Saturday 16 July 2016 07:09, UK
The Premier League's top clubs have not held back from splashing the cash this summer, but just how valuable are the big signings so far?
Before even seeing how the latest acquisitions fit into new systems during pre-season, Sky Sports Fantasy Football have had to answer that exact question while reviewing their player values ahead of the new campaign.
Following the launch of the 2016/17 version, here is how the top signings so far price up and how many points those players would have picked up based of their stats from last season...
Nolito (Manchester City)
Sky Sports Fantasy Football valuation: £10.3m
Estimated points total for 2015/16: 203
Pep Guardiola's arrival at Manchester City is likely to spark a number of changes at the club and Nolito is unlikely to be the biggest name he brings to the Etihad. The forward arrives from Celta Vigo after claiming 12 goals and seven assists from 27 appearances in La Liga last season. The direct, strong dribbler found the net against Turkey during Euro 2016 and is valued at £10.3m, just one notch below Andy Carroll, Shane Long and Odion Ighalo, among others.
Vincent Janssen (Tottenham)
Sky Sports Fantasy Football valuation: £10.3m
Estimated points total for 2015/16: 284
For the same price as Nolito, Fantasy Football managers could turn to Tottenham new man Janssen, who was the top scorer in the Eredivisie last season. The 22-year-old picked up four assists to go along with his 27 goals and will be looking to push the second-highest valued player in the whole game, Harry Kane, for a place in the Spurs team.
Ahmed Musa (Leicester)
Sky Sports Fantasy Football valuation: £10.5m
Estimated points total for 2015/16: 184
The pressure on Leicester's shoulders will be immense this season and those new to the club obviously have a lot to live up to, although Claudio Ranieri will be hoping he's discovered another hidden gem in the shape of Nigeria attacking midfielder Musa. He's listed as a striker, and not a cheap one at £10.5m, but he offers value compared to the likes of Troy Deeney, Jermain Defoe or Kelechi Iheanacho. Musa scored 13 times and provided five assists from his 30 league appearances for CSKA Moscow last season.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Manchester United)
Sky Sports Fantasy Football valuation: £10.5m
Estimated points total for 2015/16: 256
Henrikh Mkhitaryan will be expected to provide plenty of chances for United's strikers, having racked up an impressive 15 assists for Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga last season. He also picked up 11 goals from midfield, statistics that compare favourably with the likes of Yaya Toure, Philippe Coutinho and Christian Eriksen in the same price range.
Michy Batshuayi (Chelsea)
Sky Sports Fantasy Football valuation: £11.5m
Estimated points total for 2015/16: 203
Chelsea snapped up rising star Batshuayi from Marseille. The highly-rated 22-year-old can be bought by Sky Sports Fantasy Football suitors for an upper-range fee of £11.5m, which makes him marginally more expensive than Manchester United wonderkid Marcus Rashford and cheaper than Olivier Giroud. Batshuayi claimed 17 goals and nine assists in his breakthrough Ligue 1 season, while he also enhanced his credentials with a goal for Belgium at Euro 2016.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Manchester United)
Sky Sports Fantasy Football valuation: £12.2m
Estimated points total for 2015/16: 411
After what seemed like endless speculation, Ibrahimovic finally completed his switch to Old Trafford, bringing with him a domestic record United will be keen for him replicate. The 34-year-old goes into the Sky Sports Fantasy Football roster as a premier purchase, sitting fourth at £12.2m behind Sergio Aguero, Harry Kane and Alexis Sanchez despite comfortably being involved in more goals (51) than any Premier League player last season with 38 goals and 13 assists.
Lacking an out-and-out goalscorer was one of the major criticisms levelled at United under Louis van Gaal but Ibrahimovic looks guaranteed to provide that much-needed cutting edge, having claimed bags of goals everywhere he has played.
