New Year, New Additions

After taking a 44-day hiatus, the Premier League returned on Boxing Day. Although I enjoyed the World Cup, it’s good to have club football back. Not only has the English top-flight resumed, but we’re also only a day out from the January transfer window officially opening. Notoriously, it’s been hard for clubs to do business in January but as history has shown, there are some good deals to be done. For this post, I’m going to suggest one area where each of the traditional top six could look to strengthen this upcoming window.

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Arsenal: Winger

Given the injury Gabriel Jesus suffered at the World Cup, one would think the obvious area that the Gunners should look to strengthen is upfront. However, in Eddie Nketiah, I think they have an able understudy that can do a job until the Brazilian returns. Therefore, the position I’ve gone for is a winger. One of the reasons why Arsenal are doing so well this year is due to the performances of Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka. They’ve been instrumental in the way Arsenal play and they don’t really have good cover for either if they were to get injured. It makes sense why they’re looking at Mykhailo Mudryk from Shakhtar Donetsk. He can play anywhere along the front three and even as a 10. If they get their man, they’ll have some good depth and will certainly help them as they push towards the title.

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Manchester City: Right-Back

I’m nit-picking with this one I know as it could be argued that City don’t really have any weaknesses in their squad. But I’ve gone for right-back simply because of the recent injury issues that Kyle Walker has faced. I’m aware that City already have two world-class right-backs in Walker and João Cancelo, but the latter now primarily plays as a left-back. I’ve watched a bit of the kid Rico Lewis play and he looks like a decent prospect. But it would be a lot to ask for him to deputise for Walker for an extended period. City will probably feel that they’ve got enough cover and it is highly unlikely that they’ll look to address this area in the New Year. One for maybe them to address in the summer.

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Spurs: Centre-Back

I was really scratching my head with this one. Not because Spurs don’t need to strengthen, but I was torn between a couple of areas. I decided on centre-back because having watched Spurs a few times this season, their defence can be a real mess at times. I look at their centre backs and I think the only decent one they have is Cristian Romero. I’ve never been an Eric Dier fan, Davinson Sánchez is shaky at best and Clement Lenglet is past his best. The fact that Spurs play three at the back does mean that they can almost hide some of their defensive fallings, but it does make sense to see if they can add to their options to give themselves a better chance of making the top 4. However, given Conte’s long-term future is undecided, who knows if the board will back him.

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Manchester United: Striker

With a certain someone now out of the door, United are crying out for a number 9. As of right now, United’s options are Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford. With Martial, he’s never been convincing as a striker, as he’s been a victim of inconsistency. With Rashford, he’s better off the left, where he has space to run at opposing defenders and there’s less pressure on him being the team’s main scorer. If you look at United’s recent history, they’ve not been very good at buying the right strikers. Ibrahimovic, Lukaku, Cavani, Ronaldo. All these players were good for a period but were never going to be the long-term solution. United are the lowest scorers in the current top six, and they need to find that striker that could score them 20+ goals a season. In terms of my personal preference, I would want either Victor Oshimen or Gonçalo Ramos.

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Liverpool: Centre Midfielder

At the time of writing this, Liverpool have agreed a deal with PSV for the transfer of Dutch international Cody Gakpo. If you were to ask Liverpool fans, they would say that their attack is stacked. However, Luis Diaz suffered a setback in his recovery from a long-term injury and Diogo Jota is still injured. So, it makes sense that they get some extra cover. It’s their midfield that I feel needs improving. They signed Arthur Melo in the summer on loan but he’s still unavailable. And even with this signing, their midfield still needs a revamp. In games where Liverpool have struggled, it’s because teams have been able to bypass their midfield far too easily. Jude Bellingham is the name on everyone’s lips but the chances of him moving in January are almost slim to none. It’s most likely that Liverpool will hold out until the summer to see if they can grab their number one man.

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Chelsea: Striker

Like United, Chelsea have had problems scoring goals this campaign. For a team that is looking to challenge for Champions League football, having Kai Havertz and Raheem Sterling as your top scorers with 4 goals each is not good enough. According to reports, Chelsea have signed Christopher Nkunku on a pre-contract from RB Leipzig but whether his best position is as a nine is up for debate. Given Chelsea’s system, he’s probably best in any of the three attacking positions behind the striker. They've also signed a striker from Molde, but I don't think he's ready to go straight into the starting XI. Having gotten rid of Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku before the season began, coupled with Armando Broja's season-ending injury, they should look to sign a striker.

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This Week’s Hot Take

I think that the Qatar World Cup will mean that it is going to be harder for teams to do business that in previous January windows. The World Cup did a great job of elevating certain players, so much so that their value will have skyrocketed as a result of their performances for their respective countries. This window has always been seen as a seller's market, and for the 2023 winter transfer window in particular, this will be even more the case.