If the summer transfer window affords – and rewards – risk-taking, January is all about common sense, identifying a squad’s weak spot and strengthening it. Here is that one player needed for every Premier League club from A to L.
AFC Bournemouth
The Cherries have haemorrhaged 2.1 goals per game this term and though Chris Mepham and Marcos Senesi have fared quite well as a centre-back pairing – let down too often by a lack of quality ahead of them - they need assistance back there.
Returning from an ACL, Eddie Segura is a free agent after being released by Los Angeles FC. He’s low-risk and worth a punt.
Arsenal
The Gunners are firing on all cylinders but that could quickly change with an injury or two. That especially applies to a forward line that is already looking stretched courtesy of a long-term lay-off suffered by Gabriel Jesus.
Arsenal’s chase for Mykhailo Mudryk makes sense but Memphis Depay is the motherload. Reportedly, the Barcelona ace is available on a cut-price deal too.
Aston Villa
New boss Unai Emery will be keen to build from the back at Villa Park and this explains the recent rumour regarding Harry Maguire, and the club’s firm interest in left-back Alex Moreno.
It’s a midfielder who they are in dire need of however, the kind who can dominate a centre-circle. Step forward Juventus’ Weston McKennie.
Brentford
A high-calibre playmaker wouldn’t hurt but alas they are in short supply, particularly in January.
Besides, Thomas Frank has already beefed up his options by bringing in Kevin Schade, the Freiburg striker who will add further venom to the Bees sting from now until May.
Brighton
Roberto Di Zerbi’s main priority this month is to retain what he has, with interested parties ‘weighing up bids’ – as they say – for Alexis Mac Allister, Leandro Trussard, and Moises Caicedo.
Making Levi Colwill’s loan spell permanent would be a huge plus though, and Chelsea may be tempted after purchasing Benoît Badiashile from Monaco.
Chelsea
Chelsea’s Premier League odds to secure a Champions League spot lengthens by the week, in no small part due to the bluntness of their strike-force. Their leading goal-scorer is Raheem Sterling on four.
Luring Atletico’s Joao Felix to the Bridge, on loan for a £11m fee therefore represents a steal. The 23-year-old is Kai Havertz but with goals in his armoury.
Crystal Palace
Palace have become uncharacteristically soft of late, as evidenced by a damning stat that reveals they have been dispossessed more than anyone else.
Yet it’s not a grafter they require but a Conor Gallgher-type, because it’s Conor Gallagher they desperately miss.
Mallorca’s Lee Kang-in may be just the ticket, an outstanding playmaker available at a snip.
Everton
The Premier League relegation betting odds makes for repressing reading for Bluenoses and unless they can get Dominic Calvert-Lewin fit, or until they sign a reliable centre-forward, little is going to change anytime soon.
Blackburn’s Ben Brereton Diaz fits the bill perfectly, the Championship hit-man offering up a threat where presently there is none.
Fulham
High-flying Fulham will see no great need to spend this January but bolstering their defensive options will appeal.
Roma’s Dutch full-back Rick Karsdorp is versatile, available – after falling out with Jose Mourinho – and best of all, he’s cheap, up for grabs at a mere £8m.
Leeds United
A new striker bleeps the loudest on Jessie Marsch’s radar, with Patrick Bamford’s injury issues an ongoing concern.
Hoffenheim’s Georginio Rutter is reportedly a target, but Coventry’s prolific Viktor Gyokeres is well worth a bid or three, scoring every 177 minutes in the Championship this term.
Physical and direct, the Swede might well be kissing the famous Leeds badge sometime soon.
Leicester City
The Foxes have notably struggled when deprived of James Maddison’s creativity this term, while goals have been in short supply at the King Power.
An impactful winger who can chip in with the odd strike would be a huge boon and though the club is allegedly cash-strapped they appear to have greenlit a £30m-plus bid for Fiorentina’s Nico Gonzalez.
The 24-year-old may not singlehandedly alleviate Leicester’s woes but he sure would be a step in the right direction.
Liverpool
The Reds are in dire need of reconstructing their midfield which explains their very real interest in Wolves’ Matheus Nunes. Alas, that’s a deal most likely to be concluded in the summer.
Before then, Yunus Musah would be a welcome addition and then some, the 20-year-old Valencia star viewed by fans as a long overdue replacement for Gigi Wijnaldum.
Manchester City
City’s options at left-back are limited and should an injury befall Nathan Ake their Premier League odds would marginally slide, so great is their reliance on the former Bournemouth defender right now.
It would be difficult to dislodge Ferland Mendy from Real Madrid mid-season but the French international’s contract expiration is on the horizon and given even the slightest encouragement, the Blues should pounce.
Manchester United
A striker was United’s priority and even if Wout Weghurst is not a long-term solution, he will at least provide specialist service until May.
Elsewhere, as Erik Ten Hag seeks to add quality competition across his squad, Youri Tielemans is available for dirt-cheap from Leicester. Frankly, why a top-six side have not already swooped for the talented midfielder remains a mystery.
Newcastle
Top of the Magpies’ shopping list is a midfielder, capable of dictating the tempo of play, so who better than an immensely promising 20-year-old who has already been compared to Sergio Busquets?
Alan Varela has shown quality beyond his years at Boca Juniors and coming in at under £20m it would represent a shrewd purchase for a club on the rise.
Nottingham Forest
A fee of £17.8m has reportedly been agreed for Palmeiras midfielder Danilo and though it’s tempting to joke about the sheer volume of new players arriving at the City Ground, here the Tricky Trees may have unearthed a diamond.
A pivotal presence for the Brazilian side at the age of just 21, Danilo has all the attributes to boss proceedings in the top-flight for years to come.
Southampton
The Saints have already had a respectable bid rejected by Lorient for their Nigerian striker Terem Moffi but don’t rule out a second attempt to sign a player who bagged 17 league goals in France in 2022.
Entrenched in a relegation battle, and with a vast fortune riding on their survival, what’s a few million here or there for a club that has scored a mere 0.8 goals per 90 this season?
Tottenham
Inter Milan ultras recently erected a banner urging their club captain Milan Skriniar not to leave but with his contract up in the summer his departure feels inevitable.
Naturally enough, one of the world’s best defenders becoming available at a bargain fee this January has placed a number of clubs on high alert, and if Spurs aren’t one of them then something is seriously amiss.
For all that we believe Antonio Conte is a defence-minded coach, his side have conceded two-plus goals on 12 occasions this term.
West Ham
With his job on the line and the Hammers in serious peril, David Moyes is dead-set on stiffening up his back-line this month, making his side once again hard to beat.
Having shone in Qatar for one of the tournament’s surprises packages Australia, Harry Souttar is the man in the frame and with the player keen, and Stoke resigned to losing their defensive rock, this is a transfer that feels written in the stars.
Wolves
Striker Matheus Cunha in already in the bag at a cost of £44m, and now Wolves’ new boss Julen Lopetegui focuses on revamping his midfield, as the Black Country side aim to prove the betting odds wrong and climb up the table.
PSG star Pablo Sarabia is said to be on their radar, but Morocco’s central schemer Azzedine Ounahi will surely come into the reckoning should other interested parties fail to snag a talent who has been excelling for Angers all season.
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*
FIRST PUBLISHED: 10th January 2023
