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With less than 10 days left to the start of the Winter Transfer Window, clubs around Europe are gearing up to make the necessary changes to their squad to bolster their ambitions for the remaining part of the season. Traditionally, clubs are not as active in January as they are in the summer, however, that does not mean that big deals are unheard of in the winter - in fact, the record British Transfer fee was received in January, by Liverpool when Brazilian midfielder Philippe Coutinho moved to Barcelona in January last year.
Wise investments in January have also yielded benefits to various clubs and people need to look no further than Liverpool's acquisition of Virgil van Dijk last winter to understand how spending in January could change a club's fortunes.
As such, today we take a look at 4 clubs who must invest and indulge in January 2019 in order to turn their seasons around. These 4 have stark differences in their performances so far, but all of them will be looking forward to January for various reasons.
#4 Chelsea
During the initial months after Maurizio Sarri joined Chelsea, it seemed that he had made all the right calls at Stamford Bridge. The Italian had brought in Jorginho to stabilize the midfield, re-energized Ross Barkley and shifted Kante's position to a more attacking one. It seemed to work brilliantly and Kovacic also looked like a great buy. To make matters even better, Hazard went on a brilliant goalscoring spell that hinted at Sarri Ball taking over England for good. However, things have slowed down a bit in recent times.
Chelsea have now lost twice and drawn 4 of their 17 games in the Premier League. They have 37 points and have scored 35 goals and conceded 14 so far. Normally, it would be a fine first half of the season, but unfortunately, Liverpool and Manchester City have set the benchmark quite high so far. Chelsea are currently 9 points behind Liverpool at the top of the table, even though the Blues have a game in hand, and if Sarri wants to catch up with the top two as well as continue Chelsea's run in Europe, he needs to make a few smart buys in the winter.
Andreas Pereira of Manchester United, Isco of Real Madrid, Pulisic of Dortmund, and Elseid Hysaj of Napoli are all linked to a move to Chelsea in the summer. Sarri would like at least two of those to be at Stamford Bridge at the start of February.
#3 Bayern Munich
The Bundesliga Giants are currently 3rd in the table, behind rivals Borussia Dortmund and surprise package Monchengladbach. While Dortmund lead the table with 42 points, Monchengladbach are currently second only on better goal difference, as they are equal with Bayern with 33 points. Bayern Munich have played a game less though, so they have a chance to move into the second position. However, they will have to be at their best to catch Dortmund this season and this is precisely why Bayern Munich need to indulge in the transfer market once it opens in January.
Dortmund have 11 more goals and have 9 more points, even though they have played a game more. Yet it is their performance and consistency that has caught the eye this time, as they have lost just 1 game in the Bundesliga so far. Bayern have not been up to their mark recently, they have drawn 3 and lost 3 of their 16 games, and need to step up a gear if they nurture any intentions of retaining the title.
Lucas Hernandez of Athletico Madrid and Benjamin Pavard of VfB Stuttgart have been linked to a move so far, but nothing can be confirmed as of yet. However, Niko Kovac will be desperate for reinforcements so that he can steer Bayern to the top of the table.
#2 Real Madrid
After 16 games in La Liga, the Spanish Giants are currently 4th in the table, however, they are just 5 points below Barcelona at the top. Real Madrid have already lost 5 and drawn 2 of their games in the league so far, including a humiliating 5-1 loss to bitter rivals Barcelona at the Nou Camp, which showed the difference in qualities between the two sides. They have also lost 3-0 away to both Sevilla and SD Eibar and as such, Solari might require reinforcements in the summer to mount a title challenge.
The main problem at the Bernabeu has been that they had not replaced the departing Ronaldo, who had been their main driving force in recent times. The Portuguese is already at home at Turin, while Real continue to be in deep waters. Goal scoring and defending have been the main problems, as Real have scored just 24 goals while conceded 19 from their 16 games. Benzema has been their top scorer in the league, scoring 6 goals from 16 games.
There are talks of an Isco-Ozil swap deal while, Hazard has also toyed with the Spanish giants, openly speaking of his admiration of the club. There were even reports that a deal between the club and the player is already done, however, how much of those are true can only be confirmed in January. One thing is certain though - without fresh players in the winter, Real Madrid will find it very tough to match expectations at the Bernabeu by the end of the season.
#1 Manchester United
Manchester United tops this list because they are in desperate need of reinforcements. The Red Devils have scored 29 and conceded 29 in their first 17 games and are a long way behind the leaders and the trendsetters. Unless Old Trafford acts fast, that ever-growing distance from their rivals could increase further.
United are currently 6th in the table, 22 points behind Liverpool at the top, who have played a game more. They are 11 points off Chelsea at the 4th position and 8 points behind Arsenal at 5th. New Caretaker Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has a job on his hands and he will be desperate to understand the quality of his squad before investing in January. Apparently, the Norwegian will be handed a £50m war chest to play with.
Also Read: Two Realistic Target for Manchester United in January
As of now, Tottenham's Toby Alderweireld is supposed to be the man that the club has their eyes on to solve their defensive problem. Brazilian winger Douglas Costa of Juventus is also is the news regarding a possible move to Old Trafford. However, fitting them both within the £50m will be tough. With already a new manager at the helm, United must act fast in the transfer window to secure any hopes of ending the season with a trophy.
