This article is part of our Fantrax Waiver Wire series.
GOALKEEPER
Kepa Arrizabalaga (14% rostered at Fantrax; 0% at Sleeper): The most expensive goalkeeper in Premier League history is now on loan at Bournemouth following last season's loan move to Real Madrid from Chelsea. Kepa is the clear No. 1 with the Cherries after Neto moved to Arsenal to backup David Raya. Kepa, like most keepers, will be a viable streamer on certain weeks, but shouldn't be relied on for much more than that.
DEFENDERS
Trevoh Chalobah (5% Fantrax; 0% Sleeper), Maxence Lacroix (0% Fantrax; 0% Sleeper): Chalobah is another Chelsea loanee who finally got a move away from Stamford Bridge, joining Crystal Palace for the remainder of the season while Lacroix makes the swap to England after spending the past four seasons with Wolfsburg in Germany. I would expect Lacroix to have the inside path to the third starting center-back role in Oliver Glasner's system following the international break, though Chalobah could also find his way into the starting XI with Marc Guehi the only center-back with an assured role.
Use our Fixture Difficulty Ranker to spot easy or tough schedules for the rest of the season.
MIDFIELDERS
Mikel Merino (27% Fantrax; 0% Sleeper), Manuel Ugarte (1% Fantrax; 0% Sleeper): Merino and Ugarte are similar players with the former signing for Arsenal and the latter joining Manchester United to bolster both squad's midfield depth. Both are more defensive minded options with Ugarte especially being known as a midfield destroyer. Merino has more attacking upside after an eight-goal involvement season at Real Sociedad, but he was injured in his first Arsenal training session and will miss multiple months. Even when fully fit, I'm not sure either player can be relied on as a starter for fantasy purposes.
Ferdi Kadioglu (23% Fantrax; 0% Sleeper): Kadioglu is classified as a midfielder at both Fantrax and Sleeper, capping his upside without clean sheet bonuses. Since he'll likely feature as a full-back for Brighton, the position marker is somewhat odd. Still, Kadioglu should have attacking upside as a capable crosser and chance creator when in the starting XI, something that isn't guaranteed, either, due to Brighton's array of options.
FORWARDS
Federico Chiesa (11% Fantrax; 0% Sleeper): It was excellent business for Liverpool signing a proven player like Chiesa for a cut-rate price as their first and only signing of the window (outside of Giorgi Mamardashvili). The oft-injured attacker is capable of playing all three roles across the front three for the Reds and is coming off of a nine-goal, two-assist season across 33 Serie A appearances as Juventus. He has upside like anyone in Liverpool's attack, but Chiesa may struggle for consistent starts behind Liverpool's firing front three of Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz. Still, Chiesa would be one of the best streamers available any time he cracks the starting XI.
Raheem Sterling (61% Fantrax; 13% Sleeper), Jadon Sancho (41% Fantrax; 6% Sleeper): I'm lumping these two together as they were both in need of moves after being deemed surplus to requirement at their clubs with Sterling landing at Arsenal and Sancho effectively replacing the former at Chelsea. The problem is I don't think either have really improved their situations much with plenty of options in front of them at their new clubs. Sterling improved his situation by becoming a priority backup for the Gunners, while Sancho will find it difficult to crack the starting XI consistently given the wealth of attacking options at Chelsea.
