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Who should your club buy?
Liverpool made the first major move of the January transfer window, announcing a deal to sign Southampton centre-back Virgil van Dijk for £75m in December.
There’s still plenty of work for Premier League teams to do in the market, though, which is why we’ve lent a helping hand by picking out a suggested target for all 20 clubs. You can thank us later, top-flight chairmen.
Arsenal
Needed: An athletic central midfielder
Arsenal have required a combative midfielder ever since Gilberto Silva began to decline in 2007; more than a decade on, this remains their priority. Arsene Wenger’s tactical setup makes patrolling the Arsenal engine room one of the most difficult jobs in the Premier League, with Granit Xhaka having struggled since being installed as the Gunners’ deep-lying midfielder in 2016.
Wenger’s switch to a 3-4-3 formation heaps further pressure on those in the centre, and although Aaron Ramsey has been in excellent form this season there isn’t enough energy or agility in reserve. Jack Wilshere has made an impact since his return to the team, but he’s out of contract in the summer and can’t really be relied upon to stay fit.
Suggested signing: Abdoulaye Doucoure. Having added goals to his game this term, the Watford man has been called the Hornets’ "heartbeat" by Marco Silva – but despite a rumoured contract increase, he could feasibly be tempted away by a big-club offer.
Bournemouth
Needed: A wide playmaker
Bournemouth’s biggest issue is scoring goals, which is surprising considering they have Jermain Defoe, Callum Wilson and Josh King among their number. The big problem is chance creation rather than conversion, though, and with King playing behind a centre-forward the Cherries can only realistically hope to improve their creativity on the flanks.
Ryan Fraser is a tricky player but doesn’t deliver on a consistent basis, much like Jordon Ibe and Junior Stanislas. Eddie Howe won’t have the funds required to bring in a top-quality option, but Theo Walcott – out of favour at Arsenal – could fit the bill on loan.
Suggested signing: Theo Walcott. Having borrowed Jack Wilshere last year, Eddie Howe might offer another erstwhile England man a way back to regular football – but he’d face competition from plenty of other clubs.
Brighton
Needed: A centre-forward
It doesn’t take a genius to work out where Brighton need to improve: Chris Hughton’s men have scored on just 14 occasions this term. Only the "big six" and Burnley have conceded fewer goals, but only West Brom and Swansea have scored less.
The 34-year-old Glenn Murray can't be expected to lead the line for a top-division team long-term, while nobody else bar midfielder Pascal Gross has scored more than two league goals. The forward-thinking Brighton board must back Hughton by spending big on a proven goalscorer; it could be the difference between survival and relegation.
Burnley
Needed: An attacking midfielder
Burnley’s lofty league position isn’t a fluke, but they won’t maintain it unless Sean Dyche finds a way to play more expansively – especially at home, where they've scored just eight in 11 games and visitors will start to pay them more hard-earned respect. Jeff Hendrick is a hard-working footballer but he isn’t creative enough to play at the tip of a 4-4-1-1 formation or provide the Clarets’ striker – usually one of Chris Wood, Ashley Barnes or Sam Vokes – with the service he needs.
Dyche must look for a creator who can find space between the lines while also contributing defensively; Fulham’s six-footer Tom Cairney, long linked with a return to the top flight, could be that man.
Suggested signing: Tom Cairney - Dyche likes a Championship signing (Chris Wood, Jeff Hendrick, Charlie Taylor, Robbie Brady) and could be tempted to add Cairney’s combination of craft and graft… despite that previous dalliance with Blackburn.
Chelsea
Needed: A direct winger
Staleness in attack seems to be the defending champions’ biggest issue this campaign, and while part of the issue is an overly defensive formation, it's also down to the fact Eden Hazard is Chelsea’s only in-form inside-forward. Pedro has been involved in just five goals from 16 league matches so far this season, while Willian remains inconsistent.
Antonio Conte could do with a different sort of player to complement Hazard, perhaps a more direct winger to break the lines and run in behind Alvaro Morata. Crystal Palace talisman Wilfried Zaha would be a good fit, although Roy Hodgson and the club’s hierarchy are determined to keep hold of their prized asset.
Suggested signing: Wilfried Zaha. Zaha never settled at Manchester United, but a flit across the capital could help the winger remain rooted while proving his ability at the higher level.
Crystal Palace
Needed: A goalkeeper
Wayne Hennessey has finally been dropped after failing to convince ever since he joined the club, but the 38-year-old Julian Speroni is only a short-term solution. Palace are a threat going forward, but they could still be dragged into the relegation picture if they don’t tighten up at the back.
Suggested signing: Jack Butland. Palace may not seem the ideal destination but in a World Cup year he might wish to repay the faith of the manager who brought him into the England senior squad… a certain R. Hodgson.
Everton
Needed: A striker
Given that there’s very little in the way of out-and-out frontmen at Everton right now, the signing of the Turkey international shouldn’t be the end of Allardyce’s hunt for more firepower. Olivier Giroud was targeted in the summer and may be receptive to a move given his lack of game time at Arsenal this year.
Huddersfield
Needed: A centre-back
Huddersfield have made an impressive start to life in the top tier, but they’ll need to shore up at the back to avoid getting dragged into the relegation dogfight. Centre-half Christopher Schindler has been one of the outstanding performers of the season so far, but his partner Zanka, a new signing from Copenhagen, isn’t as strong.
The latter averages 1.4 tackles and 2.1 interceptions per game, whereas Schindler hits 2.8 tackles and 2.4 interceptions, as well as winning almost twice as many headers: 4.3 per match compared with Zanka’s 2.3. Given that Schindler could be poached by a bigger club, the hunt for a new defender is urgent.
Suggested signing: Rob Holding. Born just over the hill in Stalybridge, the former Bolton player is impressively calm on the ball but needs Premier League game-time to force Wenger’s hand, so a loan deal might suit all parties.
Leicester
Needed: A right-wing-back
Leicester are on the rise under Claude Puel, but one crucial flaw remains – Danny Simpson's struggles to play as a full-back. The former Manchester United youngster has been a fine servant for the Foxes since the beginning of 2015/16, but he doesn't offer much going forward and that hinders Leicester when they want to switch systems.
Marc Albrighton is sometimes asked to fill in as a wing-back, but it's not an ideal scenario for Puel, who would ideally love a player in the mould of Ben Chilwell or Christian Fuchs to complement his strong left-sided options.
Suggested signing: Ricardo Pereira. The Portugal international can play as winger or full-back, fulfilling Puel’s need for fluidity, while successive loans to Nice prove the 24-year-old is willing to leave Porto for regular football.
Liverpool
Needed: A consistent goalkeeper
Liverpool’s defensive record has dramatically improved since Jurgen Klopp instructed his full-backs to sit deeper following the 4-1 defeat by Tottenham, and the arrival of Virgil van Dijk will bolster the backline further.
There’s still work to be done in that half of the team, though, and a new goalkeeper should be a priority. The likes of Alberto Moreno and Dejan Lovren would be considerably more efficient if they had confidence in who was behind them, with Simon Mignolet still far too prone to costly errors.
Manchester City
Needed: A defensive leader
Manchester City’s near-perfect Premier League half-season means the title is virtually guaranteed, but teams will eventually work out how to attack their backline. When they do, City’s Champions League opponents will threaten Pep Guardiola’s chance of a treble.
It's a testament to Guardiola’s incredible positional coaching that City have conceded the fewest goals in the division, but Nicolas Otamendi’s individual errors could prove costly against a Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or PSG. Considering Vincent Kompany’s unending fitness woes, City need an experienced leader at the back to complement John Stones’s more elegant approach.
Suggested signing: Jonny Evans. Turning 30 on January 3rd, the Ulsterman brings top-level experience including seven Champions League campaigns with Manchester United – plus the positional flexibility Guardiola adores.
Manchester United
Needed: A playmaker
United have struggled to play fluid attacking football ever since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013, with Jose Mourinho's men overly reliant on grinding opponents into submission.
To fix this issue, the Portuguese should find a replacement for Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who clearly doesn’t have a future at the club. It just so happens that Arsenal have a playmaker available on the cheap who has already worked – successfully – under Mourinho at Real Madrid, and the fact that he’s out of contract in the summer should appeal to the Old Trafford bean-counters.
Newcastle
Needed: A traditional striker
For all his hard running, Dwight Gayle just doesn’t look like a Premier League footballer – something which could be said about the majority of Newcastle's squad. Rafael Benitez has done well to organise the defence, but without a strong targetman up front it's hard to see the Magpies surviving.
Newcastle tend to sit deep and hit teams on the break, and while Ayoze Perez is a talented forward, he needs a stronger partner to take advantage of counter-attacks. With Matt Ritchie’s crossing ability and Christian Atsu’s pace, signing a tall frontman could do wonders.
Southampton
Needed: An all-round striker
Southampton lack a clear tactical identity under Mauricio Pellegrino; across a five-match winless stretch in December, Saints used three very different formations and scored just four goals.
If Southampton had a consistent goalscorer then everything else would fall into place. The south coast side rank ninth for shots (12.4 per game) in the Premier League and sixth for key passes (9.8 per game), but they don’t do enough to convert their chances. Charlie Austin is strong in the air but not so adept at linking the play, making an all-round forward a must.
Suggested signing: Daniel Sturridge. Now 28, Sturridge won’t want to risk missing what could be his last World Cup – so he may decide to leave the Big Six to stake his claim elsewhere.
Stoke
Needed: A sturdy defensive midfielder
Stoke have been poor in most areas this term, but their biggest weakness is in central midfield. Mark Hughes’s insistence on playing a top-heavy 3-4-3 formation means fielding a two-man midfield comprised of Joe Allen and Darren Fletcher, which often gets overrun by faster, fitter opponents.
Stoke never really replaced Steven N’Zonzi in the centre of the park, but they should right that wrong this month. The absence of a fierce competitor in the engine room could cost the Potters their top-flight status.
Swansea
Needed: A right winger
It's difficult to know where to start with Swansea; they need to improve in all areas, but attracting players could be difficult. Carlos Carvalhal will surely be keen for an injection of speed on the right wing, though, with Wayne Routledge and Nathan Dyer both past their best.
Some pace on that flank might help raise the tempo of Swansea’s overall play, as well as increase the number of chances fashioned for Wilfried Bony or Tammy Abraham up top.
Suggested signing: Adama Traore. Despite his almost humiliating pace, Traore doesn’t exactly seem a natural fit for a side managed by Tony Pulis – so the new Boro boss may be willing to do business.
Tottenham
Needed: An unpredictable winger
If Mauricio Pochettino has one flaw it’s that he coaches Tottenham too well. Their organisation and attacking discipline sometimes makes Spurs predictable, with forward movement invariably filtered through central midfield via intricate passing moves that, though commendable, can lack a certain edge.
Watford
Needed: An intelligent goalscorer
Watford’s poor run in December could be the result of Marco Silva’s desire to take the Everton job before Sam Allardyce was eventually appointed, but it’s more likely down to a lengthy injury list. Either way, Silva is doing a superb job at Watford; their bold, aggressive attacking football shows this is a side being very intelligently coached.
But the Hornets need a striker to match the creativity in midfield. Troy Deeney’s second red card of the season showed why he isn’t the cultured forward they need, and Andre Gray’s record of three goals from 1,126 minutes of league football suggests he isn’t up to the task of leading the line.
West Brom
Needed: A quick winger
Alan Pardew hasn’t got off to the best of starts at West Brom, partly because Tony Pulis has left him a squad ill-suited to the type of football he likes to play. Pardew invariably deploys a wing-focused, counter-attacking system, and his teams regularly topped the stats charts for attacks via the flanks when at Newcastle, West Ham and Crystal Palace.
With this in mind, West Brom need a quick winger who can chase down those long punts into the channels. Jay Rodriguez is currently the best they’ve got, but his natural propensity to drift infield means the Baggies need a counterbalance on the opposite flank.
Suggested signing: Albert Adomah. The Lambeth-born Ghana international is having a career-best season up the road at Villa Park, scoring 11 goals by New Year’s Day.
West Ham
Needed: A box-to-box midfielder
David Moyes’s switch to a 3-4-1-2 formation has been impressive. By playing in an intelligent hybrid system, the Scotsman has showed he’s both versatile and relevant. The only thing lacking during the Hammers’ fine run of results is a central midfielder to complement Pedro Obiang.
Mark Noble isn’t of a high enough standard should West Ham harbour ambitions of a top-10 finish, and there isn’t really a back-up option. A typical No.8 - someone athletic, strong in the tackle and capable of arriving late in the penalty area – is what Moyes will be after.
Suggested signing: Harry Arter. Although he’s clocked up north of 250 appearances for Bournemouth, Arter is a (south-)east Londoner who might fancy moving to a bigger stage.
