What will Chelsea's new signing Andre Shurrle bring to your Fantasy Premier League side in 2013/14? Let us just say this, if he gets regular game time he'll be fantastic, but there's an if there that we need to expound upon.
He's played for Germany and Leverkusen as a very direct inside left forward, the same space on the pitch occupied so successfully last season for Chelsea though by Eden Hazard, a key FPL player in 2012/13.
Stats & Playstyle
His is a different game to Hazard though, he's direct, fast, and physically strong, more akin to Arjen Robben, who we must not forget had a few good seasons under Mourinho at Chelsea - 18 goals, 22 assists, 72 starts.
Schurrle's stats for Leverkusen over the last two seasons are not too far off from Robben's- 23 goals, 12 assists, 79 starts - numbers that would see both players hit around 5 points per game in FPL, or a ~175 pt season (Hazard reached190 pts from 16 goals, 12 assists, 31 starts, so better than them both).
Adds New Dimension to Chelsea
Schurrle's play style brings a something new to Chelsea so we do think he will play a fair few games and do well for them, particularly away from home when he adds a lot on the counter attack.
Used to be a Striker
He may also deputise as a striker which would be a real feather in his cap. He started out at F.C. Mainz as centre forward scoring 15 goals in 33 games before his move to Leverkusen and out to the left.
Fantasy Potential
We'd expect Schurrle to score close to 175 pts if he played 35 games or thereabouts, so nothing ground breaking and we'd shell out around £8.5-9m personally to bring him in to our own FPL team if classed as a midfielder.
Verdict: HIT at £9m or less
