Arsenal
So far, Arsenal have replaced Bacary Sagna with the man keeping him out of the France side in Mathieu Debuchy, and added Alexis Sanchez from Barcelona. Joel Campbell has returned from his loan spell in Greece, while Thomas Eisfeld may be leading a miniature exodus from the club amongst its lesser-known fringe players. With Thomas Vermaelen reportedly on his way out, Arsenal will need a center back in addition to their defensive midfield issues I wrote about two days ago.
An option I feel the gunners should pursue is the Netherlands’ Stefan De Vrij. Manchester United are reportedly chasing him, while most premier league teams will regret not showing an interest in him. I felt Arsenal blew their chance to bring in a young defender with massive potential who can contribute immediately in Mathias Ginter. Another option is Matija Nastasic, who is allegedly on his way out of the Etihad with the imminent arrival of Mangala. Nastasic would be a coup, and is an option Arsene Wenger should definitely pursue. I spoke earlier about Arsenal’s defensive midfield options, and stand by William Carvalho as my favorite defensive midfielder on the market.
Chelsea
Chelsea are the closest of any title contender to having a finished product going into the season. As I said earlier, Chelsea have addressed almost all of their needs between the January window and this window. Felipe Luis adds another dimension as a true left-sided fullback (right-footed Cesar Azpilicueta played most of the season at left back), and allows the incumbent Spaniard to move over to the right, or deputize on the left. Branislav Ivanovic is getting up their in years, and having Azpilicueta as a utility defender or late-game substitute will be clutch. Kurt Zouma could challenge for a starting role, and Fabregas’ reputation speaks for itself.
Chelsea’s midfield is vast, with the likes of Ramires, Matic, Fabregas, Mikel, and Marco Van Ginkel. However, with Mikel reportedly on his way out, Chelsea could use another physical midfielder in his place who can play for Matic. Sami Khedira was reportedly drawing interest from Jose Mourinho; his signing would vault this club to even greater heights. Today, the club brought back Chelsea legend Didier Drogba, adding to a striking corps that includes Andre Schurlle, Diego Costa, and Fernando Torres. If Torres also leaves, Jose Mourinho will surely look to add another striker as well. All in all, Chelsea don’t especially need help anywhere else, but should they sell anyone else, a replacement will be in order.
Manchester City
Manchester City are in a similar situation to Chelsea in that they already have a plethora of world-class footballers at their disposal. With strikers Aguero, Dzeko, Jovetic, and Negredo, surely Manuel Pellegrini won’t bring in another forward, but stranger things have happened. Defense is where Pellegrini needs to strengthen his squad. With Aleksander Kolorav approaching 30 and Gael Clichy being seemingly unable to perform, a young left back would do City some good. In central defense, Eliaquim Mangala is rumored to be on his way, which should bode well for an aging back line (Nastasic would probably be sold in this case).
Yaya Toure, who was arguably the best midfielder in England last season, isn’t getting any younger, and although Fernandinho just arrived a year ago, both midfielders aren’t exactly ripe with youth. Ross Barkley would be an ideal target for City, as he is developing more all-around skills at Everton and continues to improve. Fernando was a good signing, but he is not the big-name player who is likely to step in when Toure is finished at the Etihad. Pellegrini made signing a backup keeper a priority, and signed a formidable one in Willy Caballero from Malaga.
Manchester United
Where to begin? Manchester United’s 7-0 demolition of the LA Galaxy showed lots of promise for the Red Devils, but the LA Galaxy won’t be in the premier league title race. As a friend pointed out to me this morning, Daley Blind would actually be an excellent signing for Manchester United, who have been rumored to be tracking him (Barcelona have stepped up their pursuit as well). His versatility to play defensive midfielder and left back made him one of Van Gaal’s favorites in Brazil. Besides blind, United have been linked with Arturo Vidal on what seems like 20 different occasions. Realistically, United don’t have a shot at landing Vidal, who will surely want to play Champions League football in the prime of his career, and is already at a top, top club.
Manchester United’s striking options are vast with Rooney, Van Persie, Welbeck, and Chicharito (who may leave), but their defensive issues are a worry. Anyone who’s watched United over the past few years will agree that a back three of Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, and Jonny Evans will only get them so far. A top-class center back should be at the top of Van Gaals shopping list, with players like Mats Hummels, Vermaelen, and De Vrij (obviously, he’s one of my favorites). One very intriguing player who would flourish in Van Gaal’s system is Columbia’s Juan Cuadrado. Cuadrado would be a perfect fit for the outside right position that Antonio Valencia occupied on Wednesday. Signing him should also be a priority for United, with Angel Di Maria supposedly being dangled around Europe by Real Madrid.
Liverpool
Liverpool have been the busiest club in the transfer market since the departure of Luis Suarez, and are determined to eventually absorb the entirety of Southampton FC. This is brilliant from Brendan Rodgers to raid the Saints for young talent; the club has produced players like Theo Walcott, Gareth Bale, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Dejan Lovren is the latest former Saint to become a Red, with Rickie Lambert and Adam Lallana already having joined the Merseyside club. With Steven Gerrard at 34, Glen Johnson becoming more and more unreliable (Brazil was a perfect example of that), Liverpool need youth in certain positions for the future.
Their squad is set up to succeed next season, with Xherdan Shaquiri rumored to be on his way. Emre Can was an excellent signing, and could very well be a midfield box-to-box tank and eventually take up the irreplaceable Steven Gerrard’s mantle. Callum Chambers, who is rumored to have undergone a medical at Arsenal, would be a great signing for Liverpool, who could use more competition at right back for Johnson. Then again, Jon Flanagan probably has that spot nailed down, but when Johnson is gone, they’ll need another right back. Defensively, they have four first team center backs, but Jose Enrique is not the long-term answer at left-back. Flanagan is likely to make one of the fullback positions his, meaning Liverpool will probably want to bring in a left back as well. Benedikt Howedes could be an useful utility man for Liverpool, as he was for Germany in Brazil.
Tottenham
It’s friday, folks, and time for the weekend, not time to talk about Spurs.
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