Fantasy Football: 8 Transfer Deadline Players You Must Consider Buying

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For some fantasy managers, you're three weeks in and thinking a few weeks ahead in order to change your current team.

This will be exacerbated by the transfer deadline signings.

Question right now is should you use the wild card or perhaps keep it for the future?

Here are eight transfer deadline players you must consider buying.  

Peter Crouch

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• Position: Forward
• Price: £6.9 million

Stoke City manager Tony Pulis made an excellent choice in spending big to get Peter Crouch.

Crouch's style is a perfect fit for Stoke City and Pulis' philosophy will empower Crouch to succeed.

With service from Jermaine Pennant and Matthew Etherington out wide supplemented by Rory Delap's throw-ins, which are basically the equivalent of crosses anyways, surely Crouch will score goals. 

Though will Kenwyne Jones benefit more because of Crouch being on the field? If so, go with Jones.

Also, what about the signing of Cameron Jerome? Will Pulis adopt a rotation system with his forwards? If so, then steer clear from choosing Stoke City forwards because you want forwards playing 90 minutes week in, week out.  

Mikel Arteta

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• Position: Midfielder 
• Price: £8.0 million

A surprise signing and a very good one. 

Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger has bought a poor man's Cesc Fàbregas in Mikel Arteta.

Arteta is proven in the Premier League, he's a maestro with possession, creative and as the senior player in this inexperienced Arsenal midfield, he should thrive. 

Buy him.  

Nicklas Bendtner

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• Position: Forward
• Price: £6.4 million

You can already envision it.

Nicklas Bendtner strolling into Sunderland manager Steve Bruce's office and demanding to be played as a centre-forward.

I think people unfairly chastise Bendtner as the human being as opposed to the footballer. 

It doesn't help when he isn't scoring goals.

But keep in mind, he's hardly had a look in to play his preferred centre-forward position.

When he has, like against Porto, he has delivered.

Several years ago when I watched Bendtner excel on loan at Bruce's Birmingham City—a side also containing then Arsenal players Fabrice Muamba and Sebastian Larsson on loan—I was convinced Bendtner was the real deal.

It showcased what would make him a good player with his goals and general forward play and what would be his undoing with individualistic and stupid moments.

Like against Queens Park Rangers, where he was red-carded almost immediately after he received a caution.  

I backed Edin Džeko to become good and now I'll back Bendtner to surprise his doubters. 

Shaun Wright-Phillips

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• Position: Midfielder 
• Price: £6.4 million

Adel Taarabt at £6.5 million or Shaun Wright-Phillips at £6.4 million?

Wright-Phillips looked sharp for Manchester City in preseason but I believe his presence at Loftus Road will coincide with Taarabt finding form.

Surely, Queens Park Rangers' Neil Warnock will play Taarabt in a more central role, because last season the Moroccan magician looked like a world-beater playing in a free role.

Don't jump ships yet, keep faith in Taarabt. However, consider Wright-Phillips or Joey Barton, who is priced at £6 million, if Taarabt fails to produce the goods.        

André Santos

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• Position: Defender
• Price: £6.5 million

Ironically, after criticising Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger's decision to buy André Santos—who can't defend, not to mention buying him over José Enrique—I'm mulling over whether I should buy Santos myself. 

I'm torn between the fact that he's got an unusually high goal scoring rate at Fenerbahçe, 10 goals in 52 games, yet he couldn't score if his life depended on it when I've watched him for Brazil.

There's no question about his attacking ability: very flamboyant, loves going forward and gets into a lot of good goal scoring positions.

Though the £6.5 million price tag is a turn-off. 

Bryan Ruiz

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• Position: Forward
• Price: £7.0 million

Avoid signing Bryan Ruiz. 

Last season, he played 16 games as a right-sided midfielder and for me, it seems more logical to play Bobby Zamora and Clint Dempsey as a forward partnership. 

A few years ago, I was burnt badly when I stuck with Afonso Alves. He wasn't scoring goals and I didn't have any money to replace him because I had Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard in midfield. 

So week in, week out, I watched Alves do nothing for my fantasy team.  

Since then, I've gone with three gun forwards.

Ruiz strikes me as a player who'll play good in real life but isn't much use to fantasy managers. It will take him a while to adjust. 

I thought Moussa Dembélé would transition easily into the Premier League, but so far, he's been okay. I fear Ruiz may be like Dembélé.

Not world-class, but not horrible enough to get the fans on his back.  

If you're a risk-taker, go with Ruiz, but be open to the possibility that he may burn you. 

Plus, £7.0 million? Nah. Take a punt with Nicklas Bendtner who is £0.6 million cheaper.   

Albert Crusat

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• Position: Midfielder 
• Price: £5.0 million

He was the fastest La Liga player by a country mile and only Eliseu could challenge him for that title.

Really gobsmacked as to how Wigan Athletic manager Roberto Martínez convinced Albert Crusat to make a life-changing decision to try out the Premier League. 

Then again, when I think about it, It makes sense.

Crusat would have played in the Segunda División this season and he strikes me as a competitive guy. 

Rather than take the easy route, he decided to test himself.

With regards to fantasy, a real liability with picking up yellow cards, but there is so much upside in selecting him.

Really fast, creative and highly likely to become Wigan's go-to man. 

Aside from Manchester City this weekend (good luck to them), Wigan have a pretty fair fixtures list up until gameweek 16, 17 and 18 when they face Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United.   

Davide Santon

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• Position: Defender
• Price: £4.5 million

Yes, I know Newcastle United signed Davide Santon a day before transfer deadline. 

However he's such an enigma that I had to talk about him.

When I watched him for Cesena, which would have been a humbling experience for him, he played alright at right-back.

However, I believe Ryan Taylor would be the casualty at left-back—the position Santon played at Inter Milan to garner such rapport with the Italian media.

Either that or Danny Simpson makes way, but he's looked sharp at right-back.

Or maybe Santon will be given a shot at midfield. Keep in mind, he's a natural winger and a converted full-back—as most modern-day full-backs are.

If this is the case, he could potentially be to fantasy managers what Ahmed Elmohamady was to fantasy managers early on last season.

 

Please read: Transfer Deadline Day: Grading the Major Premier League Signings and Loans