A couple of Bruno Fernandes (£9.0m) goals in the Premier League Summer Series should gain the attention of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers.
Underway in America, the annual four-way ensures that pre-season action continues to pick up speed.
Manchester United, Everton, West Ham United and Bournemouth faced each other throughout Saturday night and Sunday morning.
A few noteworthy situations came up, which we’ll take a look at.
Manchester United 2-1 West Ham United
Goals: Fernandes (x2 inc pen) | BowenAssists: Heaven, Mainoo | SoucekFPL all-rounder Fernandes
Managers already considering Fernandes for his combination of set-pieces, shots, chances creation and defensive contribution (DC) points will have loved this New Jersey outing.
In truth, both goals here derived from an Alphonse Areola (£4.5m) howler. Firstly, he fumbled a cross and clumsily fouled Ayden Heaven (£4.0m), allowing the Portuguese playmaker to score a penalty. Then, a slack pass went straight to Kobbie Mainoo (£5.0m), who fed Fernandes’ long-range strike.
But he played well overall, setting up Rasmus Hojlund‘s (£6.5m) first-minute shot that hit the post.
Being priced one full million more than Matheus Cunha (£8.0m) and Bryan Mbeumo (£8.0m) remains surprising. But Rubem Amorim has hinted that not buying a new centre-forward could see Fernandes as a number 10 and one of Cunha or Mbeumo playing up front.
“Last year, I felt sometimes I pushed him back to have more possession in the build-up and we miss Bruno [Fernandes] near the box. With different characteristics from Bryan [Mbeumo] and Matheus Cunha, and I really like Kobbie Mainoo’s game, he will have more help this season.
“Bruno runs a lot, maybe in the sprints he is a different player but he runs a lot. He has a lot of endurance and he is smart. It’s not about that. Physicality with Bruno is not a concern, playing him deep or as an attacking midfielder.” – Ruben Amorim
Cunha played from the start but, like all outfielders, was replaced after 65 minutes. Meanwhile, Mbeumo arrived as part of the squad but wasn’t deemed ready to be thrown in.
Is £4.0m Heaven an Amorim favourite? / Bowen goal
Seeing the cheap Heaven start at centre-back, just like in Gameweek 38, is encouraging. Although he could’ve done better when Jarrod Bowen (£8.0m) received the ball from Tomas Soucek (£6.0m) and finished with his right foot.
The 28-year-old almost matched Fernandes’ output with a late shot, but he was denied by goalkeeper Altay Bayindir (£5.0m).
Being reclassified as a forward slightly dents Bowen’s FPL appeal, but this display is a reminder that he bagged six goals and three assists in the final eight matches of last season, beginning this one at playoff winners Sunderland.
As for the scouting of theoretical defensive contribution points, FlashScore data says that Aaron Wan-Bissaka (£4.5m) and Maximilian Kilman (£4.5m) reached the threshold of 10 clearances, blocks, interceptions and tackles (CBIT).
Manchester United XI: Bayindir; Yoyo (Fredricson 66), de Ligt (Maguire 66), Heaven (Shaw 66); Amad (Dalot 66), Ugarte (Casemiro 66), Mainoo (Collyer 66), Dorgu (Leon 66); Fernandes (Fletcher 66), Cunha (Mount 66); Hojlund (Obi 66)
West Ham United XI: Areola; Todibo (Mavropanos 72), Kilman, Aguerd (Scarles 79); Wan-Bissaka, Rodriguez (Potts 72), Soucek (Fearon 79), Ward-Prowse (Irving 79), Diouf (Luis Guilherme 79); Bowen, Fullkrug (Paqueta 72)
Everton 0-3 BournemouthGoals: Billing, Ouattara, Adu-AdjeiAssist: Traore, EvanilsonError-ton
Such a match followed an earlier MetLife Stadium conclusion that Cherries are better than Toffees.
Although Everton had the best of a goalless first half, as Carlos Alcaraz (£5.5m) forced a good Djordje Petrovic (£4.5m) save and, shortly after, the goalkeeper rushed out to deny Beto (£5.5m).
However, after the break, it was all Bournemouth, influenced by David Moyes having so few substitutes to rely upon.
Philip Billing (£5.0m) is back from a Napoli loan and placed a lovely long-ranger past Jordan Pickford (£5.5m), before a second from Dango Ouattara (£6.0m) that would’ve caused an online FPL assist debate had it occurred in the league.
Evanilson‘s (£7.0m) pass set his teammate free, but the subsequent dribble briefly went loose onto Nathan Patterson‘s (£4.5m) leg, then back to his fierce near-post shot.
A mindless backwards pass from Jake O’Brien (£5.0m) allowed Daniel Adu-Adjei (£4.5m) to make it three. Pretty impressive, when noticing that Bournemouth were without Justin Kluivert (£7.0m).
No Tarkowski or Branthwaite
It should also be noted that Everton were missing their first-choice centre-backs James Tarkowski (£5.5m) and Jarrad Branthwaite (£5.5m).
The former could be a popular initial pick, as he would’ve been the biggest beneficiary of DC points, had they been around last season. But he’s still recovering from April’s hamstring problem.
Above: James Hill reached the DC threshold purely based on his 16 clearances
For Andoni Iraola’s side, the main summer question is how they’ll repair their defence from at least two major departures. Illia Zabarnyi (£5.0m) could be the third, if reports are to be believed.
Adrien Truffert (£4.5m) played well at left-back, while the clean sheet is a good sign for Petrovic.
No team conceded fewer 2024/25 home goals and the Serbian’s fixtures rotate well with Areola.
Everton XI: Pickford; Patterson, O’Brien, Gana (Onyango 82), Mykolenko; Garner, Iroegbunam (Armstrong 75); Ndiaye (Chermiti 75), Alcaraz, McNeil; Beto (Barry 75)
Bournemouth XI: Petrovic (Neto 46); Smith (Araujo 82), Hill (Mepham 82), Senesi (Zabarnyi 66), Truffert (Soler 66); Traore (Scott 66), Tavernier (Faivre 82); Brooks (Rees-Dottin 82), Winterburn (Billing 46), Ouattara (Semenyo 66); Evanilson (Adu-Adjei 66)
