The transfer market is at its wildest self as Mikel Arteta has managed to sign the landing of Brentford Keeper, David Raya to Arsenal but this has led to an interesting chain of events causing French Keeper Alphonse Areola’s stocks and selection percentage being reduced.
How? this article explains the chain of events that caused Areola’s downfall in the fantasy game and FPL Twitter’s reaction to it.
Prior to the Raya move, Arsenal were equipped with Aaron Ramsdale and Matt Turner as their number one and two choice for keepers, respectively.
The move however, caused a surplus in the number of keepers employed by the Gunners for 23/24 season.
Turner who had scarce game time and now a ridiculously low chance of even making cup appearances for Arsenal was quick on the move and picked up by a team in the division.
Nottingham Forest was in dire need of a starting Keeper as Dean Henderson returned to Manchester United after his loan spell at the club.
The Tricky Trees were trying to negotiate a deal with the red devils, but felt United’s asking price was too high. They turned, their heads to Turner (no pun intended) and managed to secure the American international for a fee of 10M pounds.
Furthermore, Injury to United’s backup Tom Heaton caused Dean Henderson to stay at united, increasing the chances of Turner’s minutes as he now would not be in heavy contention for the starting position.
What has Areola got to do with this ?
Areola in a bizarre but typical FPL fashion is connected to Turner’s move to the North.
As you see, the pricing for goalkeepers in FPL is in such a way that 5.5-5.0M gets you the cream of the Crop such as Alisson, Pope, Onana, etc.
While 4.5-4.0M provides you with keepers that you wouldn’t put your money on to keep a clean sheet, Areola and Turner both were priced at 4.0M and Areola who was likely to rotate with an ageing Fabianski looked to be a major ‘Enabler” at 4M but Turner’s move to Nottingham were he most likely will be 1st choice, now makes him the best option at 4.0M.
Turner can prove to be a major asset when paired with premium keepers such as Onana or Pickford who have decent first GW fixtures but might face some tricky one further in the season.
At 4.0M Turner acts as not only an enabler to make your squad more cost effective but also a rotation player when these said premiums face a tricky fixture or sustain an injury, allowing you to save money and a transfer.
Another reason Turner can be added to your squad, guilt or fear free is because prior to his move, he was still added by many to their squad to save money but came as a guilt ridden pick as he wasted a spot for one of the teams with the best assets in the game, Arsenal but now since he is a Forest player, you can easily add him while still having the likes of Saka, Martinelli and Gabriel Magalhaes.
Areola still sits at the top amongst keepers for selection percentage at a staggering 28.3%, while Turner is at a modest 6.5% but the American’s move up North can quickly change the tide and these tweet is more than indication of it.
