Leicester City signed midfielder Youri Tielemans to a permanent contract this week for £40 million. His signing has gone over well with supporters, but it could be the addition of attacking midfielder Ayoze Perez from Newcastle United that is Brendan Rodgers’ best piece of business this offseason.
Perez joined Leicester City for £30m on a four-year contract and brings with him an ability to score goals and combine with teammates. The Spaniard bagged 12 goals and two assists in 37 games for Newcastle United last term and brings acres of potential to Leicester City.
Ayoze Perez signing a great piece of work
Perez averaged 0.3 goals per game last season at St. James’ Park. The striker averaged 0.28 expected goals and 2.75 touches in the 18-yard box. Perez is a predator and will pair well with Jamie Vardy in the final third.
The Spaniard’s arrival will take massive amounts of pressure off of Vardy and James Maddison to score and create goals. Vardy tallied 18 goals in 36 matches in 2018-19. Eleven of those goals came after Rodgers’ arrival and a change in the way Leicester City attacked.
Maddison added seven goals and seven assists in 36 Premier League appearances. There were times he went missing. His inconsistencies could be put down to former manager Claude Puel’s tactics, however.
If Perez’s goals were added to Leicester City’s 2018-19 total of 51, the club would have been on par with third place finishers Chelsea.
Leicester City’s goals tally has a high potential for the upcoming season with the upgrades of Tielemans and Perez. Although Tielemans was in the side for 12 matches during the second half of the season, he will be able to have more of an impact over 38 Premier League matches when the new campaign kicks off.
The Ayoze Perez Fantasy Premier League impact
Perez scored 141 Fantasy Premier League points in 2018-19. It was a 17 point increase on his previous season. The attacking midfielder tallied four more goals last term, although he was -4 in assists.
The Leicester City new boy started the 2018-19 season at £6.5m in FPL but decreased to £6.1m by the end of the season.
He has returned to £6.5m to start this campaign as FPL managers prepare their fantasy football teams.
How did Perez compare to Vardy and Maddison?
Vardy scored 174 FPL points thanks to his 18 goals and five assists. Maddison, on the other hand, scored 137 points. Perez will fit in well to the Leicester City team and FPL managers should be excited about his potential in Rodgers’ team.