Man United midfielder among 5 newbies for your fantasy Prem XI

One of the most joyous aspects of an as-yet unwrapped Premier League season is the anticipation of seeing how the new faces among the established stars of the top-flight will perform.

Following on from that theme, most football-mad folk will already be mulling over, if not consciously constructing their 2014/15 fantasy team selections.

Here is a quintet of fresh faces to consider sticking into any prospective line-up if you want to win the office mini-league:

5. Dusan Tadic – Twente to Southampton

The highest assister in the Eredivisie last season with 14, Ronald Koeman certainly knew what he was doing with this purchase. The attacking midfielder can play off either flank or in the centre and scored 16 times for Dutch side Twente to compliment his mountain of assists.

4. Siem de Jong – Ajax to Newcastle

A winner of four consecutive Eredivise titles with Ajax, the beauty of this talented number 10 is that he will almost certainly be listed as a midfielder, when Newcastle may well play him as a second striker. De Jong scored seven times last season and like Tadic is likely to be on the cheaper side.

3. Filipe Luis – Atletico Madrid to Chelsea

Although the former Atletico Madrid left-back will probably cost a fair bit, Ashley Cole’s departure means the Brazilian is guaranteed plenty of game time. Luis joins the stingiest defence in the top-flight last season fresh from being a key part of Spain’s meanest backline, so clean sheets aplenty should follow.

2. Alexis Sanchez – Barcelona to Arsenal

The definite ‘fantasy pick’ for any fantasy team. Sanchez has so much in his locker there’s not much room for his sneakers. The Chilean will set you back, but 19 goals and 10 assists for Barcelona last season tells you all you need to know. Watch the points roll in.

1. Ander Herrera – Athletic Bilbao to Manchester United

Man United’s midfield recruit may not be the showman of his former La Liga counterpart but he’s definitely going to be the man Louis van Gaal builds his midfield around meaning he should hardly miss a minute.

Furthermore, he chipped in with five goals and as many assists in the league last season and according to Whoscored.com was Bilbao’s highest rated player over the season, scooping three MoM’s as well. If United are to succeed in their 5/1 mission to storm back to the title, Herrera will be integral to that success.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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