Fantasy Premier League New Signings: Tzolis, Schlager, and Targett

The Fantasy Premier League game has barely opened its doors and already the new names are rolling in. Three fresh additions dropped on Friday, each carrying a different kind of temptation – and a very different level of risk.

This is where the game is often won or lost: not with the headline premiums, but with the mid-price calls you get right while everyone else hesitates.

Tzolis: Big Numbers, Bigger Question Mark

Christos Tzolis arrives at Arsenal with the sort of numbers that usually send Fantasy managers scrambling for the “Add to squad” button.

Seventeen goals. Twenty-three assists. A title with Club Brugge. Those are not the stats of a speculative punt; they’re the profile of a player who dominated his league and looks ready for a bigger stage.

FPL has handed him a £6.5m price tag, which on paper feels generous for a winger with that kind of end product. The catch is not his talent. It’s his manager.

Mikel Arteta’s 2025/26 title-winning side ran on rotation in the attacking midfield and wide areas. Declan Rice at £7.5m and Martin Zubimendi at £5.5m were the metronomes, starting 35 and 34 matches respectively in central midfield. Bukayo Saka, even through an injury-hit campaign, still started 25 matches and remains the only other Arsenal midfielder to clear 21 starts.

Everyone else lived in the blender.

Leandro Trossard, Eberechi Eze, Martin Odegaard, Noni Madueke, Gabriel Martinelli, Mikel Merino – all of them saw their minutes clipped. All of them averaged under 60 minutes per appearance. All of them now sit at £6.5m, the same as Tzolis, priced not on potential but on the reality of Arteta’s tinkering.

That’s the problem. Tzolis looks built for Fantasy: direct, creative, involved in everything. When he starts, he should be electric. But managers aren’t picking a highlights reel; they’re picking reliability over 38 Gameweeks.

At £6.5m, you can turn instead to guaranteed starters such as Dango Ouattara at Brentford, Ismaila Sarr at Crystal Palace or Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall at Everton. All three offer security of minutes that Tzolis simply cannot match right now.

The upside is obvious. The risk is, too. Early in the season, when every transfer is precious, that might be a gamble too far.

Schlager v Sangare: Forest’s DC Battle

At Nottingham Forest, the intrigue lies deeper on the pitch.

Xaver Schlager arrives from RB Leipzig at £5.0m and is expected to battle Ibrahim Sangare, also £5.0m, for the defensive midfield role vacated by Elliot Anderson, who has moved to Manchester City at £6.5m.

In standard Fantasy terms, that sort of move might barely register. But in a game now shaped by defensive contribution (DC) points, these are the players who quietly rack up hauls while others chase goals and assists.

Anderson set the benchmark last season. His pressing and ability to hoover up loose balls turned him into a DC machine. A midfielder earns two DC points by hitting 12 Clearances, Blocks, Interceptions and Recoveries (CBIRT) in a single match. Anderson’s numbers show why he was so valuable: 8.3 recoveries per 90 minutes on his own in 2025/26, and a total defensive actions figure of 13.9 per 90.

Sangare and Schlager, combined, barely edged past his recovery output. Between them they managed only 12 recoveries per 90. Individually, Sangare posted 4.9 recoveries and 11.6 total defensive actions per 90; Schlager came in at 6.1 recoveries and 9.0 total.

The message is clear. Forest are unlikely to replicate Anderson’s DC monster output with a single player.

There is, however, a tactical wrinkle. Schlager has already worked under Forest’s new head coach, Olivier Glasner. Pre-season will tell us whether that relationship translates into starts, or whether Sangare keeps his place as the primary shield in front of the back four.

Right now, the numbers favour Sangare as the more promising DC option. At £5.0m, with a profile already tailored to defensive work, he has the look of a value pick if he nails down the role.

Schlager brings familiarity with the coach. Sangare brings the stronger statistical case. Fantasy managers will be watching those summer friendlies with unusual interest.

Targett Arrives, but Hughes Holds the Key

At Hull City, the new name is a familiar one.

Matt Targett joins on a free after leaving Newcastle United and will compete with Ryan Giles, also £4.0m, for the left-back spot in 2026/27. For long-time Fantasy players, Targett’s name still carries a faint echo of his best season: 2020/21 at Aston Villa, when he delivered 138 points and felt like a gift at his price.

That era is gone.

The introduction of DC points last season has redrawn the map for defenders. Centre-backs, not full-backs, have emerged as the biggest winners, rewarded for the sheer volume of Clearances, Blocks, Interceptions and Tackles (CBIT) they rack up.

Defenders earn two DC points when they hit 10 CBIT in a match. That rule has turned certain centre-backs into quiet goldmines.

Which is why, among Hull’s backline, Charlie Hughes at £4.0m stands out far more than either Targett or Giles.

Hughes averaged 11.8 CBIT per 90 minutes in the Championship last season – more than any other defender in the promoted sides. That kind of volume is exactly what the DC system is built to reward, and it places him in the conversation not just as Hull’s best defensive option, but as one of the leading DC prospects in the entire game for 2026/27.

Targett may still find his rhythm and offer the odd assist or clean sheet. But the Fantasy landscape has moved. The smart money follows the metrics, and right now those metrics point straight at Hughes.

The names are new. The prices are set. The real question is simple: who are you brave enough to back before everyone else catches up?