With only a few days left to go in the January transfer window, it’s fair to say a number of Europe’s top clubs have left themselves a lot to do.
From the Premier League to the Bundesliga to Serie A and back again, there are title contenders and Champions League juggernauts who will be scrabbling around to find the final missing pieces their season may rely upon.
Here, we highlight a few of these clubs and discuss what it is they still need to do.
Wherever you stand on Kai Havertz as a No. 9 striker — and there are two definitive, credible sides to the debate — it’s fair to say these last few weeks of botched finishing suggest that Arsenal need to at least have another option to turn to if needed. Gabriel Jesus was that, but a severe knee injury has ruled him out for the season.
In addition to a striker — with RB Leipzig‘s Benjamin Sesko most notably linked — there’s also a strong case that Arsenal lack appropriate depth in terms of creativity and goal scoring from the supporting cast. Injuries to winger Bukayo Saka and midfielder Martin Ødegaard have brought the team grinding to a halt at times, leading to the suggestion that the signing of another left-winger to help carry the burden could be useful.
The trouble with all of this is that second-placed Arsenal — six points behind Liverpool, who have a game in hand — may feel that their Premier League title chase is over already and, given their domestic cup runs are finished, too, why pay a January premium to sign another player in the midst of a lost season? Whether or not we see some action before the deadline may reveal the club’s true feelings on the matter.
It was jarring to see Aston Villa, a team in the hunt for the Premier League top four and in the conversation for a top-eight Champions League finish this week, reduced to playing diminutive left-back Lucas Digne at centre-back for 60-plus minutes against West Ham. Indeed, with Pau Torres and Tyrone Mings injured, plus Diego Carlos having left for Fenerbahçe, Villa only have one fit centre-back in Ezri Konsa. They tried and failed to sign Sevilla‘s Loïc Badé this month and must now press ahead with other options, such as Villarreal‘s Juan Foyth or Chelsea‘s Axel Disasi.
There are other concerns bubbling, too: The talk around a potential departure for 21-year-old striker Jhon Durán will not go away and if they do sanction a deal, they’ll need to find another striker. In addition to that, Villa need to quickly assess whether new right-back Andrés García (who signed from Levante in Spain’s second division) can make the step up to the Premier League swiftly, or whether they need to find a better solution there.
Another midfielder might also be needed if Emiliano Buendía leaves for Bayer Leverkusen, with links to Chelsea’s João Félix surfacing recently.
Dortmund entered the season with a defensive corps that looked ill-equipped to cope and that has proven to be the case. The club have just three senior full-backs (one of which, Ramy Bensebaini, is enduring his worst-ever season) and an injury-riddled set of centre-backs, so it’s no surprise the 11th-placed side have conceded 33 goals in 19 games and earned just five points on the road.
While they sacked manager Nuri Sahin and are courting a new hire, they’ve signed no one to help address their issues with under a week to go in the transfer window. There were links surrounding a loan deal for Chelsea defender Renato Veiga, but he went to Juventus, and there’s now talk of either taking out-of-favour Chelsea left-back Ben Chilwell or Arsenal’s Oleksandr Zinchenko.
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Laurens: Nkunku must leave Chelsea right now
Julien Laurens believes that Christopher Nkunku should leave Chelsea due to his lack of game time.
Speaking of Chilwell, he’s one of a number of Chelsea players who need to find another club as soon as possible. Axel Disasi, Carney Chukwuemeka and Cesare Casadei are also clearly not part of the project under Enzo Maresca, while forward Christopher Nkunku and midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall could yet find new homes.
Not all of the above will leave this month, but they should at least be under consideration. Depending on who goes, it may create scope for Chelsea to enter the market for a player or two late on. It has been reported they’d like to sign another winger, given Mykhailo Mudryk is facing a doping suspension, while they’d need a striker if Nkunku left, too.
By far the busiest of all of Europe’s top clubs this month, Manchester City have already signed Omar Marmoush, Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov for a combined €145m plus bonuses. But there’s still more work to be done.
Kyle Walker‘s exit to AC Milan leaves a gap at right-back, and if the answer is that Matheus Nunes is moved there permanently to tag-team with young Rico Lewis, then that creates another hole in midfield that City are already well aware of.
City have been linked to Douglas Luiz (Juventus) and Éderson (Atalanta) this window. Those are two very different types of central midfielders, so it’s still unclear exactly what shape this final bit of business takes and what effect it has on the squad. But the club have shown a willingness to try to rescue their season with new signings.
On Sunday night, Rúben Amorim told reporters that he’d rather put his 63-year-old goalkeeping coach in the matchday squad than out-of-favor forward Marcus Rashford, citing training standards and his attitude once again. With the relationship between the two in such disrepair, it is imperative that United find a way to get Rashford out on a temporary basis at least this month.
Another forward, Alejandro Garnacho, has also been linked with move away as he doesn’t really fit with Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 system, with Napoli, Chelsea and Dortmund reportedly interested. There’s also the simmering €40m chase for Lecce‘s 20-year-old full-back, Patrick Dorgu, to wrap up. He’s hardly an immediate fix to the club’s many woes, but is the sort of young talent United are newly committing to signing. And the fact he’s left-footed would go a long way towards helping the balance of the team, too.
It might seem odd to discuss Napoli in these terms, as they’re top of Serie A and racking up wins with ease, but consider these two facts: Internazionale are right on their tails and look strong; while the Partenopei have €60m (plus €10m in possible add-ons) burning a hole in their pocket following the exit of their most talented player, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, to Paris Saint-Germain.
Antonio Conte’s men have done well in Kvara’s absence so far this season, often winning, and Brazilian winger David Neres has stepped up to the plate when asked to. But clearly Conte has his eyes set on a long-term replacement, as both United’s Garnacho and Karim Adeyemi of Borussia Dortmund have been linked this month.
There’s a chance Napoli can stave off Inter to win the Scudetto without spending, but there’s an equal chance they don’t, which will likely result in a classic Conte combustion and risk derailing what they’ve built this term.
Languishing in 15th in the Premier League table, with five losses from their last six games, the conversation after each disappointing performance has been the same: “Will Ange Postecoglou survive this?”
Without wishing to unfairly exonerate the manager from his part in all this, one glance at Spurs’ injured, beleaguered and exhausted squad should generate a different question: “What would a new manager even do with them?”
What the club need more than anything right now is reinforcements. They need fresh legs and fresh minds just about everywhere across the pitch, but most notably at left-back, centre-back and in central midfield. Their January arrivals so far have been 21-year-old goalkeeper Antonín Kinský (who has been thrown straight into action) and 18-year-old winger Yang Min-Hyeok. It’s nowhere near enough.