5 big European teams and the positions they need to improve next season

Real Madrid and Barcelona will need to fix certain problem positions

The 2017/2018 season in Europe is in its last legs and league winners have already emerged from some of the big leagues: Manchester City (Premier League), FC Barcelona (La Liga), Bayern Munich (Bundesliga), PSG (Ligue 1) and many others. While there is no official title winner yet in the Italian Serie A, a point from their last two games will be enough for Juventus to win their seventh consecutive Scudetto.

The identities of the four teams that will compete for European club glory this season are also already known.

12-time winners and defending UEFA Champions League champions, Real Madrid, will seek to create history as the first team to win the UEFA Champions League thrice in a row since it became the UCL in 1992. Standing in their way will be 5-time winners Liverpool in the showpiece final in Kiev on May 26th.

The UEFA Europa League final will be contested in Lyon's Groupama Stadium on May 16th and will be an intense affair between Atletico Madrid (winners in 2012) and Olympique Marseille (finalists in 2004).

However, for next season, some European giants will need to make certain upgrades to positions in their teams that have looked weak or seem to be in need of reinforcement.

On that note, here is a look at 5 of Europe's big dogs and the holes they desperately need to fill:

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#5 Borussia Dortmund (Goalkeeper)

Borussia Dortmund cannot afford to go into next season with Roman Bürki as their number one

It sounds baffling when said out loud but when a club of Borussia Dortmund's stature is forced to rely on the "talents" of a second-rate goalkeeper like Roman Bürki and a tired old goalie like Roman Weidenfeller to compete effectively in the Bundesliga and the UEFA Champions League, then there are big issues.

While BVB has never been a traditionally super-defensive side, they have more than made up for it with their thrilling attacking play that usually guarantees goals and excitement. However, a team cannot always hope to outscore its opponents and has to rely on the defence and goalkeeper to also do their part.

The Germans were badly thrashed in the UEFA Champions League by Real Madrid and Spurs and were knocked out of the Europa League by semi-finalists RB Salzburg. In ten matches in Europe this season, Dortmund have only kept one clean sheet while in the Bundesliga, have conceded a whopping 44 goals in 33 matches.

While the defence has been very poor, the terrible goals conceded, flapping at crosses and weak positioning, in general, of Bürki have inevitably put the side under more pressure. If the Westfalenstadion based team are to really have any hope of chasing down perennial champions Bayern Munich and making a good impression in Europe, a new number 1 will be needed.

German international goalie Kevin Trapp, who is out of favour at PSG, has been linked to the club and while the 27-year-old isn't the best German goaltender out there, he will certainly offer better fare than the Swiss shot-stopper who has been nicknamed "Butterfingers Bürki".

#4 Juventus (Goalkeeper)

Buffon has been a fantastic servant for Juve but it is time he is replaced

The image of Gigi Buffon losing his marbles and getting sent off in the classic 2nd leg, quarter-final encounter against Real Madrid in the Champions League is perhaps the most enduring image of the well-loved Bianconeri captain this season.

Buffon has had an incredible career with La Vecchia Signora since he joined in a then world-record transfer of £23.3m (for goalkeepers) from Parma in 2001.

His saves, agility, command of his defensive line, leadership, and passion for the Bianconeri cause has made him a much-loved figure in world football but this season has shown that the great man is losing it

While he has not suddenly become a terrible goalie, his reflexes after making saves to stop rebounds, decision making on coming off the line to close down attackers and diving have become noticeably slower and more laboured. This has in turn transmitted panic to a defence that has been more vulnerable this season than ever before.

In 10 Champions League games this season, Juve has leaked 12 goals and has shipped in 23 goals in 36 games, these are not the worst stats but for a team like Juve, it's a cause for concern.

There are doubts as to whether current number two, Wojciech Szczęsny has the ability to replace a legend like Buffon long-term but the Polish international is a very good goalie in his own right and might be given the chance to stake a claim next season.

Juventus have a long and proud tradition of having a top Italian goalie (Dino Zoff, Angelo Peruzzi, Buffon and many more) manning the posts so a move for the new Gigi: AC Milan’s Gigio Donnarumma might not come as a complete surprise.

#3 Paris Saint-Germain (Fullbacks)

Dani Alves will need to be binned next season

It has been a weird kind of season for the Paris giants as a complete sweep of all domestic titles has been met with shrugs of "so what" by outside fans and pundits.

While the team has swept away all opposing teams to win the Ligue 1, Coupe de Ligue and Coupe de France trophies, its two-legged loss to Real Madrid in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League has cast a huge shadow over the team.

The already much-criticized manager, Unai Emery, has announced his intention to step down at the end of the season and the search for a new manager is already underway.

One of the new manager's key jobs will be to tweak the team's fullbacks positions as while the team is currently big on numbers, it is short on quality (a fact that was brutally exposed by Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in the Champions League).

For many years while at Barcelona, Dani Alves could lay claim to being the best right-back in the world but this is no longer true as his forward runs have left gaping holes on the right-flank which opponents have exploited as he has lost the speed to recover ground.

The 2nd choice right-back, the Belgian international Thomas Meunier has been an able deputy but heas not shown anything to suggest he can be the first choice back for a serious Champions League-chasing team

The left-back position is just as bad as Yuri Berchiche, a €13m purchase from Real Sociedad last summer has been solid but lacks the speed needed to cover the length of the field and his concentration has been found wanting at times.

First choice Layvin Kurzawa has been a terrible disappointment as his lack of defensive application and basic defensive errors have overshadowed his excellent forward-going abilities.

Two top fullbacks for both positions would have to be the top priority and despite the €400+ million that Neymar and Kylian Mbappe cost/will cost, a bit more will have to be spent in these most crucial of positions.

Tottenham's Danny Rose was mentioned as a possible target but a lot will depend on who the Qatari-backed club appoint as manager.

#2 Real Madrid (New Striker)

Cristiano Ronaldo has been phenomenal again but will need help

Whenever Cristiano Ronaldo has struggled for form this season, Real Madrid has struggled for goals and this is a glaring issue that has to be fixed by Los Merengues next season.

The 33-year-old Portuguese superstar and current Ballon d'Or holder has had another phenomenal season and will be crucial to Madrid's hopes of retaining the UEFA Champions League in the final against Liverpool. However, the team's struggles in La Liga in the first half of the season could also be traced to Ronaldo's bad form.

Karim Benzema has continued to be poor in the goalscoring stakes this season, Gareth Bale has endured another injury-plagued season and youngsters Borja Mayoral and Marco Asensio have not adequate game time.

A new top 9 to replace the misfiring Benzema and relieve Ronaldo of some of the goalscoring burden will be needed in the summer and already names like Harry Kane (Spurs), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) and Mauro Icardi (Inter Milan) have already been linked to the Santiago Bernabeu side and it is almost certain that manager Zinedine Zidane will move for at least one of the aforementioned trio this summer.

#1 FC Barcelona (Speedy wingers)

Like CR7, Messi has carried his team this season

It is striking to note that for all of the differences in styles and attitude between the pair over the years, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have continued to be central to their respective teams. It is not an exaggeration to say that without the genius magician, Barcelona would have had a worse season than the moanings of entitled Culés say they have.

He has been run into the ground with the bulk of creative and scoring duties resting on his shoulders as the rest of the supporting crew (Luis Suarez, Paco Alcacer, Ousmane Dembele, Andres Iniesta and co disappointing to various degrees). Messi will need more support next season if the team wants him fresh for the crucial parts of the season.

One thing that has been noticeably absent from Barca's play under manager Ernesto Valverde this season has been pace from the wings as more often than not, the play has been forced through the middle as there have been no outlets for spreading opponents especially when the fullbacks (Sergi Roberto, Nelson Semedo, Jordi Alba and Lucas Digne) have been unable to push up from defence as much as they would like.

The rumours about Antoine Griezmann going to the Camp Nou have refused to go away and his arrival or that of a winger like Anthony Martial would be of great value to the team.