JANUARY represents a notoriously difficult transfer window for clubs.
Value is at a real premium because nobody wants to take the risk of weakening their position by selling one of their better players.
That does not, however, stop the rumour mill from turning.
There will inevitably be some movement at the top level, with the financial heavy hitters likely to trigger moves due to being able to afford to spend at this time of year.
Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United are three such clubs who are rumoured to be eyeing deals in January.
Below we take a look at one player each club should be targeting to achieve their very different goals.
Given how trigger-happy they have been since the Todd Boehly-led Clearlake takeover, it won’t be unusual to suggest Chelsea will be active this winter.
However, despite possessing one of the most bloated squads in top level football, they still lack quality options in the centre of defence.
These days teams seem to favour central defenders who are extremely comfortable with the ball at their feet and who can contribute in the build-up phase for their team.
But if we think back to Jose Mourinho‘s dominant Chelsea team, they had their former captain John Terry at the back – a defensive player who was more comfortable in tackles and duels than he was when playing line breaking passes.
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This is the profile Chelsea are currently missing, and to that end 20-year-old Lens star Abdukodir Khusanov would be the perfect fit.
The young Uzbek international is in his first season in France‘s Ligue 1 but is already being linked to big moves across the Continent.
He is powerful, aggressive and dominant and fits the age profile Chelsea have looked for in their recruitment, meaning he still has levels he can rise to.
Khusanov is the definition of an aggressive, front foot defender and this is where he profiles in a similar way to Terry at his peak.
He is comfortable defending tight in 1v1 situations where the opposition striker is looking to post up with his back to the defender to receive the ball.
He is also, however, comfortable defending large areas of space, showing mobility in his movements to cover in wide areas.
The biggest criticism is that he can be overly aggressive in challenges, although that tends to only make him more loved by the fans.
Signing a player like Khusanov would bring a profile to the squad that Chelsea are missing.
Arsenal under Mikel Arteta feel as though they are so close to creating the right environment to finally win the Premier League.
Yet Christmas saw Bukayo Saka sidelined through injury until March, which sees them lose a reliable set-piece taker.
The profile Arsenal are missing is a striker who can create for others but also play on the last line and threaten the space behind the defence and between opposition defenders to score for himself.
Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz have quality, but neither feels like the decisive talisman Arsenal really need to make that last step.
That is where Newcastle striker Alexander Isak comes into the equation.
The Swedish forward has 13 goals and four assists in all competitions this season, and although he will not come cheap he would represent value for Arsenal.
Isak has shades of Thierry Henry to his game, without the electric pace the Frenchman had, and quite often we see him pull into the channels on the right.
This kind of movement makes him difficult to mark and we often see him starting in these areas and then making clever movements into the middle, timed to attack the last line.
Crucially, Isak is a player who thrives in the final third and would suit a team, like Arsenal, who are exceptionally dominant in terms of possession.
Arsenal have often had to rely on the likes of Saka or Martin Odegaard to make something happen.
But adding a player like Isak to this group would provide another option in the attacking phase, and as such the 25-year-old feels like the perfect signing for the Gunners.
There is no doubt he will be expensive – with a price tag of £150m being floated around – but if they want to catch Liverpool this season they really need to be looking at this kind of deal.
At the halfway point of the 2024/25 season, Man Utd sit in 14th place in the Premier League at the turn of the year.
They have already sacked Erik ten Hag and replaced him with two-time Portuguese league winner, Ruben Amorim, though results are yet to really pick up.
Indeed, such are the issues the Red Devils are facing they cannot be “fixed” in one winter transfer window.
A complete squad rebuild is on the cards to bring players in who match the Amorim system and have the quality to play for United.
You could argue that a central defender, central midfielder and forward would all make sense, but more than anything United are missing a consistent and dangerous goalscorer on the last line.
And a tried and tested quantity for Amorim at Sporting Lisbon in the form of Viktor Gyokeres could be the perfect solution.
The 26-year-old is a powerful striker who can lead the line and play on the last line of the opposition defence and he is ideally suited to the style of football Amorim wants to play.
Not one of Rasmus Hojlund, Joshua Zirkzee and Marcus Rashford have the ideal profile for the position, being too raw, preferring to drop deep or preferring to play in wider areas.
The pace and movement of a striker like Gyokeres would force opposition teams to play deeper and make the Red Devils more effective on the ball in the attacking phase.
This would be very effective for when United look to attack in transition and, of course, he has also proven himself to be an excellent goalscorer, with 62 goals for club and country in 2024.
There is a real sense the United board need to be willing to back Amorim in January to give their coach a chance to at least at first move away from the bottom half then possibly compete for a spot in the Europa League or Conference places.
Signing a forward like Gyokeres would go some way to helping him to achieve those aims.
There is very rarely any true value in the market in January.
At the top end of the Premier League, however, there is still a drive for clubs to strengthen in order to give themselves the best chance of finishing as high as possible.
Finding the right man, for the right price, though never an easy task.
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