Gameweek 1 has come and gone in the usual whirl of strong starts, false dawns and Old Trafford finger-pointing &#8211; but how did some of the big-name summer transfers enjoy their first taste of the Premier League and, more importantly, FPL?
<h2>Erling Haaland (£11.6m)</h2>
Erling Haaland (£11.6m) was the weekend&#8217;s headline act, taking to English conditions like some kind of Leeds-born son of a former Premier League footballer.
He might have been a couple of points off the best FPL score of the gameweek, but nobody could touch him for <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/a-simple-guide-to-opta-stats-for-fpl">expected goals</a> (xG) &#8211; a massive 1.83 &#8211; and he also led the way for big chances (four) and shots in the box (five).
Only three players bettered his ten touches in the box. One of them, ironically, was Gabriel Jesus (£8.0m).
The other two, surprisingly, were Newcastle midfielders Allan Saint-Maximin (£6.5m) and Miguel Almiron (£5.0m).
Of those four, only one of them has put on more than 750,000 new owners by early Tuesday.
It&#8217;s Haaland &#8211;  but you&#8217;d guessed that already.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-48162 aligncenter" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Haaland-shots-in-the-box.png" alt="" width="1282" height="731" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Haaland-shots-in-the-box.png 1282w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Haaland-shots-in-the-box-300x171.png 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Haaland-shots-in-the-box-1024x584.png 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Haaland-shots-in-the-box-768x438.png 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Haaland-shots-in-the-box-610x348.png 610w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Haaland-shots-in-the-box-1080x616.png 1080w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Haaland-shots-in-the-box-1280x731.png 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 1282px) 100vw, 1282px" />
<h2 class="western">Darwin Nunez (£9.0m)</h2>
It felt strangely inevitable that Haaland would hit the ground running at Man City.
There was nothing so clear cut about the debut of Liverpool&#8217;s new forward.
He didn&#8217;t start, for starters. But it&#8217;s fair to say his second-half introduction at Craven Cottage changed the game.
A goal, an assist, bonus and nine points was a big return from just 39 minutes of action during which he managed as many shots (four) as Mo Salah (£13.0m) and Luis Diaz (£8.0m) had between them from a combined 168 minutes of pitch-time.
Three of those shots were on target – the Reds had four in total – and his eight touches in the box, two key passes and one big chance created were also team-leading figures.
His directness and, crucially, extra pace transformed a previously impotent front three, while forcing the Fulham defence deeper and more central.
But while it will be a major surprise if he doesn&#8217;t start at home to Crystal Palace in Gameweek 2, he&#8217;s no fantasy shoo-in just yet.
On another day, his heavy touch in the area would have meant he&#8217;d blown a big chance rather than set Salah up for the equaliser. And there will be tougher defences than Fulham&#8217;s to breach.
Then again, he&#8217;s comfortably inside the top ten for transfers-in, so plenty of managers have clearly seen enough already.
<div id="attachment_47772" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-47772" class="size-full wp-image-47772" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Darwin-Nunez.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="822" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Darwin-Nunez.jpg 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Darwin-Nunez-300x241.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Darwin-Nunez-768x617.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Darwin-Nunez-610x490.jpg 610w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Darwin Nunez. Picture by Getty Images</div>
<h2 class="western">William Saliba (£4.5m) and Ivan Perisic (£5.5m)</h2>
In north London, a tale of two new defenders&#8230;
The likelihood of Perisic starting for Spurs at home to Southampton occupied much of fantasy Twitter for the Gameweek 1 build-up.
He got the worst of all FPL worlds for his 20%+ ownership – 24 minutes and one lousy point.
But Perisic still put in a shift, managing three touches in the opposition area.
That was a figure bested by just three of his teammates and equalled the output of Harry Kane (£11.4m).
The Croatia international created zero chances and had no shots, however.
Meanwhile, at Crystal Palace, an Arsenal defender finally made his debut after two seasons in the loan wilderness.
It was well worth the wait.
William Saliba might not be a new signing but Gameweek 1 marked his Premier League debut.
Saliba&#8217;s thunder might have been partially taken by Oleksandr Zinchenko&#8217;s (£5.1m) 12-point debut for the Gunners.
But there&#8217;s no doubting the Frenchman&#8217;s steadying influence on an Arsenal backline that did not include Kieran Tierney (£5.0m) until the final seven minutes of their 2-0 win at Selhurst Park.
Last season, they kept just two clean sheets in 16 matches when the Scot wasn&#8217;t playing and 11 in the 22 he started.
And while Zinchenko&#8217;s defensive capabilities surpass those of Nuno Tavares, that&#8217;s like praising someone for being less dull than Michael Owen.
Saliba could be a bonus magnet in the making.
He picked up two extra points at Palace thanks to a team-leading eight CBI (clearances, blocks and interceptions), seven recoveries and the clean sheet.
Just don&#8217;t expect much attacking joy – his touches in the box, xG and xA were all the wrong side of 0.1 &#8211; but you can&#8217;t have everything for the budget-friendly price at which he&#8217;s currently available.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-48163 aligncenter" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Saliba.jpg" alt="" width="891" height="717" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Saliba.jpg 891w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Saliba-300x241.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Saliba-768x618.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Saliba-610x491.jpg 610w" sizes="(max-width: 891px) 100vw, 891px" />
<h2 class="western">Kalidou Koulibaly (£5.5m)</h2>
One more London defender for you&#8230;
The new Chelsea man was given a very fantasy friendly 74 minutes at Everton and got through his debut well enough.
He was nowhere near the bonus points however, as the likes of Reece James (£6.0m) and Cesar Azpilicueta (£5.0m) did their defensive duties while offering an attacking edge as well.
Koulibaly did manage more passes in the final third (14) than a subdued Ben Chilwell (£6.0m and 12) and he did score 13 goals across 236 Serie A appearances.
But he&#8217;ll need to keep racking up those clean sheets if we&#8217;re to see past his not so keen price point.
Tottenham will be at Stamford Bridge this weekend – a far sterner defensive test than Everton&#8217;s currently striker-light set-up.
Should the Blues keep that attack at bay, then James and Edouard Mendy (£5.0m) will surely take on new owners.
Only consistency of starts, you feel, will make Koulibaly similarly attractive.
<h2 class="western">The rest</h2>
Too many new boys had little time (or a bad fixture) to impress – West Ham&#8217;s Gianluca Scamacca (£7.0m) springs to mind.
Or they didn&#8217;t feature at all, meaning the jury remains out on the likes of Arsenal&#8217;s new attacking midfielder Fabio Vieira (£6.0m).
Brenden Aaronson (£5.5m) was at least handed 85 minutes for Leeds United and backed up an impressive pre-season with a fairly promising league debut.
The USA international came within a whisker of scoring in the 2-1 win over Wolves and despite creating not a single chance, he did put over five crosses and took a couple of corners as well.
The summer signing from Salzburg is one of a host of excellent attacking Leeds options currently owned by around just 1% of FPL managers.
Top of that particular tree at the weekend was Rodrigo (£6.0m), who scored, while Jack Harrison (£6.0m) provided an assist among his match-leading seven key passes on his way to a bonus-boosted six points.
Patrick Bamford (£7.5m) also hauled on his return.
But Aaronson is cheaper than all of them and has the potential to offer great value for money across Leeds&#8217; generally kind first ten fixtures.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-48165 aligncenter" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Aaronson.jpg" alt="" width="889" height="717" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Aaronson.jpg 889w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Aaronson-300x242.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Aaronson-768x619.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Aaronson-610x492.jpg 610w" sizes="(max-width: 889px) 100vw, 889px" />
<h2></h2>
<h2>More debuts to come: Goncalo Guedes signs for Wolves</h2>
Wolves have completed the signing of Valencia winger Goncalo Guedes on a five-year deal for a reported fee of €30m.
The Portugal international has some big-club pedigree, starting at Benfica. He also had a short stint at Paris Saint-Germain.
His La Liga output is impressive, with 28 goals and as many assists across 146 Valencia appearances.
Mostly operating as an inverted winger, the right-footer can also play on the opposite flank and as a central striker.
That flexibility could boost his FPL appeal, with a price tag of around £5.5m looking likely if he&#8217;s classified as a midfielder.
He should have little difficulty fitting in at Molineux, seeing as he worked with Wolves boss Bruno Lage at Benfica and, well, he&#8217;s Portuguese.
It&#8217;s fair to say, however, that the FPL appeal of any Wolves asset is currently limited due to a schedule that involves Spurs and Newcastle over the next three gameweeks and clashes with Liverpool and Man City before September&#8217;s international break.
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