One Transfer Each Top 6 Premier League Club Needs in January

The January transfer window is now open for the next month, meaning European clubs can complete deals for both ingoing and outgoing players. The window also signifies the official halfway point in the Premier League season, as clubs will analyze how they can further improve their squad. In this article, we will look at each of the ‘Top 6’ teams in the Premier League and name one signing that each of those clubs should make in January to improve their team.

Manchester City

Suggested signing: Martin Zubimendi (Defensive midfielder, Real Sociedad)

It’s no secret that the absence of Ballon d’Or winner Rodri has turned City’s season upside down. Ever since the midfielder went off injured against Arsenal in late September, Manchester City have won 8 games, drawn 4, and lost 9 in all competitions — an unusual record for a Pep Guardiola team. City requires a ‘destroyer’ presence in midfield to win the ball back and quickly transition the ball back to their strikers, such as Erling Halaand. Martin Zubimendi averages 56.84 passes per game with a completion rate of 85%, while also averaging 2.80 tackles per 90 minutes — placing him in the 93rd percentile among La Liga players. His ability to break up opposition attacks and quickly recycle the ball to his own players may be exactly what City needs, although the question remains if he would remain the starter when Rodri returns from injury.

Liverpool

Suggested signing: Jorrel Hato (Defender, AFC Ajax)

The January transfer window might have come at the perfect time for Liverpool. Suddenly, they find themselves in a defensive crisis: center backs Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez are out with injuries and are injury-prone in general. Left-back Andrew Robertson has had inconsistent form, while right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold is rumored to be bound for Real Madrid. 18-year-old Jorrel Hato has exploded on the scene at Ajax and is adept at playing both left-back and center-back, making him a versatile option for the Reds. He excels at advancing the ball through runs and progressive passes while transitioning from defense to attack, which is what Liverpool manager Arne Slot would love. While his aerial duel rate is less impressive, his 1.85 tackles and 1.15 interceptions per 90 minutes would do wonders for the team.

There is also the fact that Hato, who is Dutch himself, would join a Liverpool side undergoing a revolution with a Dutch flavor, who currently have a Dutch coach, a Dutch captain (Virgil van Dijk), and a rising Dutch star midfielder Ryan Gravenberch. This signing would make perfect sense for the Reds, and it may not be difficult to prize him from Ajax with a rumored 30 million Euro transfer tag.

Chelsea

Suggested signing: Emiliano Martinez (Goalkeeper, Aston Villa)

Chelsea are in an intriguing spot. They may not have expected to be in title conversations so soon, but the excellence of Enzo Maresca and Cole Palmer has elevated them into the top spots. Since the size of Chelsea’s squad is so large, they may actually look to sell this January instead of signing more players. Squad players such as Ben Chilwell, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, and even Christopher Nkunku may be offloaded to balance the books. The biggest glaring weakness in Chelsea’s current squad is between the sticks, with current goalkeepers Robert Sanchez and Filip Jorgensen not considered good enough (yet) to challenge for titles. While signing Emi Martinez from Aston Villa in January may be too big of an ask, the World Cup-winning goalkeeper is just now entering his prime years and Chelsea may be the perfect spot for him to add more titles to his resume.

Manchester United

Suggested signing: Victor Osimhen (Striker, Napoli — on loan at Galatasaray)

In reality, Manchester United fans might tell you that they need to sign six players in January, not just one. The Red Devils have been in freefall lately, currently sitting in 14th in the table just 7 points off the relegation zone, and new manager Ruben Amorim has a colossal task on his hands to rebuild this despondent United side. A good start for them would be to get their goalscoring numbers back up. Their defensive record isn’t awful, with them conceding the same amount of goals as Manchester City, but their 21 goals scored is 10 worse than 17th-place Wolverhampton, and worse than even West Ham.

A logical signing here would be for Amorim to raid his old team to acquire Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting Lisbon, who has been lighting up the Portuguese league. However, better value may come from a different Victor. Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen has fallen out of favor at Napoli thanks to erratic social media posts from the club and is currently on loan at Turkish side Galatasaray. He has scored 65 goals in 108 appearances for the Italian side, and 9 goals in 11 for Galatasaray. He is still only 26 years old and has much more to prove on the European stage. Thanks to Napoli (apparently) burning their bridges with the Nigerian, they may look to offload him at a more discounted price.

Arsenal

Suggested signing: Alexander Isak (Striker, Newcastle United)

It feels Arsenal are just one or two signings away from establishing themselves as Premier League champions. The problem is it feels like we’ve been saying this same thing for the past two or three seasons. Current strikers Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus, despite the latter’s recent uptick in form, are not good enough to win a title. There is also the odd injury concern with their strikers, meaning they need both consistency physically and performance-wise.

Look no further than striker Alexander Isak. The Swede has been nothing short of a revelation for Newcastle United, scoring an impressive 43 goals in 69 appearances. The striker is also less injury-prone than Arsenal’s, although isn’t shy of the odd injury himself, typically missing at least a few months out of the calendar year through injury. Regardless, Arsenal would improve leaps and bounds by his signing, although Newcastle United is currently in 5th and has shown to be competitive in the league. Prizing him away from St. James’ Park would likely require the striker himself to push for a move. k

Tottenham Hotspur

Suggested signing: Isak Hien (Defender, Atalanta)

Tottenham’s injury capitulation at center-back ruined what was to be a great season for Spurs. Their 41 goals scored ranks them as one of the best offenses in the league, but long-term injuries to starting center backs Christian Romero and Mickey van de Ven have left them short-handed. It means that 18-year-old Archie Gray and 3rd-choice center back Radu Dragusin have been thrown into the fire, and it hasn’t gone well for the pair. Spurs now sit in 11th and are one of the most likely teams to actually make a big signing this month, and Isak Hien from Atalanta is a natural leader and has won the Europa League at Atalanta — a perfect player to help shore up Tottenham’s defense and allow their attackers to shine. With Spurs’ preference to play out from the back, Hien has a passing accuracy of 93% which makes him a good fit for this role, in addition to his 6’3″ stature making him efficient in the air.