz is one of the best value midfielders in the game. Wait for the first few gameweeks to assess his starting consistency, then bring him in early.
FPL verdict on Wirtz: One of the three non-negotiable premium midfielders of 2026/27 alongside Palmer and whoever leads the City attack. His output last season under manager Slot was strong. Under Iraola, the pressing and positional system may require an adaptation period, but Wirtz's quality is the kind that overrides system. Keep him.
FPL verdict on Isak: He had a difficult first season in Anfield due to long term injuries and the move from Slot to Iraola creates short-term uncertainty, but Isak's ability to score from central positions means he does not depend on a specific system. Own him.
Arsenal: Champions Adding From Strength
Key signings:Christos Tzolis (£34m, from Club Brugge), Piero Hincapie (permanent, from Bayer Leverkusen), Illan Meslier (free, from Leeds) Key departures:Leandro Trossard (£17m, to Besiktas). Manager: Mikel Arteta (unchanged)
Consolidating a Title
Arsenal won the Premier League title in 2025/26 under manager Arteta and are now adding to a squad that is already operating at the top of the league. Their summer business has been measured rather than extravagant: Piero Hincapie's loan from Bayer Leverkusen becomes permanent, confirming the Ecuadorian left-back as the starter in Arteta's defensive setup. Illan Meslier, the Leeds goalkeeper freed this summer, joins as David Raya's backup. And the most meaningful incoming is Christos Tzolis, who directly replaces Leandro Trossard and brings an almost identical stylistic profile at a fraction of the premium the Belgian commanded.
Christos Tzolis: The Trossard Blueprint at £34m
Tzolis is 24 years old, Greek, and has spent the last two seasons at Club Brugge producing numbers that would make him a top 10 midfielder in any FPL season. He scored 17 goals and contributed 22 assists across 36 league appearances for Brugge in 2025/26, and his Champions League appearances against Arsenal last season gave manager Arteta direct scouting access to the player they were about to recruit. The £34m fee is a record for the Belgian Pro League and represents Arsenal's most targeted attacking addition since the title win.
The stylistic fit with Arteta's system is precise. Tzolis operates primarily from the left side, wide enough to create one-on-one opportunities but always oriented toward the central spaces that Arteta's wide forwards exploit. His former assistant manager at Brugge described him as most dangerous the closer he gets to goal, a player who uses his width to create the angles to cut inside rather than simply delivering from the byline. That is word-for-word the Trossard blueprint. Where Trossard drifted off the left into the pockets between the defensive and midfield lines to receive and shoot, Tzolis does the same, and Arteta builds his system around exactly that movement.
At Norwich in 2021/22, he showed he can handle English football physically. At Brugge, he showed he can produce at the highest European club level. The question for FPL managers is not whether he is good enough, it is how quickly he adapts to the Premier League's defensive intensity at the start of the season and whether Arteta gives him the same guaranteed minutes that Trossard eventually accumulated.
The Trossard comparison matters for FPL specifically because Trossard was one of the most efficient budget midfielders of the 2024/25 and 2025/26 seasons, contributing returns even in matches where he started from the bench. If Tzolis inherits that role and the starting berth that came with Trossard's final Arsenal seasons, he is one of the best-value midfielders in the game at the price point he is likely to launch at.
Arsenal's FPL core is now stronger than it was at the start of last season: Saka at £9.5m is the non-negotiable premium midfielder, Martin Odegaard as the creative hub who provides assists at a consistent rate, Gabriel Martinelli providing the primary left-sided direct option, and Tzolis as the high-upside secondary left attacker whose price point will likely sit between £6.5m and £7.5m depending on where the game's algorithm places him. Arsenal's defenders, particularly Hincapie now that his deal is permanent, offer premium clean-sheet returns at accessible price points. David Raya's save bonuses and clean sheet record make him the first goalkeeper consideration at his price.
FPL verdict on Tzolis: One of the most compelling mid-price buys of the pre-season. The numbers at Brugge are elite. The stylistic fit at Arsenal is exact. The risk is the adaptation period in Gameweeks 1 through 4 while he finds his feet in the Premier League. If Arteta starts him regularly from Gameweek 1 and the early returns are there, he will be one of the most-transferred-in players of the first month. Target him from the start if your budget allows, bring him in after Gameweek 2 if you want proof of concept first.
FPL verdict on the rest of Arsenal: The most stable top-six club heading into 2026/27. Same manager, same system, title-winning structure unchanged. Saka is the first name in your team. Odegaard and Martinelli are strong secondary options. Hincapie is worth investigating as a budget defender with Arsenal's defensive structure behind him.
Newcastle United: Rebuilding Without Their Two Best Players
Key signings:Bazoumana Toure (£42.8m, from Hoffenheim), Sean Steur (£23m, from Ajax), Ewen Jaouen (£22m, from Reims), Aladji Bamba (£35m, from Monaco) Key departures:Anthony Gordon (£69m, to Barcelona), Sandro Tonali (£92.5m, to Tottenham) Manager: Eddie Howe
Gordon to Barcelona, Tonali to Spurs
Newcastle have received more than £160 million from the sales of Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali this summer, and they have replaced both with younger, unproven alternatives. That is a significant sporting risk from an FPL perspective, because Gordon was one of the best-value budget midfielders in the game and Tonali was building toward becoming a reliable attacking source before Spurs came calling.
Bazoumana Toure is the most significant incoming. The 20-year-old Ivory Coast winger scored five goals and added nine assists across 30 Bundesliga appearances for Hoffenheim last season, with most of his creative output coming from open play rather than set pieces. He replaces Gordon on the left flank in coach Eddie Howe's system and arrives as an inverted winger who is physically strong in one-on-one situations and capable of delivering end product from wide positions. His £42.8 million fee reflects the competition for his signature, and Newcastle beat off significant European interest to bring him to St James' Park.
The FPL question with Toure is whether he immediately replicates Gordon's attacking output or whether the step up from Bundesliga to Premier League requires an adaptation period. Gordon took time to find his feet at Newcastle before becoming an elite FPL asset. Toure's profile is similar: direct, fast, better going forward than defending. Under Howe's high-energy system, the role that Gordon occupied will provide Toure with regular opportunities from Gameweek 1.
William Osula, who has taken Gordon's number 10 shirt at Newcastle, enjoyed a strong end to last season with seven goals and suggests Howe has a genuine alternative in the central striker role. Alexander Isak's move to Liverpool in the previous window means Newcastle enter the season needing someone to fill that void up top, and Osula's new squad number hints at an expanded role.
FPL verdict on Toure: A buy-and-hold budget midfielder with significant upside if he adapts quickly. If Howe gives him the same starting role and freedom that Gordon had, he can be a budget differentials pick in the £5.5-6.5m range. Do not price him as Gordon from day one, give him the first month to prove the level transition is manageable.
FPL verdict on Osula: A budget forward worth monitoring if he starts the season as Newcastle's central striker. Five goals in the last seven Premier League games down the stretch last season means the quality is there. The question is whether Howe trusts him from the off or whether Newcastle make another addition before the window closes.
The fifth and most structurally focused signing is Aladji Bamba, a 20-year-old defensive midfielder from Monaco signed for up to £35.5m. He has just 25 career appearances to his name, all at Monaco, but forced his way into their starting XI in the second half of last season and featured in Champions League fixtures against top-flight opposition. Newcastle are buying potential rather than proven output, Bamba is here to fill the defensive midfield void Tonali left, not to generate FPL returns. Priced at the £4.5-5m floor, he is one to revisit in 2027/28.
Manchester United: Carrick's New Era
Key signings:Andrey Santos (£48m, from Chelsea), Youri Tielemans (£35m, from Aston Villa) Key departures:Rasmus Hojlund (£38m, to Napoli) Manager: Michael Carrick (permanent)
A Different Kind of Rebuild
Manchester United have confirmed manager Michael Carrick as their permanent manager after a promising spell as interim, and the transfer approach this summer has been deliberately different from the big-money sprees of recent windows. Where City paid £116m and Chelsea paid £117m, United have moved with more restraint, triggering Tielemans' release clause at Aston Villa and picking up Andrey Santos from Chelsea in a deal that suits both clubs.
Tielemans at 29 years old is an experienced Premier League midfielder with a Premier League track record that includes consistent goal contributions and reliable minutes. He filled in at Villa when others were injured and his reading of the game and delivery from midfield remain among the best in the league. At £35m, United have acquired a midfielder who can immediately start and provide the system stability that Carrick needs to build around Bruno Fernandes.
Andrey Santos, at 22 years old, stepped into Chelsea's midfield regularly last season across nearly 1,300 minutes and showed passing quality and defensive contribution that suggests he can handle the Premier League at a high level and be the natural replacement of Casemiro who left the club as free agent. He is younger than Tielemans, more vertical in his play, and provides a different dimension than the Belgian veteran.
Rasmus Hojlund's departure to Napoli for £38 million removes an inconsistent Premier League striker from the FPL conversation and opens the central striker position. United need a centre forward, and whoever fills that role (whether through another signing before Sep. 1 or through an existing squad option) will be on FPL managers' watchlists throughout pre-season.
FPL verdict on Fernandes: The one non-negotiable United asset. Permanent manager, known system, Fernandes as the Maestro. His production under Carrick will depend on whether United's attack improves enough to give him consistent goal contributions, but at his price point, he remains the number one pick in our Fantrax & Sleeper Premier League Rankings.
FPL verdict on Tielemans: Not an immediate FPL target since his returns where mostly based on set-piece contributions that he will not secure in United with Bruno Fernandes locking most if not all of them.
FPL verdict on United striker position: The most important unknown in FPL right now. Whoever starts up front for United from Gameweek 1 is going to be in a system where Fernandes and potentially Tielemans are feeding regularly. Monitor this space through the window close.
The Big Picture: FPL 2026-27 Key Takeaways
Premium Players You Can Trust From Day One
Erling Haaland (Manchester City, FWD): New manager, same situation. Haaland scores goals when given service, and Maresca is a manager who builds systems around his striker. Start him.
Cole Palmer (Chelsea, MID): Alonso's Chelsea is a different project, but Palmer's ability and Alonso's tendency to build around his most creative central player makes him as safe as any premium midfielder can be under a new manager.
Florian Wirtz (Liverpool, MID): His output under Slot was decent, and the transition to Iraola does not threaten his central creative role. Liverpool remain a top-four team with elite supply lines. Own him.
Bukayo Saka (Arsenal, MID): Arteta stays. Saka's role is unchanged. He delivers attacking returns in almost every home game and contributes defensively enough to pick up clean sheet bonuses when Arsenal keep opponents out. Non-negotiable.
Alexander Isak (Liverpool, FWD): The transition from Slot to Iraola creates a short-term question but Isak's goal-scoring record is a function of his own quality, not just the system. Own him.
Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa, FWD): Emery's system does not change significantly based on which midfielder is number 10. Watkins occupies the central striker role and receives service regardless. Own him.
Wait-and-See Picks
Morgan Rogers (Chelsea, MID): Too many unknowns around Alonso's system and Rogers' role within it. Give it four gameweeks.
Johan Manzambi (Aston Villa, MID): World Cup breakout star arriving in a new league. Give it four to six gameweeks.
Elliot Anderson (Man City, MID): New system, new club, post-World Cup. Wait for role confirmation.
Victor Munoz (Liverpool, MID): Inherits the right-wing role at Liverpool in a new manager's system. First month data is essential.
Bazoumana Toure (Newcastle, MID): First season at Premier League level. Budget buy but give him time to settle.
Sandro Tonali (Tottenham, MID): Potentially the best-value premium midfielder of the season, but De Zerbi's Spurs system needs to show up before committing.
The Players Who Disappear From Your Thoughts
Mohamed Salah: Gone. There is no substitute. Build your budget accordingly.
Anthony Gordon: Gone to Barcelona. The Newcastle winger role is now Toure's, priced lower, with lower expected output until proven otherwise.
Youri Tielemans: Left Villa, joins United. Not an immediate FPL target due to the loss of set-pieces taker's role.
Rasmus Hojlund: Gone to Napoli. United's striker spot is not secured, which is your cue to watch the window and pounce when the deal is confirmed.
Leandro Trossard: Left Arsenal. Not replaced with an FPL-relevant player yet.
The Manager Effect: Who Gains, Who Loses
The managerial changes create the most significant source of FPL uncertainty of any transfer window in recent memory. Here is the short version:
Under Xabi Alonso at Chelsea, wing-backs push high and attacking midfielders operate centrally. Palmer and Rogers are both high-value picks if the system produces. Palestra and whoever plays left wing-back could be cheap defensive picks.
Under Enzo Maresca at Manchester City, central strikers are prioritized and midfielders are expected to contribute to both phases of the game. Haaland should produce more. Anderson is a wait-and-see.
Under Andoni Iraola at Liverpool, high pressing and direct wide play is the operating model. Munoz fits that profile. Wirtz and Isak sit above the press and produce regardless.
Under Roberto De Zerbi at Tottenham, every position except goalkeeper is a potential FPL asset. Tonali and Fernandes in the engine room, van Hecke and Robertson in defensive positions, and whoever plays up front all carry attacking upside. De Zerbi's history at Brighton produced more unexpected FPL returns than any other manager in the last five years.
Under Michael Carrick at Manchester United, early indications from his interim spell suggest a pragmatic but more defensively disciplined approach than the recent United eras. Fernandes remains the FPL cornerstone. The striker position is the wild card.
Final FPL Verdict: How to Build Your 2026/27 Squad
The biggest mistake you can make in this summer's FPL draft is letting the noise of the transfer window create false certainty. Of the five biggest manager changes, Xabi Alonso is the only one arriving without prior Premier League experience. Enzo Maresca spent last season at Chelsea and Andoni Iraola spent three years at Bournemouth, so both know the division well. But Alonso at Chelsea is a significant unknown, and all five new managers are working with reshaped squads that have not yet played a competitive minute together under their new setups.
The safest pre-season approach is to anchor your squad around the players whose situations have not changed: Haaland, Saka, Palmer, Wirtz, Isak, Watkins. That foundation does not change regardless of which way the new managers' systems develop. Then use your remaining budget to invest in one or two high-upside new arrivals. Tonali is the one I would target above any other newcomer, while keeping a transfer or two in hand for the early gameweeks when the picture becomes clearer.
For the latest Premier League team news, injuries and predicted lineups heading into 2026/27, visit RotoWire's soccer hub and check the Premier League injury report throughout pre-season.
