With the January window now open, football writer Alex Keble identifies the type of player that each of our teams might target in the transfer market.
Arsenal - striker
Bukayo Saka’s injury has left Arsenal a little short on creativity, yet the primary issue remains the lack of a poacher’s instinct in the penalty area.
Kai Havertz is the Gunners' top Premier League goalscorer with seven goals from an Expected Goals (xG) total of 7.8 - only the 15th-highest in the competition this season. That’s too low for a title contender’s first-choice No 9.
Arsenal also have a low ranking in the Premier League for shots (10th place, with 276).
Senior transfers in so far: None
Aston Villa - right-winger
Unai Emery needs a Moussa Diaby replacement to provide competition for Leon Bailey on the right.
Bailey, whose strike against Leicester City was his first in 19 Premier League matches, has only three goal involvements this season.
That’s leaving a little too much pressure on Morgan Rogers to come up with the goods.
The win over Leicester was the first match Rogers has missed this season, and it was no coincidence Villa created only seven chances, their joint-fewest at home in 2024/25.
Senior transfers in so far: None
AFC Bournemouth - striker
Enes Unal's ACL injury is dreadful news for the player - and for Bournemouth, who lost Evanilson to a fractured metatarsal just four days earlier.
Andoni Iraola is left without a senior No 9, losing not just goals (seven between Unal and Evanilson) but a target man to hold up the ball and wait for those wingers to make runs beyond. Daniel Jebbison has been recalled from a loan spell at Watford but the 21-year-old has not scored a single goal from 16 appearances all season.
Bournemouth have completed the fifth-most long balls (727) and completed the second-most crosses into the penalty area (47) this season.
The Cherries have brought in promising left-back Julio Soler, but without a big striker up front, their European hopes may fade away.
Senior transfers in so far: Julio Soler (Lanus); Matai Akinmboni (DC United)
Brentford - centre-back
Brentford could be in the race for UEFA Champions League football if it wasn’t for their leaky defence.
Injuries to Ethan Pinnock and Kristoffer Ajer haven’t helped Brentford’s disappointing defensive record this season, and with Ben Mee’s contract expiring in the summer a centre-back is probably Thomas Frank’s priority this window.
They have conceded 35 goals, the fifth-most in the league, while only Southampton have conceded more shots (354) and shots on target (122).
Senior transfers in so far: None
Brighton & Hove Albion - striker
There is an abundance of attacking talent in Fabian Hurzeler’s squad but they are arguably a little lopsided, possessing plenty of fast wingers and not enough forwards able to finish off chances.
Danny Welbeck is Brighton's top Premier League scorer, with six goals, but the 34-year-old will likely need some help over the weeks ahead - as we are already starting to see.
Brighton have only scored more than once in one of their last five league matches, while their conversion rate of 10.2 per cent is the seventh-lowest in the division, as is their tally of 66 shots on target taken from inside the box.
Senior transfers in so far: Diego Gomez (Inter Miami)
Chelsea - centre-back
Chelsea’s defence has looked a little shaky since Wesley Fofana’s injury, suggesting Enzo Maresca needs to improve his centre-back options if his side are to challenge for the title.
That is backed up by the data. Chelsea rank 10th in the division for Expected Goals Against (28.8), they have made the third-most errors leading to shots, with 21, while their 48.2 per cent average of aerial duels won ranks fifth-lowest.
Such a young squad could do with an experienced and commanding leader in the back four.
Senior transfers in so far: None
Crystal Palace - right wing-back
Right wing-back Daniel Munoz is rightly praised for his attacking output but the stats suggest Oliver Glasner might like to strengthen that side of his defence.
A high number of the attacks they concede are down that right side, some 39 per cent, coupled with a look at their opponents’ assist map indicates just how one-sided things have become.
There is no issue with how Tyrick Mitchell defends the left side. If Palace can be similarly strong defensively on the right, least in certain matches, they can pull clear of the bottom three.
Everton - striker
Everton have almost completely stopped scoring goals.
They have netted only 15 times in the Premier League this season, the second-fewest, and are bottom of the table for Expected Goals (18.1).
The Toffees have failed to score in a league-high 11 Premier League matches this campaign - including four of the last five - and have already failed to register a single shot on target in a match twice in 2024/25.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin is their top-scoring striker, with two. He needs help.
The person who succeeds Sean Dyche as manager will need to prioritise improvements in attack.
Senior transfers in so far: None
Fulham - striker
Fulham are having a superb season and, unbeaten in eight, are only six points behind Chelsea in sixth, so out of all the Premier League clubs they are one of the least in need of reinforcements.
But they, too, could do with more firepower, with someone to turn a few of the six draws in their last eight matches into wins.
Raul Jimenez - out of contract in the summer - has scored five non-penalty Premier League goals this season, making him the joint-top scorer with Harry Wilson, who is unlikely to keep his current purple patch going through to May.
Senior transfers in so far: None
Ipswich Town - central midfielder
Ipswich are finding their feet at Premier League level now, but Kieran McKenna would still prefer his side to see more of the ball - and take control more often.
They signed Kalvin Phillips on loan for that express purpose, but Phillips has started fewer than half of Ipswich’s league matches.
Ipswich have taken 4,025 touches of the ball in the middle third, the third-fewest behind Nottingham Forest and Everton, rank third for most miscontrols (297), and their 25.1 progressive passes made is a competition-low.
McKenna will want to improve on those numbers.
Senior transfers in so far: Ben Godfrey on loan (Atalanta)
Leicester City - winger
The lack of pace in the Leicester attack has become a major issue for Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Prior to his season-ending injury, the Foxes were heavily reliant on Abdul Fatawu, who averaged of 2.6 successful take-ons per 90, double that of any team-mate.
Leicester haven’t scored a single counter-attacking goal, the only club other than Everton yet to do so, while the Foxes' eight fast breaks and 54 direct attacks are both the lowest in the division.
A bit more speed out wide could help Leicester counter, in turn producing more high-quality chances for Jamie Vardy.
Senior transfers in so far: None
Liverpool - central midfielder
After failing in their high-profile pursuit of Martin Zubimendi over the summer Arne Slot would still like a No 6 in the Rodri style, despite Liverpool’s healthy lead at the top.
Liverpool are actually allowing more progressive passes and progressive carries than under Jurgen Klopp in 2023/24, while their number of recoveries has gone down by almost 20 per cent
Liverpool 23/24 v 24/25 comparison
| Per 90 | Under Klopp 23/24 | Under Slot 24/25 |
| Prog. carries allowed | 14.7 | 16.3 |
|---|---|---|
| Prog. passes allowed | 30.4 | 30.7 |
| Recoveries made | 53.5 | 44.2 |
Ryan Gravenberch has been a revelation, but he doesn’t nullify attacks like Fabinho used to.
Senior transfers in so far: None
Manchester City - central midfielder
Back-to-back Premier League wins is a good start, but Man City still don’t look themselves, as Pep Guardiola said after last weekend’s 4-1 win against West Ham United.
“Our performance was not good. We saw in many years our level. We are not at our level," said Guardiola.
Man City won’t return to that level until Rodri is back - or they find a temporary replacement who can sweep up in central midfield, pouring cold water on the opposition counter-attacks.
Across 210 Premier League matches since Rodri joined the club, Man City average 2.37 points with the Spaniard in the team and 1.69 without him.
Expanding those per-game numbers over a 38-match season, that’s the difference between 90 points and 64 points.
Senior transfers in so far: Claudio Echeverri (River Plate)
Manchester United - left wing-back
Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-3 demands high-energy wing-backs capable of contributing enormously at both ends of the pitch, and despite Diogo Dalot’s strong performance at Anfield, it is unlikely he will dominate the opposition right-back regularly.
Long-term, Amad - who has scored or assisted eight of Man Utd's 11 Premier League goals under Amorim - will return to right wing-back, but Luke Shaw’s ongoing injury issues leave a space on the other side.
Prior to the 2-2 draw at Liverpool, Man Utd hadn’t scored a single Premier League goal in open play with Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui as the wing-backs.
Indeed no Man Utd player has more than one assist this season apart from Bruno Fernandes and Amad, with six each.
Creativity on the left is badly needed.
Senior transfers in so far: None
Newcastle United - right-winger
There is a perception in Newcastle that the team needs to improve on the right wing, where Jacob Murphy tends to start ahead of Miguel Almiron.
Murphy, mind, has seven assists to his name this season and perhaps deserves more recognition.
Nevertheless, Eddie Howe’s fast-transitioning football could do with a dribbler to counter-balance Anthony Gordon on the other side.
Murphy averages only 0.5 successful take-ons per 90, while Newcastle average 7.5 per 90, the joint-sixth fewest in the division.
Senior transfers in so far: None
Nottingham Forest - right-winger
Anthony Elanga has scored or assisted a goal in each of the last five Premier League matches, which might make Nuno Espirito Santo think twice before looking for a new right-winger.
But Forest are nevertheless light out wide, where Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi are their only ball-carrying options despite Forest’s focus on quick counter-attacks.
What’s more, Forest could with a strong crosser from the right, because - remarkably for a team with Chris Wood up front - Nuno’s side have completed a division-low 25 crosses into the penalty area.
Senior transfers in so far: None
Southampton - centre-back
It’s hard to pick out one area for Southampton, who are rooted to the bottom of the table, but considering that new manager Ivan Juric prioritises defensive security over the more expansive football of his predecessor Russell Martin, the focus this January should be on defenders.
Saints’ defensive woes hit a new low in the 5-0 defeat to Brentford last weekend, and Juric didn’t pull any punches after the game.
“An extremely bad day, a really bad game,” he said. “There was such a difference between the two teams and I’m disappointed with everything; the team, myself, everybody.”
Southampton have conceded 44 goals, the joint-second most, and have conceded a higher xG than anyone else (46.0) and allowed the most shots (364).
Two defenders have already been signed this January, but Welington is a left-back and while Joachim Kayi Santa is a centre-back, he only recently turned 18.
Senior transfers in so far: Welington (Sao Paulo); Joachim Kayi Santa (Valenciennes)
Tottenham Hotspur – centre-back
Ange Postecoglou’s side have been incredibly unlucky with injuries, at times this season fielding full-backs and central midfielders as centre-back partners, and so Spurs must bring in more bodies here.
The priority is pace, such is the risk involved in their high line and passing out from the back; Spurs rank third in the division for errors leading to opposition shots (21).
Spurs have also conceded two or more goals in four of their last six matches in the Premier League, a record that needs to improve if they are going to climb back into the top half.
Spurs have signed goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky from Slavia Prague, and the goalkeeper impressed on debut in the EFL Cup semi-final first-leg win over Liverpool, suggesting he can help the defence in the absence of first-choice 'keeper, Guglielmo Vicario.
Senior transfers in so far: Yang Min-hyeok (Gangwon FC); Antonin Kinsky (Slavia Prague)
West Ham United - striker
West Ham weren’t high scorers under Julen Lopetegui (24 in 20 Premier League games) and if history is anything to go by things won’t automatically improve under the new head coach Graham Potter.
Brighton scored at a rate of just 1.1 goals per Premier League game under Potter (130 in 120) and Chelsea at a rate of 0.95 (21 goals in 22 games).
Potter would argue he didn’t have a consistent No 9 at either club – but that is currently also the case at West Ham.
Top scorer Jarrod Bowen (five goals) is out until at least the end of February, Michail Antonio remains unavailable, and Niclas Fullkrug has struggled to settle, scoring just two goals in 368 minutes of Premier League football.
Senior transfers in so far: None
Wolverhampton Wanderers - centre-back
The new-manager bounce enjoyed by Vitor Pereira ended emphatically with a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Monday night that put Wolves’ defensive issues back in the spotlight.
They have now conceded two or goals in seven of their last eight Premier League matches and, with 45 shipped from 20 games, are on course to concede their most in a single season since promotion in 2018/19.
A big part of the problem was failing to replace Maximilian Kilman, sold to West Ham in the summer.
Pereira has already made the defence his focus, bringing in Ivory Coast defender Emmanuel Agbadou as his first signing. But with Yerson Mosquera, Craig Dawson, Nelson Semedo and Toti Gomes all Wolves' injury list, is Agbadou enough?
Senior transfers in so far: Emmanuel Agbadou (Stade de Reims)
