While clubs such as Liverpool and Juventus concluded their bit of transfers during summer, some are still yet to contemplate. We take a look at some of the clubs that would possibly entertain the idea of a winter signing and dwell into the over-priced transfer market during the month of January.
#1 Fulham
Having spent over a £100 million during the summer for no less than 12 players, Fulham supporters can be forgiven for their sense of hope and pride in how things were being orchestrated at the Craven Cottage. With shrewd signings such as Andre Schurrle and Jean-Micheal Seri, Fulham were well placed for a top-half finish.
Pundits lauded their transfers involving Luciano Vietto and Sergio Rico, players having experience in Europe’s elite competitions. Since the transfer window, much has gone wrong for the Cottagers with the club stuck at the foot of the Premier League table. Their woeful performances also cost Slavisa Jokanovic his job despite his efforts in the promotion of the club earlier this year.
Fulham have conceded a league-high of 35 goals in 14 matches en-route to gaining just 8 points in the league. Big money signings such as their record signing, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa have failed to acclimatize to English football and have subsequently felt the wrath of pundits and fans alike.
With the appointment of Claudio Ranieri, Fulham have got a Premier League winning manager in their midst and all he needs is the resources to fill the gaps that were left over in the summer. Central midfield and a lack of a gritty defender have proven to be Fulham’s kryptonite with Seri, Joe Bryan and Anguissa all under-performing.
With the likes of Gary Cahill and Danny Drinkwater reportedly given the green light to leave in the winter, Fulham will contemplate upon signing them in order to strengthen the team and help their bid to avoid relegation.
#2 Tottenham Hotspur
Spurs were subject to a huge amount of trolling due to their little-to-nothing transfer activity during the summer. Although one can argue that Spurs had little space to manoeuvre around with the fabric of the squad, signings could have been made to continue Mauricio Pochettino’s exemplary work - which has already attracted possible suitors.
With Toby Alderweireld injury prone and set to leave at the end of the season, and the likes of Hugo Lloris, Jan Vertonghen and Moussa Dembele over the age of 30, Spurs have to address the underlying issue so that the transition occurs smoothly. Having won 10 out off their 14 matches in the league, Spurs must act towards finding a suitable back-up to Harry Kane and the central defence to sustain their ambitious title push.
Spurs have been linked with Bournemouth centre-back, Nathan Ake - having impressed in the Cherries’ back line since joining in 2017. As a like-and-like replacement for Moussa Dembele, Tanguy NDombele is one player that Spurs are interested in. Only time will tell whether we could find a new face at the refurbished, White Hart Lane.
#3 Real Madrid
Florentino Perez’s highly controversial and debatable decision to sell their record goalscorer, Cristiano Ronaldo marked the dawn of a new era in the history of Real Madrid. The appointment of Julen Lopetegui was well received by the Real faithful and all seemed to be well and good at the start of the season.
It all turned haywire with the UCL Champions losing four out of five matches including losses to CSKA Moscow, Sevilla and Levante. Lopetegui lost his job upon Real’s heavy loss to Barcelona with Santiago Solari filling in.
Due to lack of transfer activity which saw the arrivals of Mariano Diaz, Vinicius Jr. and Alvaro Odriozola - none capable of filling the void of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lopetegui was the victim and had to pay for it with not only the Real job but also the Spanish National Team job.
With the club in the fifth position in the La Liga having scored a mere 22 goals and conceding a whopping 19 goals in just 14 matches, signings are key to overturn the mess. The likes of Isco, Luka Modric and Gareth Bale have under-performed with the goalscoring burden placed solely on Karim Benzema.
Without a commendable back up to Casemiro, oppositions have carved up the Real defence with relative ease. With talks of a fall-out between Isco and Solari, one can expect Real to venture into the market for a proven goalscorer and a defensive midfielder albeit a temporary one. Wonderkid Brahim Diaz has already been linked with the Los Blancos and could initiate a spew of signings in the winter transfer window.
#4 FC Barcelona
Barca are currently placed at the top of the La Liga table but what would worry them is the number of goals they have conceded this term. The Catalans have conceded a mind-boggling 19 goals - 3 more than 17th placed Villarreal. Injuries to key players such as Samuel Umtiti resulted in Barcelona having only two out-and-out centre-backs in Gerard Pique and Frenchman, Clement Lenglet.
Considering that Barca only conceded twenty-nine goals during the whole 2017-18 season, it has to been seen whether Barca would address it considering their treble aspirations. The 4-3 loss to Betis enhanced to growing view that Barcelona needed to venture into the market.
Barcelona have been linked with Branislav Ivanovic and Manchester City captain, Vincent Kompany as a short-term solution to the aforementioned problem. If Barca are able to sign either one of them, it could prove to be pivotal to their success on all three fronts.
#5 Manchester United
The third-season syndrome has struck again for Jose Mourinho with the Red Devils’ manager barely hanging on to his job. With summer signing, Fred failing dismally - Mourinho has his task cut out to mend United’s leaky defence and fragile midfield.
Failing in his efforts to sign Alderweireld and Harry Maguire, ‘The Special One’ had to make due with the likes of Eric Bailly, Phil Jones and Victor Lindelof. Standing at a lowly seventh in the league table, United has conceded 23 goals and have a goal difference of -1 to show for their attacking incapabilities.
Although Mourinho has churned out commendable results against the likes of Juventus and Chelsea, he has to address the problems before he is viewed to be one. Manchester United are said to be pondering a world-record bid for Napoli defender, Kalidou Koulibaly whilst Nathan Ake, a former Chelsea player under Mourinho has also been linked with the Red Devils. With Alexis Sanchez proving to be a very expensive flop, he must spend wisely in the upcoming transfer window.
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