One player that each top six club should sign this January
One player that each top six club should sign this January
By Tom Masters
With the January transfer window looming, it is expected that some clubs will be looking to spend money.
Each of the so-called ‘big six’ clubs will be in the market for something in the new year.
And whilst the mid-season window is often fairly quiet, with changes to management and some targets not quite being landed, this January feels like it could be a little different.
We take a look at one player each of the top six sides may target this January.
Chelsea
The Champions League winners appear to be well set to tackle all fronts this season after the acquisition of Romelu Lukaku from Inter in the summer.
However, there will be concern in the defence, with Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen both stalling on contract negotiations.
With the pair due to be available on a free transfer this summer, it remains unclear if Chelsea will retain the services of both, or at least one of their defensive duo.
One such replacement who the Blues could bring in is Sevilla central defender Jules Koundé, who the Blues targeted in the summer.
A fee of £70m would be needed to bring him to Stamford Bridge, which is what the club are believed to be negotiating, but it seems that the French defender is personally keen on the move, which will help Thomas Tuchel and Marina Granovskaia in negotiations.
Particularly with Manchester United also vying for his services.
Manchester City
Pep Guardiola is equipped with one of the best squads in the world, let alone the Premier League.
With that, there is very little need for further players in almost every position in the City squad, although there is one glaring area that the Cityzens could do with a replacement.
With Sergio Aguero leaving the club last season and Gabriel Jesus failing to fully convince up front for City, that appears to be City’s one area of apparent weakness.
The 2-0 home defeat to Crystal Palace was a prime example of this, with City having plenty of chances but failing to put the ball past Vicente Guaita in the Palace net.
City were heavily linked to Harry Kane in the summer, but Daniel Levy decided that he did not want the England number nine to depart, no matter what fee.
Subsequently Guardiola was left without a replacement for the Argentine legend.
Kane may well be a target again, but another man who City are said to be looking at is Erling Håaland.
The Borussia Dortmund forward’s hip flexor injury may rule him out for a while, but the Manchester club are said to have a keen eye on the Norwegian forward and have links to him, with his father Alfe Inge Håland, an ex-player.
Liverpool
Liverpool are in an excellent position in almost every area, but there is one postion that they have not replaced after a summer departure.
Jurgen Klopp has plenty of options in both defence and attack to rely on, but in the midfield, he has seen a few issues arise.
Injury problems and a loss of Georginio Wijnaldum to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer has caused the Liverpool midfield to get outrun at times.
Harvey Elliott’s nasty leg break will see him out for large parts of the season, whilst Jordan Henderson and Naby Keita have had their own injury problems at times.
In the summer there were rumours that Klopp was keen on a move for Lille midfielder Renato Sanches, a move that would certainly bolster the balance of the team.
It is unknown how much the French champions would require for their Portuguese midfielder, who put in several good displays at the European Championships in the summer.
There is clearly a need for a player like Sanches at Anfield though, and it may just be that they make the big offer needed to secure his services.
Manchester United
United have found themselves in a period of uncertainty with results poor and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer under increased pressure every week.
The signings of Jadon Sancho, Cristiano Ronaldo and Raphael Varane in the summer have not had the desired effect yet, despite Ronaldo’s goals rescuing United from being in an even worse position.
The Red Devils main struggles have been in the holding midfield position, where neither Fred nor Scott McTominay have managed to impress so far this season.
One such man who could come into the United midfield is highly rated young French midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni.
The Monaco midfielder is already attracting a lot of attention around Europe, and at just 22 has already made 65 first team appearances for Monaco in Ligue 1, as well as five appearances for the France national team.
United would have to pay somewhere around the £40m mark to bring Tchouameni into the side, and they may want to move quickly with other top European sides circling.
The Gunners have been impressive in recent weeks after a shaky start to the season under Mikel Arteta.
Eight matches without defeat, including six victories has seen Arsenal rise up to fifth in the Premier League table, only two points behind Liverpool in fourth.
There is still an question mark around scoring though, and in those six victories, three of them have been 1-0 wins against relegation-threatened teams.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has managed just four goals in the opening 11 matches, and it may be time to move the Gabonese forward on.
Alexandre Lacazette also appears set to leave in the summer, with the Frenchman struggling for minutes and his contract running out.
Thus, they need of an out and out goal scorer, with one that may well catch Arteta’s eye being Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
The English forward has been impressive for Everton the past two seasons and could provide some much needed physicality to the Arsenal attack.
Everton would demand a large fee for their star player, but in the summer transfer market the Gunners made a statement in the market with plenty of money spent on the likes of Ben White, Martin Odegaard and Aaron Ramsdale.
Tottenham Hotspur
Spurs are said to be set to spend big money in the upcoming window, with Conte supposedly promised a significant budget of at least £200m by Daniel Levy.
The Italian is determined to secure players from Serie A, following his successful time at Inter Milan.
One area that Spurs desperately need to strengthen is defence.
The signing of Cristian Romero from Atalanta has helped alleviate the defensive issues, but Spurs are still in need of defensive help more than anything else, assuming that they can retain the services of Harry Kane.
One such man who may fit the bill is Milan central-half Alessio Romagnoli.
The 26-year-old is entering the final months of his contract, making him even more appealing for Fabio Paratici, the Tottenham director of football and Conte.
Romagnoli would seemingly fit perfectly into the Tottenham defence, with Conte opting for the three at the back formation that he succeeded with at Chelsea and Inter.
Spurs seem destined to spend money this winter and Conte will almost certainly be looking towards Serie A and Romagnoli to strengthen their defence.
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