Every season without fail, the Premier League produces a surprise package - be that in the form of an individual or an entire team. However, as Jamie Casey explains, it's merely a guessing game for Sky Sports Fantasy Football managers at this stage of the summer.
Razvan Rat
Fans of Football Manager will have expected to see Romania captain Razvan Rat in the Premier League long before now, but in reality a big-money move to a top-four side was never likely to materialise. That is not to say that he can't do a good job at West Ham at the age of 32, though, and under what better manager can a veteran begin life in England's top flight than Sam Allardyce? From declaring his interest in the Inter Milan job to gambling on ageing stars such as Youri Djorkaeff, Jay-Jay Okocha and Michel Salgado, Allardyce's managerial career has seemed like one big game of the Football Manager, but a successful one at that. Big Sam is renowned for getting the best out of players in the twilight of their careers, and Rat brings with him a wealth of experience having been capped 89 times by his country as well as claiming 15 honours at club level. He's available for just £4.7m in
Sky Sports Fantasy Football and, whilst he might not provide many goals, he is no stranger to assists and should fit nicely into a defence that kept 11 clean sheets in the Premier League last term.
Leroy Fer
New Manchester United boss David Moyes tried to sign Leroy Fer on a number of occasions during his last few seasons at Everton, so Norwich can feel pretty chuffed with themselves to have stepped in and sewn up the a deal after the new Toffees boss Roberto Martinez showed no interest. Although down as a midfielder in
Sky Sports Fantasy Football, Fer can play as a centre-half but he'll grab goals from set-pieces no matter where on the pitch Chris Hughton plans to use him, such is his aerial prowess. The Dutchman was one of Holland's best players during their run to the semi-finals of the European Under-21 Championship this summer, and he's worth considering for your team at only £5.3m. For a little more, managers could opt for Ryan Giggs (£5.5m) or Victor Moses (£5.5m), but Fer is likely to play week-in-week-out for the Canaries, unlike the aforementioned duo, so will accumulate more points in the long run.
